In the past week, Oshawa had 57 properties sell and of those homes, 27 sold for over the asking price. This would indicate that over 50% of the properties sold had multiple bids. It looks like little has changed however when we in dig a bit, we can see that the market slowing down has had an impact on strategy.
Of the homes that sold for more than the asking price, several of them sold for $200,000 over what they were listed for. The strategy has changed whereby some Agents will list a home at a crazy low price expecting to cause a bidding contest and in one case the home sold for $240,000 over the asking price.
Over the past several decades the average home in Durham Region sold for around 99% of the asking. This means a home listed at $800,000 would end up selling for around $792,000, leaving a little “wiggle room” in the asking price for a Buyer to negotiate. By setting the asking price several hundred thousand dollars under the real value, it ends up looking like the Seller won the lottery, but in many cases, the home sold for what it was worth.
As an active Realtor, I keep my eyes on the how the list prices to sale prices are trending. These are the statistics that typically make the headlines however to effectively read trending there are a few different metrics that help me determine the direction the market is heading. One of the reporting numbers we have seen growing over the past few months is conditional sales. In 2020 and 2021 most of the homes that were sold, due to the low inventory, were sold with no home inspection conditions or finance conditions. As the market has normalized, we are seeing conditional offers being accepted by Sellers. Over the past 2 weeks in Oshawa, Whitby and Clarington, there have been 233 properties sold firm, (without conditions) along with 147 properties sold conditionally. Conditional offers offer protection to not only the Buyer, knowing that the lender is willing to commit to a mortgage but also to know any issues the property may have, they also benefit the Seller as they are assured that the Buyer is committed to completing the sale.
Price changes. This metric really is a barometer that speaks volumes about how the market is feeling. Price changes can be homes that have increased their prices or decreased their expectations. When a home has a price increase it can mean that the Seller/Agent tried to start a bidding contest and failed which increased the price to what the Seller really wanted. Price decreases indicate a Seller reacting to the market falling in value making an enticement to a Buyer to move quickly.
Terminations. These are properties that have been taken off the market. In many cases, these properties are re-introduced to the market at the same price or an increased/decreased price. It is a strategy (similar to a price increase or decrease) indicating a pricing mistake was made on the first attempt. In the past 14 days 169, homes were terminated with almost all of them coming back as new listings. Unfortunately, these properties returning to the market as new listings give the false impression there is a flood of new properties coming for sale.
Understanding the local statistics on how Real Estate is moving is critical to know the direction that the market is moving and can save a Seller or Buyer time, frustration and possibly thousands of dollars.
If you are interested in how knowing these numbers can help you to understand either selling or buying a property, I can be reached at lindsay@buyselllove.ca