Since the beginning of 2023, there have been a lot more buyers in the market than there have been sellers. This resulted in a substantial number of homes selling at great prices, often with multiple offers. This was in contrast to last fall where some of the same houses were not seeing any activity. By early this year buyers seemed to have recovered from the shock of higher interest rates and jumped back into the market in significant numbers. Prices gradually started to recover month by month. While we are still down from our record highs of early Spring 2022, a lot of the losses seen later in 2022 have been regained. For six straight months the prices have gradually increased. May's statistics show a very rosy picture for sellers BUT the numbers can lie and it seems we may have had a shift after the long weekend.
Up until the 3rd week of May, there were very few new listings coming onto the market each week. Real estate is of course based on supply and demand. Buyers were willing to get into bidding wars and pay higher than they would have liked to, because they had no choice if they wanted to buy. Having said that, in the 7 days following the May long weekend, we saw a significant uptick in new listings. In one neighbourhood there were 15 new detached house listings in a 7 day period-after months of almost no new listings each week-diminishing the likelihood of bidding wars for sellers. The numbers lag in real estate so this change was not reflected in the May numbers but definitely noticeable "on the ground". If new listings keep this pace we will likely see another market shift coming up. This shift will likely favour buyers to the detriment of sellers...supply and demand.
In May we saw:
-sales were UP 15.7% from May 2022
-sales were still 1.4% lower than the 10-year average for May
-the number of homes listed for sale was DOWN 11.5% when compared with May 2022
-the number of homes newly listed for sale was 4.3% below the 10-year average
-there were 10.5% fewer homes on the market at the end of May 2023 than there were in May 2022
-detached home sales were UP 30.7% from May 2022
-the benchmark price was down 6.7% when compared to May 2022; HOWEVER it was UP 1.1% when compared to a month earlier, April 2023
While sales are up year over year, and prices have continued to climb slowly, we don't know how long the price increases will last as more listings are (finally) coming on the market after 6 months where there was very little for buyers to buy. Lack of supply and high demand have fueled price increases over the past 6 months. Increases in supply, if significant, could reverse that trend.
Obtaining the highest price for your home requires a specific set of skills, and a well thought out strategy that corresponds to what is happening in the market. In a market that may be on the verge of another transition, these skills and the appropriate strategy are even more important.
If you would like to discuss the current market and how you could benefit from it, or if you would just like to know what is happening in the market or what your home is worth, I would be happy to meet with you to discuss. Feel free to contact me to book an appointment.