Come On Down... No wait, Come on Back UP!

Wow... Real Estate is such fun! (Well, that's a pretty nice way of putting it isn't it?) The market always seems to create as many questions as it provides answers. When should you buy? When should you sell? Pretty simplistic questions that any standard issue crystal ball will answer that for you. It seems to be all about perspective. What side of the dilemma are you on?

BUYER'S today have seen a sharp decline in prices over the past 8 months. Let's say on average, that slide is at about a 20% price decrease. So where does that leave you right now while wearing your spiffy purchasers' hat? Maybe the prices will continue to fall! Another 10%? Maybe 20% or even more? Will you be able to find a really good bargain if you just wait? Maybe it seems like it is worth the wait. Will the floor drop out of this market until we find ourselves in the basement before we know it?

A couple of things to consider. Interest rates have risen and will probably continue to do so for another little while. Typically, prices react proportionately in the opposite direction. We've just seen this between February 2022 and October 2022. Secondly, just as prices ROSE to unexpected highs, (that trend was not sustainable) they began to DROP almost as quickly. Just as we did not expect housing prices to keep increasing every month, we shouldn't expect to see them decreasing forever either. There is a range. It seems that we are at the lower end of that spectrum now or at least pretty close to it.

SELLER'S have a different perspective. What goes up, must come down right? So therefore, what goes down, must come back up. Perhaps if you WAIT until the spring of 2023 to list, you will get what your neighbour did in the spring of 2022. Sound logical? Uh, probably not. At this point, that ship has probably sailed and it is well into its voyage. It may not be back to port for a little while. (Hope you enjoyed the cruising reference there.)

A couple of things here as well. It's not all bad sellers. The guy down the street probably also bought a home in the same market. Made a little on their house but overpaid on the one they bought. Kind of evens out a bit, just at higher numbers. Real Estate always moves. People always move. Life goes on. Do you remember interest rates back in the 80's? THAT was high. People were paying 19 and 20% on their mortgages. (Kinda of makes 5.5% seem reasonable doesn't it...) Think about buyers as just being on break. They'll be back and YOU should be ready.

Regardless of which side of this you are on, do what is right for you and for your family. Don't try "to time" the market. It's like a train. When the front end is going uphill, the back end is still declining. Getting pricing, interest rates and the perfect time to sync up is mostly luck. Yes, it happens to some people, maybe even the people down the street but some people win the lottery as well.

Thanks for reading,

Let's talk about it.

Call me, 416-276-5453

Everyone needs a REALTOR® to call their own.