We are experiencing a seller’s market here in Kitchener Waterloo. It’s like Toronto has spilled over into our otherwise calm and peaceful region. It has become a frenzy of panicked activity. Buyers are rushing around trying to see everything and get an offer in on everything and anything. It has become a competition to be there fast, first, and to take that business off the street.
For sellers, this means their home listed correctly, should sell in days (or hours) not weeks or months.
How did we get here?
I don’t know. It seems weird that the market is so out of whack. It is a combination of demographic, economics, government monetary policy, world markets, low interest rates, European bond markets, Asian money markets, world trade… Last year was completely different. Last year in KW, it was a “move up” market. A lot of our sales were driven by folks moving from their first home to their second, moving from a three bedroom 2000 square foot home in Laurelwood, to a four bedroom 3000 square foot home in Beechwood, from a condo to a detached home, from a 30 foot lot in Activa to an almost acre in St, Agatha.
This year the “move up” folks are having a hard time moving on up, as they can’t find anything to buy. Since they can’t find anything to buy, they can’t sell, and since they can’t sell, they buyers for their homes are unable to buy them. The pressure is building up. It is like popcorn in a pot. One is going to go and it is going to be shoot match out there. Bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang bang.
So, is this a good time to sell?
The time is now, next week or February 1, 2016
You can’t time the market. I like to say, it’s always a good time to buy or sell (if you have/find the right property). However this year is different. Inventory is low. Buyers are eager. Buyers are competing with each other. Prices are rising.
But don’t rush in. The pundits were predicting this late last year and then they were also saying that the market will balance out in the summertime. Now, they are saying this craziness will continue not only through the end of this year but into the next two years!
I hate to tell you that you have so much time to get your house ready, and that prices are rising. I hate to tell you that because I have a bevy of buyers and they are beginning to get a little crazy.
