One of the first things I learned when I started my Real Estate career is that the one law that governs most of how the housing market works is the “Law of Supply and Demand.”

It is a line that is so commonly used so let’s look into what it really means;

Law of Supply and Demand – Real estate prices are determined by the relationship between the supply of homes available for sale and the number of willing, able, and motivated buyers competing to purchase them. 

In simpler terms, when supply increases and demand remains the same, prices decline. When supply and demand increases prices stay the same and when demand increases and supply drops, prices increase.

We saw this happen in 2020 where in Oshawa at one point there were only 18 detached houses for sale with multiple Buyers competing for each and every one of them.

Here is where we are in Durham region compared to 5 years ago.

Month/Year Homes for Sale Homes sold 

August 2021 | 477 1,048

August 2026 | 2,467 602

Even if we jump back to a decade ago in August 2011 we had 2,251 homes for sale with 815 monthly sales. We are in a market where getting a  home sold is challenging.

The question comes up, in an economy such as we have today often – “how do I get my home to stand out when competing with so many others?” Here are a few thoughts.

1.  The first thing is to identify the competition in your area/ price range and the type of home  you have. Using a tracking form we use called an Absorption Chart, you can see things such as this. In Whitby homes priced between $950,000 – $1,000,000 are competing with  28 homes for sale, with 4 sold in the past month. This means there is 7 months of inventory on the market. If you look below that at homes in the $900,000 – $950,000 range there were 13 sales out of 29 homes for sale. The time to sell drops to just over 2 months. Pricing within ranges will either help of decrease the chances of selling.
2. Online presence. A quick check on new listing showed that about half of them have no virtual tours and some with pictures taken with phones. When homes become harder to get noticed, it is the time to increase the marketing and create a marketing package that causes a home to stand out above the rest.
3. For sale sign.This should not have to be covered however some Sellers object to a sign in the yard. Many Buyers tour neighborhoods looking to see, in real life, what homes look like. One of the best calls an agent can receive is a sign call.
4. Open Houses. Again, a basic technique however with so many Buyers coming from Toronto or Mississauga, they tend to wander out on the weekends with open houses having accounted for many of our sales over the past few years.
5. Price. Any home will sell at a “give-away” price. However finding the price that causes the home to stand out is a challenge. In a market where values are stable it is easier to determine a market value price however in an unsettled market where prices are slipping finding a price that causes the home to stand out can be a challenge. One analogy I learned years ago talked about how a “Slinky” goes down a set of stairs. The only way to stop it is to get in front of it. This is similar to pricing homes in a declining market – one of the ways of getting a home sold is to get in front of the prices declining. Meaning pricing it below the competitors.

Getting a home noticed in a soft market can be a real challenge. Many of the agents working today have never experienced a market like this one. Having worked through more than a few difficult markets over the past 40 years, I have learned that the basics matter more than ever: price the home at or below market value, make it look its absolute best through staging, professional photography and 3D tours, and create every opportunity for buyers to see it, including open houses.

None of these things guarantees a sale, but together they dramatically improve the odds. In a crowded market, doing less is usually how a home disappears into the noise.

If  you would like to get 40 years of experience behind you I can be reached at lindsay@buyselllove.ca or 905-743-5555