🏡Sales are flat and listings are up, all good news for buyers who are refreshing their realtor.ca app daily looking to see if any of those new listings check the boxes for their dream home.
👀Not only did we see more listings than sales (quite significantly this week) but the total listings jumped again this week to 205. This is the first week since I’ve tracked the statistics that we have ever hit over 200 listings. Way back at the beginning of the year I predicted a healthy spring market would see listings in the 175 range; this was even more than I could ever have predicted. With the increase in supply, it is a double-edged sword, as the sellers who have finally decided to list to experience ‘the crazy bidding wars’ may find that not every house is experiencing the same attention from buyers.
❤️We talk often about ‘like versus love’ properties and how the ones that feel like they are out of a magazine are getting the most attention from buyers and the highest offers on bidding day. This is a perfect example this week where we saw 3 homes sell for over a Million. 2 of them being waterfront homes, and the third just a really nice house with a pool in Moonglow. It is crazy to think that a couple of years ago we were lucky to see 3 houses in an entire year sell for 1M+ and this week we saw 3 sell, and 5 more listings hit the market with that price point.
🌊Chad on our team does a weekly newsletter called Waterfront Wednesdays; where we recap the waterfront market, review new listings and sales and try to cover something unique to waterfront homes (shore road allowance, lake water systems, SLS zoning, etc…). I remember chatting with Chad a few weeks ago when he was scrambling as there were a total of 3 waterfront homes available in all of Sudbury and the surrounding areas. As I sit here writing this we currently have 28 waterfront homes available; 12 of which have popped up in the last 7 days. I am showing a bunch of them later on this afternoon and the conversation I had with my buyer looking is ‘wow what’s going on with all the waterfront listings’. With May 24 weekend upon us, this weekend we are at the unofficial start of summer and we typically see an increase in waterfront homes as of this weekend. Usually, it's encouraged by couples enjoying friends' homes and camps on the lake, and they get excited about the prospect of enjoying that life for themselves. I remember it happening to my wife and I, 6 years ago, and shortly after we had our dream spot on the lake!
🤔My overall feeling for the marketplace is that there is a disconnect between the numbers and the activity that is happening. We see more listings coming out, which should pump the breaks on the activity and put power back into the hands of the buyers. That doesn’t seem to be happening, I think some of it is the mindset that buyers are in. They wanted to be moving into their home for the Summer, and they were prepared to buy in the spring market. Finding themselves in the heart of the spring market, they are ok to pay the premiums if it means they get the house in the timeline they want. In a typical year, we would find the spring market slow down at the end of June when kids are out of school and parents take their holidays to go camping and travelling. In our second COVID summer, we won’t be doing much travelling, so I don’t see lifestyle causing a slowdown in the market but the continued increase in supply has to work its way into slowing down the market eventually. That being said...don’t expect a drop off a cliff! Expect an easing into a slowdown in the marketplace.
I am so excited to enjoy some family time this weekend. We have golf courses opening back up, sports facilities, and tennis courts too for anyone looking to get their sweat on! I love the May long weekend, and I hope you are enjoying it with your family bubble in a safe and fun way!
