Record Breaking Real Estate

Record breaking real estate! In this economy? In a pandemic?

Yes, you heard that right, despite the news anticipating a decrease in home sales and property values, the Canadian real estate market had a record breaking month. July saw more home sales than any month in the Canadian Real Estate Association’s (CREA) history. Everyone’s favourite real estate app realtor.ca also saw a record number of visits to it’s website and app. So what happened? 

Let’s break it down: Prior to the lockdown, we were anticipating a busy spring market. Enter COVID-19 and things started to look a little different. April was a low month for real estate, we were still under strict lock-down orders and many real estate showings could only take place virtually, so buyers and sellers decided to take a step back and wait for the world to return to normal (whatever that is). But as restrictions lifted, people felt more comfortable entering the market and selling their houses again. If you spoke to an agent in May and June you probably heard how busy the market was, things were normal and prices were up. Well, they just kept going up.

In July 62,533 units (a unit is a house, condo, property etc) were sold in Canada (Ontario was responsible for 27,103 units), this is up 30.5%  from July of 2019 when 47,924 units were sold. Prices were up 14.3% and the number of new listings on the market increased 10.3%.

This surge is being attributed to the market catching up, all the deals that would have taken place early on in the pandemic are occurring now. If you were planning to sell your home in the spring, the summer felt like your best chance, on top of that people wanted in before the dreaded “second wave”. 

However, real estate experts are anticipating that this busy market could continue for the next 15-18 months. A lot of people are looking to move. The pandemic had a lot of people re-evaluating their priorities and making major changes. It started with cleaning out your closet, and it ends with you moving to the country.

Access to outdoor space, proximity to loved ones, the ability to work from home - all of these factors are contributing to people making different real estate decisions, and making big moves.

What does this mean for you. A couple of things: if you have been putting off buying, STOP WAITING. Experts are not anticipating prices decreasing or the market slowing down. I know our first time home buyers are all hoping for prices to come down, but the trends are showing us prices are only going up.

If you want to sell, this a great time to do it. Not only is it a hot market, it’s a seller’s market. There are more buyers than there are properties on the market. If you have been thinking about making a move, pick up the phone and let’s chat. It doesn’t hurt to find out how much your home could be worth.