To Our Valued Clients and Friends,
The coronavirus is changing the way we live our lives. The immediate impact of COVID-19 is already shocking, but the long-term impact is going to affect our lives, our investments, our houses, our job market, and our country.
We’re very fortunate that Canada is taking significant steps to reduce the spread of COVID-19, and that our citizens are also taking significant steps to contribute to the solution.
Every family has vulnerable family members, we’d like to thank everyone who is taking proactive measures today to limit the severity of this pandemic.
What’s Happening In The Real Estate Market:
We entered 2020 with a fiery market that saw some neighborhoods increase in value $100,000-$200,000 in a single month. That fire is gone, but home prices have not dropped. Our immediate impact has been fewer listings, and fewer sales. But we’re still seeing multiple offers on homes in key price ranges.
How Buyers Are Reacting To The Market:
If we go back one month, buyers were facing a tough market where bidding wars were a common phenomenon. To buy a home in a key neighborhood, you had to be resilient. COVID-19 is testing buyer’s resilience, and buyers are proving they are still willing to continue their search for the perfect home, with caution. We do see fewer multiple offer situations, as sellers elect to list homes closer to their market value to reduce the number of buyers through the home.
How We Buy And Sell Has Changed:
Real estate is one of the most nimble industries in the GTA. Within days, key industries related to buying and selling were able to set up remote operations. At the moment, we’re able to buy and sell real estate safely, following precautions set out by Health Canda. With careful consideration from Sotheby’s, and our lenders, and lawyers, we’ve amended our offers to better protect our clients in these times.
Today, we’re discouraging clients from viewing large numbers of homes or visiting open houses. The safest way to search for homes is to narrow down the homes based on the images, description, video, and neighborhood, and to only view your top picks.
This is the type of market where presentation, pictures, video, and marketing are absolutely necessary to sell for a fair price:
Never has professional pictures, videography, presentation, and branding been more important to the sale of your home. Today, you want more qualified buyers through your home, and fewer tire-kickers. This weekend we’re hosting our first Facebook-Live Open House on one of our beautiful listings in River Oaks. Join us live on Sunday at 3-4 here: https://www.facebook.com/
Market Forcast:
After an event like this, we always see market activity. A home is a necessity, and it’s extremely personal. At a time like this, nothing is tied to family, and safety, like a home. In the months to come, families will upsize, downsize, move closer to loved ones, or look for a more permanent family home.
Canada has taken incredible steps and has shown the world exactly what we put first in an emergency. We anticipate Toronto to come out of this, the beacon of international immigration it was going in. The historic stability of our economic, social, and political foundation will maintain demand in these times of global crisis. Real estate is essential, and we have confidence that our market will fare relatively well compared to other investments and markets around the world.
Stay Safe,
