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“I feel more comfortable hiring a professional who has been recommended to me,” said just about everyone who’s ever looked for a good accountant, dentist, lawn care company, contractor – you name it.

I suspect that’s no surprise to you.

For obvious reasons, people just naturally feel better about contacting a recommended professional than they do a stranger. These days, more than ever before, people are asking for recommendations, from friends, from neighbours, and on social media.

That’s why I work so hard to ensure people in the communities I serve get to know me and how I can help them sell successfully and find their next dream home.

It’s also why I’m dedicated to continually providing value to the prospects I meet and the wonderful clients with whom I work. This newsletter is just one of the many ways I do that.

So, if you happen to run into someone — a friend or neighbour — who is looking for a trusted real estate agent, I hope you’ll feel comfortable giving them my name.

And I’m happy to return the favour. If you’re looking for a “home-related” professional, such as a contractor, give me a call. Chances are, I’ll know someone that I can recommend.

Thank you in advance for your support.

Are we in for another slow year of real estate activity, or is the market just waiting for the Spring weather to heat up? April is traditionally a busier month for real estate most years, and while April 2024 was certainly not a 'no-activity' type of month, we did see the 3rd fewest sales for the month of April in 2024 in the past 10 years.

This lack of sales, however, means that we are growing our inventory (homes listed for sale) back to a number where a balanced market is potentially sustainable into the future. This is because April 2024, despite a slower than average number of sales, saw a pretty typical number of new homes hit the market.
 With just 1,310 sales in April 2024, we saw a 5% increase compared to March 2024, but a 5% decrease compared to April 2023. This is 20% fewer sales than the 10-year average for April. As mentioned, April 2024 did see an increase in new listings with 3,411 new homes hitting the market. This is a 33% increase compared to March 2024, and a whopping 66% increase compared to April 2023, 24% higher than the 10-year average for the month.

This is all likely still a sign that buyers are waiting for interest rates to drop, as we are seeing normal activity levels from sellers but much hesitation on the buying side.

Despite the slower number of sales and higher number of new listings, we are still in a seller’s market with 24 of every 100 homes listed for sale selling in the month of April 2024. Anything below 12/100 is a buyer’s market, 12-20/100 is a balanced market and 20+/100 makes a seller’s market. If we break this down by property type, we get a bit more detail to where the market is hot and where it is not. Only 17/100 detached homes sold in the month of April, but on the other side of that 38/100 listed townhomes sold making townhomes a strong seller’s market. Condos came in right in the middle with 26/100 condos listed selling.

If we break down the reasoning for the disparity in property types, we can come to a few conclusions. Lower priced properties will generally see more activity as more buyers are able to afford at this price point. Anyone who is able to afford a more expensive home can also afford a lower priced home, but the opposite is not true. Now if this was the only reason, it wouldn’t make sense that townhomes are outperforming condos, so why might this be? Well, if we think about who will be buying townhomes, there are 2 demographics that seem to be the main source of most of the activity. We have people selling their condo and moving up to a townhome as detached homes are not in most people’s affordable column. We also have downsizers selling their detached home and moving into a smaller space and in my experience, townhomes tend to be more of a compromise for those used to living in a larger home for so many years. Add this to the fact that we just have fewer townhomes than we do condos and detached homes, it only makes sense for it to be the most active property type.

Despite the slower activity, now could actually be a great time to make a move happen. If you are just buying into the market, there may not be any big pressure pushing you to get in now, as rates are still high, but if rates do drop, get ready for prices to take off and bidding wars to become the norm. This could make now a more appealing time to make that move happen.

Same thing if you are looking to sell and move up in property type. Now might just be a good time to make that move happen, despite the fact it might take a little longer to sell your home, you will have time and less pressure when purchasing.

If you are just looking to sell your home and not buy back in, the best time to do that will be when it makes sense in your life to do so. We may see rates drop and prices increase, which could net you more money in your pocket, but we don’t know how long we will be waiting for that to happen.