Unlocking opportunity

If you’re among the many homebuyers and sellers who’ve been sitting on the real estate sidelines, now may be the time to get your ducks in a row

THERE IS A significant amount of news and data that lure us into imagining we can time the real estate market. Economic and trend analysis is readily available for the average consumer ― jobs reports, interest rate adjustments, GDP growth, buyer analysis, demographic trends, immigration policies, new housing starts, to name but a few. 

For many people sitting on the sidelines, there is a house to sell and a house to buy. In a relatively stable market, such as the one we have now, the buy and the sell will happen at roughly the same time. Whether those deals happen now or in 180 days, the difference between the buy and the sell transactions will likely be very similar. Consequently, timing the market for these consumers will have little effect.

If there’s little economic impact on when, then the consideration around timing should be about finding the right property. In a buyer’s market, much like we have now, there is more opportunity to find that right property because there are more listings and more opportunity to negotiate, inspect and time your transaction to suit your needs. Most importantly, there is opportunity to buy on the condition of selling your own home.

After advising you to be careful of being too dependent on numbers and statistics, let’s have quick look at February real estate sales in the London region. Prices were back up to where they’ve been for the last several months, after a slight decline in January ― an average home price of $585,000. For the last eight months, the average price of a home in our market has been steady right around $580,000. The number of homes sold remained well below historical averages, at 433 (820 last February). The number of homes sold in the last six months has been about 40 per cent below historical averages.

I describe this market as a buyer’s market, and I believe that is appropriate. I would caution everyone waiting for further declines in the overall market ― no one predicts there to be much further decline in the market before it starts to fire up again. There may be a circumstance, in the near future, where we look back at these times, at these prices, and wish we’d made our move. If you’re moving up in value, or entering the market for the first time, this is certainly prescient. There are some deals out there, and the time for deals may be fleeting.

Market analysis provided by Marcus Plowright, Sales Representative, A Team London. Marcus can be reached at 519-872-8326 or marcus@ateamlondon.ca.

High- and low-priced real estate listings around town this week

London East

Low

Address: 312-563 Mornington Avenue
MLS number: 40377666
List price: $168,900
Days on market: 5
Size: 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 683 square feet
Listing agent: Scott Vannoord, Sales Representative, Sutton Group – Select Realty Inc.

High

Address: 1745 Kilally Road
MLS number: 40377971
List price: $3,250,000
Days on market: 11
Size: 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 4,050 square feet
Listing agent:James Hudson Smith, Sales Representative, Sutton Group – Select Realty Inc.

London North

Low

Address: 54-1220 Royal York Road
MLS number: 40365229
List price: $364,900
Days on market: 49
Size: 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1,150 square feet
Listing agent: Jordan Smeltzer, Sales Representative, Oak And Key Real Estate Brokerage Inc.

High

Address: 565 Leyton Crescent
MLS number: 40328768
List price: $3,280,000
Days on market: 151
Size: 6 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, 5,966 square feet
Listing agent: John H. Crosby, Sales Representative, Royal Lepage Triland Realty

London South & West

Low

Address: 32-198 Springbank Drive
MLS number: 40325975
List price: $135,900
Days on market: 159
Size: 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 640 square feet
Listing agent: Zahra Khawari, Sales Representative, PC275 Realty Inc.

High

Address: 75 Woods Edge Close
MLS number: 40351626
List price: $3,375,000
Days on market: 36
Size: 5 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms, 8,308 square feet
Listing agent: Owen Price, Sales Representative, Keller William Lifestyle Realty

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Disclaimer: London Inc. does not guarantee the accuracy of the statistical data on this page. The data does not represent the listings of any one agent or agency but represents the activity of the real estate community in the area. Any real estate agent’s ad appearing is separate from the statistical data provided, which is in no way a part of their advertisement.