Hello summer!

Well, June continued to be unpredictable and surprising in the local real estate market, as we witnessed a continuation of increased competition amongst buyers and upward pressure on pricing.

Having said that, the market has definitely not returned to early 2022 pricing and activity, as this increased demand is not across the board. Lack of supply in certain segments of the market is a driving force on price pressure.

We thought the somewhat unexpected increase in the interest rate in early June may have given the market reason for pause, however this has not shown up in the data here yet (Some parts of Toronto are starting to see a slowdown – which often is an early indicator of things to come in outlying markets. But not always).

Based on month to date data as I write this article, the under $800,000 part of the market continues to be where a lot of the activity is, with 42% of sales being homes priced under this amount.

I had one home in this category a few nights ago where we had 12 OFFERS, mostly first time buyers trying to get into the market. So buyers are definitely still out there.

We saw a number of our new listings get quick offers in June. Demand for condos has certainly rebounded. And 30% of sales month to date were homes over $1 million – indicating increased activity in the overall market. We even had a sale over $2.5 million.

However, I must also point out that 45% of all listings have been on the market over 30 days. Thus, as I alluded to before, this market is much different than early 2022 where it seemed everything was selling.

This is not a market where you can just throw up a for sale sign and expect to sell overnight. You may have to be patient. Selling strategy, marketing  and who you hire matters.

Ok, I don’t do this often, but it’s pet peeve time – Realtors who promote properties as coming soon but the property sells before it even hits the open market.

First, this is against widely held realtor protocol. But more importantly, this is not fair to buyers who are not even given the opportunity to see or offer on the property. It’s frustrating enough for buyers trying to purchase a new home, never mind have to deal with this kind of nonsense. It’s either coming soon or not.

Preference should not be given to select realtors or buyers. But it’s not just buyers that should be concerned.

I saw one example in June where a property came to market and a few minutes later changed to sold. Obviously someone jumped the queue? Saw it before it came to market? And it sold for what I thought was a bit low – especially since it was in the much sought after under $650,000 price category where we have seen competitive, multiple offers. And the only offer… from the listing brokerage.

I could be wrong, but I’m not sure the seller did the best they could here. The optics are definitely not good. And to the buyers who were not even given the chance, it reinforces the stereotype of untrustworthy realtors. Can’t blame them. Our industry definitely needs a shake up. 

I digress. Ok, back to the real estate market. Historically, the summer is a time when real estate slows down a bit as buyers and sellers think more about bbq’s, camping and the cottage instead of home buying and selling. Pricing really doesn’t go down, it’s just a less active time for the market. It’s actually a good time for buyers who want to avoid competing with 12 other offers.

Depending on your circumstances, summer is still an ok time to list, but in a number of cases I will recommend holding off until after the first week in September. Happy to chat about the best course of action for you.

What will the second half of 2023 look like… nobody knows. It’s possible we will see another interest rate hike… or not. Unpredictability continues to be in the air. But houses will continue to be bought and sold. 

Until next month, take care.

George