Are we experiencing a shift?

This is the question on our minds as we enter spring market. Two weeks ago we would have told you that real estate is continuing to move at a frantic pace. In February, the average price of a home in the GTA rose sharply to $1,334,544. An astonishing 27% higher than February of last year!

But, it would seem that a lot can change in two weeks. Yes, we’re still experiencing a strong seller’s market, but attitudes seem to be shifting. While we continue to see good price growth for properties in the city, those numbers aren’t quite as high as we may have expected last month. We’ve seen more homes come to market, fewer showings, and in some cases, fewer offers on offer night. The voracity with which buyers were snatching up properties last month seems to be waning.

While pricing in the 416 has been resilient so far, things are looking a bit different out in the burbs. Areas like Brampton and Oshawa are showing early signs of a price correction.

But worry not, dear reader. A correction is not a crash. It’s actually a sign of a healthy market. You see, the further prices stray from the trend line, the more dramatic the eventual correction. The 905 saw HUGE price increases over the last two years. With the rapid growth they experienced, a correction is inevitable. This cooling-off period is only natural as buyers start to scrape the bottoms of their pockets.

For those of you holding properties out in the suburbs, please don’t hit the panic button just yet. Even if we do experience a correction in your market this year, pricing will eventually climb back up. As long as you can hold on for a few years, you’ll come out just fine in the end.

All that said, it’s still early days and we don’t have a crystal ball. It’s possible that the lower activity levels we’ve been experiencing are actually due in large part to March break. Maybe these last couple of weeks have been a fluke. We’ll know more in the coming weeks.

What we can say with some confidence, is that there may be some opportunities to be had for buyers in the near future.

If you would like to discuss your specific situation, let’s talk. We’re always happy to sit down for a coffee and a chat.