According to CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation), the real estate continues to recover. In the recently released Fall Housing Market Outlook, CMHC predicted that a recovery for the Ontario real estate market, that is already underway, will continue in 2019. After hitting record levels of activity in 2016, Ontario existing homes sales hit a trough in the second quarter of 2018 and are now slowly recovering. “We expect home sales to continue trending higher before easing by 2020, the report stated. “Some prospective buyers sitting on the sidelines early this year will be re-entering the market as they slowly adjust to tighter mortgage market conditions”.
The lagged effects of a strong job market and high levels of in-migration will continue supporting existing home demand before eroding affordability and a slower economy dampen housing demand by 2020”. Sounds like 2019 will be a good year to sell. Keep in mind that this prediction is for Ontario. Guelph’s real estate market tends to be stronger than the Ontario average because of strong employment, demand from GTA buyers and as we all know, Guelph is an awesome place to live!
The city of Guelph had 163 sales in October which was an increase of 7.5% from October of last year. The average sale price for Guelph homes was $493,981. On average, sellers received 99.4% of their asking price and 38% of MLS sales sold for full price or more. The median days on market was only 18 days. October was a busy month for Guelph real estate and there were a lot of happy sellers. Guelph’s numbers echo the CMHC report of a recovering real estate market.
Buyers: A recent article in Inman News called December THE month to get a good deal on a house and December 26 as THE best day to get a good deal. I don’t know many people who go house shopping on boxing day but I have witnessed some good December buys over the years. Sellers aren’t crazy about the prospect of still having their home on the market in the new year and many other buyers are too busy with the holidays to give you competition.
Sellers: Let’s face it, December is a slow month for real estate but it’s not a total lost cause. Buyers looking for homes in December tend to be serious and your home will look great decorated for the holidays. Well priced homes that show well, shouldn’t find it difficult to attract an offer this month.
Dean Manton is your Guelph and area real estate expert. Put Dean’s experience and market knowledge to work for you!
