What are the home seller expectations in this current real estate market and what has happened to cause a change in their expectations?
The pandemic era housing and real estate market has continued to climb to an all-time high over the past two years. The average selling price recorded this May was $688,208 according to WOWA. The intense demand of homes during the pandemic has made prices skyrocket, creating a seller’s market. Although the market activity was up 103.6% year-over-year, The Canadian Real Estate Association noted a decline in national home sales in May.
Meanwhile, the high demand of homes and a shortage of properties has created chaos. Frantic bidding wars on low valued homes have become out of control. In March 2021, out of 1304 homes sold, 1116 sold at asking price or higher. Likewise, in April 2021 sales were up 245% since April 2020. Evidently, this was the peak of the pandemic market.
Are seller expectations now too High in this current Real Estate Market? Real Estate Sale prices were down 11% in June 2021 with the inventory available dropping to 0.8% which was lower than May 2021. RE/MAX Escarpment Golfi Realty leader Rob Golfi noted that “home seller expectations are being impacted from how things were in previous months”. Golfi stressed how sellers “have pandemic tunnel vision which is preventing people from being able to sell their homes”.
Unfortunately, some realtors are having trouble coaching their clients during this adjustment period. People have become caught up on a neighbour who sold their house for X amount of money a few months ago. Thus, expecting the same outcome regardless of the market shift. Seller Expectation in this current real estate market are definitely higher based on previous market trends.
Although the real estate market isn’t retreating to a stable level, it isn’t continuing to rise to the caliber of earlier months. Home seller expectations are such that “Many are realizing weeks later that they botched a great offer and regret becoming overly confident and unsatisfied with the offers they declined” says Golfi, “it is difficult for sellers to understand that we are now in an adjustment phase of the market”. Ultimately, sellers need to disregard the previous numbers and adjust accordingly. Managing seller expectations continues to be a challenge for many realtors.
All things considered, the real estate market earlier this year is a great memory for those who sold. As for buyers, it will catch up in 12 months and you will see your equity begin to flourish. However, in this moment it is crucial for home sellers to comprehend the shift the real estate market is taking. In order to successfully sell your home, sellers must refrain from being fixated on numbers that are no longer applicable.