Viewing the future and the Autumn Market

by Shawn Lackie

It would be easy to speculate the autumn market is going to be crazy and all the buyers/sellers which have been sitting on the sidelines will now rush in and satisfy their craving. Not so fast. Buyers and sellers are treading a little more cautiously these days.

Those wacky days of 2021 and 2022 are firmly in the rear-view mirror. Need proof? In August, only 13 percent of Durham neighbourhoods were in overbidding territory, down from 27 percent in July and 52 percent in June. An additional 10 percent were selling at asking while 77 percent were selling below list price. These are rare numbers given what we have been through the last few years.

In August Scugog was in the Top-10 for underbidding areas in Durham. Haven’t seen that for a few years. The Median sold price was $820,000 per unit. Again, those numbers are in stark contrast to what we have see the last few years.

So what does that mean for buyers and sellers? We just saw the second consecutive cut in the Bank of Canada lending rate. There will be at least one more and possibly two before year end. That should get buyers and sellers off the fence if they have been waiting for some good news in the lending area.

People aren’t readily sucked in these days. They want to stretch the dollar a little further. And the crazy exodus of buyers wanting into the area seems to have a least moderated. That part of the market will bounce back for sure.

Hey, who wouldn't want to live in Port or the surrounding area? It’s a super place and close to all amenities.

The average selling price in Scugog was just over a million dollars per unit. That’s down slightly from July but is still one of the strongest in the Durham Region. There were 53 new listings in August which was a 14 percent increase so it would seem things are starting to pick up.

Here’s the thing. If any agent, or anyone for that matter, told you they knew exactly what was going on in the market they are full of beans. The Real Estate market been running in cycles for decades and won’t stop now. I’ve always advised clients as long as you buy and sell in the same market you should be OK. Some things never change.