By Shawn Lackie
As we enter a new year, hopes and expectations ride high on all sorts of things. Resolutions, better health, more positive attitude and so forth. There is also an expectation, in the Real Estate world, things will improve, and justifiably so.
2024 was a brutal year for most realtors and real estate companies. Despite the rosy picture constantly being painted, the business had returned to the darker ages for sales.
Things started to turn when Tiff Macklem and the Bank of Canada (BOC) started cutting interest rates. Three cuts in a row certainly helped things. Inflation finally came down, to around 2 percent, which is what they wanted.
So, now all eyes are looking to the end of January, when two notable things will happen. One involves the instalment of a certain president, south of us, and the other is the next rate announcement from the Bank of Canada. Both will have a huge impact, on just where things are headed, in the buy and sell of homes.
Another rate cut would certainly be a push, to get buyers off the sidelines, and if the threatened tariffs come from the U.S. that could also push interest rates down further, as the BOC tries to head off a possible inflation, as a direct result of said tariffs.
More will be needed than that, though. Sellers will need to realize it’s not 2019 or 2020. Buyers will not pay the crazy prices they did during the pandemic to escape the confines of the big city. In other words, things are becoming a little more realistic.
I did a scan of available properties with houses, not just of vacant land, on January 1st, to see what things looked like in Scugog, starting off the new year. I have to admit, I wasn’t shocked but was somewhat surprised. Of the 50 listings I saw, the one with the longest days on market was 294 days and the one with the fewest was two days. The 50 listings averaged 66.16 days on market. Which is the barometer to determine whether it’s a buyer’s market or a seller’s market.
It used to be, one to two months would be considered a seller’s market. All of which changed with Covid. Houses were selling in a matter of weeks, days or even what seemed like hours. There's no surprise here, the Buyers are now getting the leg up. Once 'days on market' crosses the two month time frame it becomes more of a buyer’s market.
This is where sellers need to realize, if they want to really sell their place, they need to be more aggressive in pricing. You are either ON the market or IN the market. There is a huge difference there. need to embrace the power of toques, snowshoes and shovels. Snowstorm preparedness would involve hot chocolate stockpiles and sledding strategies. Southern states might struggle, but snowmen in Florida would become an instant tourist attraction.
The union of these two nations would be a comedic masterpiece. A little politeness, a love of poutine, and a dedication to hockey could make the dream of a ‘United Canmerica’ truly entertaining.
Jonathan van Bilsen is a television host, award winning photographer, published author, columnist and keynote speaker. Watch his show, ‘The Jonathan van Bilsen Show’, on RogersTV, the Standard Website and YouTube and follow his adventures at photosNtravel.com
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