The Fall Market – How to succeed

Whether you have school aged kids or if you’re well past that, this time of year is always ‘Back to school’  This is also the time that the ‘Fall real estate market’ starts and we usually see a bit of an uptick from the lazy summer days of July and August as people get back to more of a routine and vacation days are used up.  

This year has seen a very noticeable shift and slow down in the market.  Prices are down, sales are down and the number of people looking to sell their home is up.  All of this makes it firmly a ‘Buyers’ market.  So how do you succeed in this type of market?

Well, lets start with people looking to Sell their homes.  While everyone believes that their home is unique and special, and if you’re a country estate you very well could be, but in our urban locations subdivision homes by their nature are all pretty much the same.  So, when you are competeting agains homes that are very similar to your own there are only 2 real ways to get your home sold vs all the competition out there.  

First, your home needs to be as recently renovated, modernized, as possible.  This means brand new kitchens, master bath, landscaping, etc.  This is one way to really set your home apart from most of the other properties that are for sale.  When selling, most homeowners will ensure their home is clean and tidy but that won’t make it stand out amongst your competition.  What really makes it stand out is the quality of the finishes.  Now, the challenge with this is that it does cost money to get that type of renovation done and while you will most likely get the investment back it may not add much on top of that.  So when faced with that amount of work and disruption a lot of sellers just don’t want to do it.

That leads us to the 2nd strategy, pricing.  Yes, this is the easiest thing to do to get your home to stand out versus others on the market.  Right now the properties that are selling are those properties that are priced aggressively.  There is not a single home owner that wants to hear that but what is worse is an agent that will tell you a price you want to hear only to have it sit on the market not selling and then pressuring you for a price reduction.  The other issue with listing with a higher price and it sitting on the market is that it becomes stigmatized.  Once that happens the size of the price adjustment will be bigger than what it could have been if you had just priced it correctly at the start.  Again, I know that this is not what home owners want to hear but in this market, it’s the truth.

I also hear ‘well it’s the agents job to sell the house and if they did a better job it would sell’…or some variation of that.  To those people….you’re right.  There are a lot of agents that are not very good at marketing the property.  Some just market it in our local market and don’t list it in the Toronto market.  Some agents still use their own camera or iphone to take the pictures of the home vs using professional photographers and videographers.  Some lure you in with gimmicks and guarantee that when you read the fine print aren’t there to protect you or get you the best results.  

If you really want to sell your home for the most money in the least amount of time in this market you need to price correctly and get your home as presentable as possible.  A good local agent can help you determine the right work to do and the right price.

If you’re a Buyer, the first thing you want to do is ensure you are pre-approved for your mortgage.  That way you know exactly what you can afford.  Let’s look at a scenario.  If you are approved for $700k you should be looking at properties that are listed at $750k and less.  Yes, I know you were only approved up to $700k but right now the only things that are selling at, or over, asking are those priced artificially low to generate a bidding war.  Normally priced homes are selling $30-$50k below asking in a lot of cases.  So, you want to look a bit higher than you are approved for to ensure you can find the best home for you because there is room to negotiate.  

The other thing that is important if you’re a buyer is to find all the issues that need to be fixed and try to get as many of them fixed by the seller before closing.  That way you won’t need to find extra money (outside of your mortgage) to make those repairs.  There are a couple creative ways to do that and a good agent can talk about how to get that done.  

Getting Winter Ready

Here are some simple things to do to ensure your home is ready for winter.  

A/C unit

DON’T put a cover on it.  The best thing to do is to put a board on top of it so falling ice or branches don’t damage it but leave the sides open so it can breath.  Completely enclosing it can cause it to wear out faster as moisture can’t escape.

Eavestrough

Cleaning your eaves is important so that when we get the spring rains your gutters are not plugged causing rain to overflow and potentially causing a basement leak.  The best time to clean them is AFTER all the leaves come down and not before.  That way you don’t have to clean them twice.  Also make sure your downspouts go at least 4ft away from the house to ensure water is directed away from your foundation.

Furnace

Hopefully you are changing your filter every 3 months but if you only do it twice a year changing it when you switch from AC to HEAT is the perfect time.  Your furnace is the lungs of your home so a clean filter is essential to ensure you are breathing clean air as possible.  That is why every 3 months is best.

Doors and Windows

This is the best time of year to go around and look at the caulking on your windows and doors to ensure they are still in good condition.  If any are missing, or really cracked etc they should be replaced.  While the weather is still warm and fairly dry is the perfect time to replace the caulking.  Its also a good time to replace any weatherstripping that could be allowing cold air to come in and heat escape in the cold winter months.