Everyone Still Needs a Place to Call Home
It’s Not All Doom and Gloom… for Sellers or Buyers!
The market fluctuates, prices go up, prices come back down.
Interest rates rise and then they fall. The only consistency about these two
markets is their inconsistency. Trying to accurately predict it is a futile effort. Hey,
I bet if you put 100 economists in a room you would get 150
opinions about the state of the market(s).
You know what doesn’t change? Life! Life will keep moving
forward. Everyone has things to do and places to be. So, the market activity
may alter people’s course of action or delay the decision-making process,
eventually it fades and life moves forward. If the market is up or rates are
down, we simple adapt, modify other aspects of our lives and push onward.
Here we are in August of 2022 and the market has done a
complete 180 degree turn since the early spring. As the title of this article
suggests – it’s NOT all doom and gloom. The market is the market. Interest
rates are interest rates. We still need a home to live in and the sure bet is
that real estate will continue to evolve. It’s been doing it now for 100 years
and chances are it will continue for another 100.
Seller’s, Take a Look!
Look at the big perspective. Homes are not commodities that
are bought and sold over a few days or weeks. Most buyers stay in a home for
5-7 years before moving on. If you own a home today, is this a good market to
sell in? SURE it is! Let’s dive into the numbers just a bit:
In February of 2022, this market was averaging $1,226,559
(per Toronto MLS Regional Data Reports). In July of this same year, this market
is averaging $855,200. Sounds dire if you are listing and like a dream if you
are buying. Afterall, this represents a 30% decrease. Well, the February
numbers were over inflated and certainly NOT sustainable. So, nobody has really
“lost” anything… It is a matter of how much you have really gained as a seller
today.
When you compare where we are today to just a few years ago,
July 2019 the average selling price was $671,890. That is a 27% gain in just a
few years. Look back a little further and you will see that the value has
increase by 40% since 2017 and 110% from July of 2015. Sellers – you haven’t
lost a dime.
Buyers... (Your turn…)
Prices are “down” or at least much more reasonable than they
were a few months ago. Interest rates are up AND you can rest assured, will go
up again. Trying to “time” the market where prices are rock bottom AND interest
rates are low and stable is more about luck than knowledge. If the time is
right, the right time to buy is now. These markets are like trains… part of it
is on the way up the hill while the other part is still coming down. There is a
very small compartment of the train for a very short period of time that is
perfectly in between the down and up slopes.
Now is a great time to buy as the slope is downward. You may
pay just a bit more (at least in the short term) in interest rates but as
mentioned earlier, buying a home is a long-term commitment where equity will
certainly reign supreme.
Sellers, Buyers, Curious Onlookers… Call me, no cost, no obligation, just conversation. Let’s explore together where you fit into todays market(s) and build a plan to work towards your goals!
Thanks for reading.
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