As you may have noticed, The Quebec real estate market is shifting. With rising interest rates, more and more homes coming up for sale and insecurity for the future, sales have slowed in almost every neighbourhood and a strong decrease in sale price average is being seen across the board, as much as 16% in some neighbourhoods!
From a listing broker stand point, and working in many neighbourhoods, something I’ve seen lately that really grinds my gears is hesitation. Week after week I have listings that are priced aggressively but for some reason buyers are hesitant to make the move, my clients then decide to reduce their price by 50,000$ and BOOM, we end up in a bidding war with the same buyers that were hesitant just a week ago willing to pay more than what we are asking for!
Great news for my sellers right? This article isn’t meant to gloat about certain sales, What I’m really aiming for here is to understand WHY buyers are hesitant, the same buyer that could have gotten the home for a $50,000 rebate, willingly decided to pay 20-25,000$ more for the same home? By the way, this wasn’t a one-off. After speaking to some of my collaborators, they all seem to be experiencing the same market condition.
My advice to buyers right now:
Stop waiting, There is a clear and evident change in the real estate markets locally and province wide, as brokers we are communicating this to our sellers that are having a hard time with their sale. Again, stop waiting and take advantage of a home without any offers on it. Take the leap of faith that is needed and have your broker communicate with the listing broker and see what type of offer would be tolerated.
My next piece of advice: It’s not the end of the world and sellers are probably not willing to lose 200,000$. Be realistic when making offers on homes that have been sitting on the market for a while and look at statistics that are available to you. Discuss the comparables with your broker and act accordingly. Don’t be afraid to make the move, worst case? The seller refuses your offer.
The famous saying don’t wait to buy real estate, buy real estate and wait could never ring more true. Opportunities are all around you, you just have to put yourself out there and grab them!
