Who’s winning in this Real Estate Market

People are always asking what’s happening in the Real Estate Market.  During the summer months the answer is always the same, it’s a bit slow.  This year though the entire year has been slow.  With the lack of any real stability in trade between Canada and the US and the tariffs which have cost so many people in the private sector their jobs people are concerned.  The Liberals have announced that they will be trimming 7.5% of each ministry to find cost savings.  So now we have Federal employees worrying about their jobs.  If the Feds are cutting will the provincial / municipal levels be doing the same?  All of that has people nervous and when people are nervous, they tend to not make large life decisions like buying a new home.

Now I know there are SOOOO many real estate agents who are saying that now is a great time to buy or trying to say positive things about the real estate market right now.  I get it, I understand why they are doing that.  They are trying to stay positive so people feel better.  I understand it.  However, while there are very real opportunities for the right buyers out there, I recognize that people are nervous and for very valid reasons.  For those of you who have been reading my material for years you know I will never shy away from telling you the truth.  

So, who can win in this real estate market?  First lets identify what kind of market we are in.  During Covid that was an Increasing market or often referred to as a ‘Sellers’ market.  This is where there are more buyers than available properties for sale.  Then we have a Balanced market.  Equal properties for sale matched to the number of Buyers looking to buy a home.  Today we are in a Decreasing market or a ‘Buyers’ market.  This is where we have more homes for sale than we have willing Buyers out there looking to buy.  

In a Decreasing market the people that are in the best position to take advantage of these lower prices are 1st Time Home Buyers OR those looking to move from their ‘starter’ home to the larger ‘Forever’ or ‘Family’ home.  Let me give you some math so you can see what I mean.

I’m going to use a 10% decrease for easy math.  In reality over the last couple years its down closer to 20%.  In any event if a larger family Home is worth $1,000,000 and goes down 10% that’s $100k and the new price is $900,000.  Now the smaller townhome that use to be worth $800,000 goes down the same 10% (which is $80k) its now worth $720,000.  So the larger the home the more real $$Dollar$$ impact is realized vs the smaller home.  Now in reality the smaller homes do not go down in value (% wise) as the larger family homes as the smaller homes are more affordable so there are more buyers which keeps the prices slightly higher.  Therefore IF you, or someone you know, is looking to move into a bigger home, now is a good time, as the price decreases we have seen are working in your favour.

Now, if you are retired, all the kids are in their own homes and your home is just too big and you’re looking to move to a smaller, easier to manage home/property, this may not be the best time as the prices have softened for the larger family homes.  The reality is that there are just fewer buyers right now for that larger home.  HOWEVER, having less property tax, less utility costs (heat/AC/Hydro, etc) and getting a home that works better for you….well there is value in that as well.  I just can’t tell you right now, that from a pure dollars and cents point of view, that the prices have not gone down from a couple years ago, because they have.

The best thing to do, right now, if you are thinking about selling is to talk to an agent, find out what you need to do with your home to maximize your value/selling price.  That way when you are ready to sell you can get the most bang for your buck and it will sell faster.  

If you are thinking of selling and you want to get the most for your home, call me or email me, and we can go over your options to maximize your selling price.