Market Looks Good

MARKETS LOOK GOOD

by Darrin DeRoches September 10-16,2009

The Hamilton–Burlington area resale market had a total of 1,133 units sold in the month of August 2009, which is an increase of 16 per cent from August 2008. The year to date is about 4.5 per cent lower than last year, but we have four months to go. The last two months are higher than last year’s ‘record sales’ and the number of houses on the market right now is 8.6 per cent lower than last year. So what does this mean? The experts are saying that we are in a buyer’s market, but with an 8.6 per cent lower listing rate than last year and higher sales in the month, shouldn’t we be in a seller’s market? This is the problem with listening to what the experts have to say: they are usually saying what we want to hear. Once the media decides to write about the market, it has already changed. I have clients looking for property right now and there really is not a lot to show them in the $180,000 mark. September is usually a good month for real estate, but with the late long weekend and the late school start, people have not made their moves. If you are thinking of selling, make your move! I had a listing this month that was around the 200 mark it and sold for just under two per cent below its asking price. It was only on the market for about 10 days, it was priced right and bang, bang, boom, sold! This home was not staged, painted or decluttered. It was clean, solid and priced right. We had a lot of competition in the same area and price range though they are either in need of repair or overpriced. When I was showing my client homes to buy in the 180s I received follow ups from almost every agent; they said their homes are not selling for many different reasons. There are a great deal of low quality or overpriced homes out there sitting. Basically competition is weak and if you put out a good product right now you will be able to beat the competition. There are buyers out there in today’s market looking for the right property; maybe yours is the one. On the mortgage front, some lenders have decreased their requirements. They have lowered the beacon score to the low 600s, so if you were thinking about buying but were unable to be pre–approved in the last six months, you should go back to your mortgage broker and try again. They are not as easy as they were eight months ago, but they have loosened up a bit, and remember to look at a 35 year mortgage if you are unable to qualify for the standard 25 year. Money is still cheap to get and prices are relatively low, so get in the market while the getting is good! V [DARRIN DEROCHES] 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.