February Time

February Market

by Darrin DeRoches March 8 - 14, 2012

The results are in for the real estate market of Hamilton for the month of February.     The REALTORS® Association of Hamilton–Burlington (RAHB) reported 1126 property sales through the RAHB Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) for the month of February, a 4.9 percent increase in sales over the same month last year. RAHB also reported a 9.2 percent increase in average sale price and an 8.3 percent increase in the number of new listings in the month of February this year compared to February of last year.     Seasonally adjusted sales of all property types were virtually the same as February 2011, with the average sale price increasing 7.9 percent for the month. Seasonally adjusted numbers of new listings, however, were 14.5 percent lower from the same month last year     So here we are again for the second month in a row with a great increase in price but a large glut in the market for listings. This low listing is creating the increase in sale price. A client of ours bought a property last week for a great price and in the week we took to arrange our financing the property still had interest and another buyer wanted to put in a “back up offer” in case we did not fulfill our conditions. This goes to show you that it is a sellers’ market– big time! The property needs work but the location is good and the price was high but we knocked it down into reality. The seller probably hoped we did not fulfill our conditions since she probably would have had a higher offer from the second interested party. Back up offers usually do not happen but in a sellers’ market with low listings agents have to be careful who the sign up with.      If a buyer has a ton of conditions or worse yet has a house to sell, you should not “tie up” your property right now. A great agent would negotiate a deal on the house with a clause that they must remove conditions within 48 hours (or less) if they have a second offer pending. You cannot take a second offer once you have agreed with the original offer, but the market is so low on listings and if you are about to list a property that is in good condition and a good area you must take the market conditions into consideration. Properly marketing a property in today’s market – which will change in the coming weeks – is vital to getting a sale or becoming a “forgotten property” in the spring market. I drove by a property today on the way home with a sold sign on it. It had been on the market for at least four months and was getting pretty stale but since there is very little competition it found a buyer. Market conditions and timing is just as important as location and price. If your property has not sold in the last 60 days someone is not marketing it properly or the price is way too high, since your competition is selling for a 9.2 percent increase in February.  V         Darrin DeRoches is a local real estate and mortgage broker. He can be reached to answer questions, comments or stories about real estate experiences through this weekly column at mail@uniquerealty.ca.