Buyers' Market? What Buyers' Market

I took clients out to see two great homes last week, semis in Leaside and East York. Fortunately they decided not to put offers on either house. This was a week after they had an offer rejected for an Upper Beach semi offering full asking price (over $550,000.00).

I say fortunately because the two properties both sold well over asking. The property in Leaside that was priced in the low 600s sold for more than 700k and the East York property, priced in the mid 500s sold for 160k over asking after 23 offers.

So, back in October when the Stock Market crashed everyone said get ready for the correction in the housing market, after years of sellers driving the market now it's the buyers turn. Problem is that the prognosticators tend to only use national or regional numbers. You can't compare what's happening in a market like Oshawa with the devastation of the auto industry to a local market like Danforth Village in Toronto's east end that is being driven by walking distance to the subway system, low crime rates, great culture and schools and a historically lower price point than similiar neighbourhoods on the west end.

Record low interest rates are driving a market where people can qualify for as much as four times their gross annual income in mortgage amounts but we are also experiencing a market with as much as 60% fewer listings than last year so the people who do have their homes listed are getting lots of attention and top dollar. I have one couple who are working every waking minute to get their home ready for sale to benefit from this phenomenom.

Bottom line is that if you are a seller or thinking of selling, now's the time if you live in a hot market. If you are a buyer, be patient, don't jump at the first thing you see, especially if you want to live in a neighbourhood that offers all the amenities that today's urban dwellers want.

Check out this clip
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/clip177030#clip177030

Purchase Conditional On The Sale Of Your Property

It is totally possible to ask sellers to accept your offer to buy their home subject to you successfully selling your existing home.

You don't have to wait to sell your home before entering a contract to buy a new home. However, you do need to do one very important thing if you want the seller to accept your offer. Your home must be listed for sale in MLS. Otherwise, sellers will believe you are not a committed buyer, and they will tell you to come back when you are serious.

This is a strategy that hasn't been used much in recent years because of the Sellers' Market but now that we have returned to a more balanced market we are starting to see it again.