Over the past couple years (especially last year) many people made thousands of dollars selling their homes in a booming market. Many home owners hadn't even thought of selling their homes but when they saw how much money their neighbours were getting they decided to cash in, and listed their properties much higher than they could have in a slower market. Many agents also cashed in, loads of people joined real estate broker offices and made money just by being there, homes were being listed and sold so fast. Owners and agents had a very, very good 2007!
Yes, those times are gone, the market has slowed. Don't get me wrong, the market has not stopped, in fact it's still quite healthy. Prices have not gone down, in fact, the average home price in Oakville for June 2008 has gone up approximately $30,000. The number of days that a home is on market has lengthened from 31 days in 2007 to 34 days in 2008 for the month of June. Gas prices are on the rise and we all hear, watch and read about what is happening in the US on a daily basis. All of these things have an effect on people and their own perceptions of what is to come.
Let's look at the hard data I mentioned above - the prices are healthy and positive, but the days on market are getting longer. When I look at the market, read the data and analyze everything I see that the market is trying to balance out and become "normal" again after an especially stunning year (2007). 2008 looks as though it will be more of a 2005/2006 market - which both years had been considered record highs until 2007 came along. My heart goes out to all of those that are facing foreclosure in the US, but those lows will not become our own. We are not built the way the US real estate market is built.
"Still, Toronto's weak numbers look especially dramatic because they compare with record highs in "a phenomenal year" last year, Dunning said. And sales are still higher than in 2006 and 2005, which also were record years before 2007 left them in the dust." SOURCE: yourhome.ca/homes/article/445655
This is the time to be realistic about the price of your home, don't look to gain thousands of dollars more than you should, more than the market wants. The last thing you want is for your home to sit on the market for weeks only to have to lower your price to stimulate interest from the buying market...often it's too late by then and unfortunately people take this to mean that something is wrong with your home. Remember the people who really decide you're your home is worth are the buyers. Work with an agent, they can offer you so much more value in this market. They have the access and knowledge that you will need to move forward. Staging is also an extremely important thing right now, spend the extra money to repaint, garden, clean the carpet, etc. All of these things will bring you exactly what you want - to sell your home at the good value and move on happily with as little stress as possible.
