TURN SIGNALS

In an interesting turn, the Guelph real estate market has started to thaw over the past week. Last week we reported single digit sales (six homes sold) in the city and less than 100 sales in the regional urban centres. This week there was a remarkable increase to 29 sales in Guelph and 109 sales throughout the region (Guelph, Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo urban areas).  This puts the production in Guelph at 71% of the sales reported the same week in 2019.  Last year at this time we reported that April had been a slow month; poor weather and lacklustre market conditions had postponed the spring market by a few weeks.  This year, the pandemic has certainly pushed thoughts of spring real estate off the front burner.  

THE WEEK IN REVIEW

All things considered, this past week’s sales showed remarkable resilience as the Median numbers illustrate.  

The median home sold in Guelph last week was a 1,274 square foot, 3 bed, 2 bath home that sold for $524,900 or $392.57/sqft, took 15 days to sell, and sellers achieved 98.85% of their list price.  We even had 38% of the homes sold this week surpass list price.  Not bad at all for pandemic conditions.

Compare those numbers to the same week of last year, where the median home sold for $520,000 or $366.58/sqft, took 17 days to sell, and sellers achieved 99.17% of their original list price. 41 homes sold during the same week in 2019 and 46% of those homes sold at or above list price. At the height of a frozen market, prices have not retreated significantly!

You can find our report from last year here: APRIL 2019 HOUSING MARKET STATS

Why the difference in the last two weeks?

Two weeks ago we were still very much dealing with rising levels of COVID-19 infections and higher death rates.  This past week we’ve seen some positive news on the pandemic front, and I believe more of the people that were mid-stream on their real estate journey came back to the real estate market.   

Typically this time of year will see a large number of estate sales and we saw a number of those hit the market in the past few weeks.  Vacant homes, and homes where sellers could “disappear” for a week or two are much easier to manage and sell in the current conditions. 

A combination of people still needing to buy and sell along with some positive news that we have planked the infection curve means people are starting to venture back into the market.  

Is it business as usual? 

Not in the least!  In fact, a phrase that has been the underlying tone of most of our conversations these last few weeks has been “this is not business as usual”.  Real estate has usually been a bit of a contact sport, especially in the hot seller’s market of late.  Packed open houses; showings stacked on top of each other so that homes were often packed with potential buyers; agents that, at the drop of a hat, were prepared to run out and show a home to complete strangers that merely called on a listing.  Continuation of these practices today would be irresponsible and dangerous.  

What’s changed and how will that affect the Guelph real estate market?  

Our brokerage, like a few others, has transitioned to a more virtual selling environment.  We are now hosting virtual open houses where our team of REALTORS® will guide you through a home in real time online.  We have 3D tours of homes, complete with floor plans, and of course, most listings have 30-50 photos for you to examine.  It’s not quite the same as walking through in person, but technology has allowed us to bring more of the house to you.  That said, we don’t expect you to buy your next home without seeing it.  In a number of cases, offers are being negotiated on homes and the parties have agreed that the sale is conditional upon the buyer inspecting and viewing the home.  In a more normal market, most homes were sold conditional upon a buyer’s inspection.  We’ve merely combined the two for now. 

One of the benefits sellers are starting to enjoy is that the constant need to keep the home in showroom condition, almost impossible if you can’t leave, is no longer necessary. The home is staged, photographed and filmed to show the house in the best conditions. Buyers interested in the home are required to view all the digital material in advance of any showings, if showings are being allowed at all.  This is likely one of the more permanent changes I expect to see in the real estate market moving forward. 

This past week we released an interview with Dr. Ben Fregeau, a local emergency room physician. It’s part of our Talking to the Experts series of webinars we’ve been running the past few weeks. You can view this conversation as well as past weeks’ webinars here: TALKING TO THE EXPERTS: Dr. Ben Fregeau

In that interview, we got a first hand look at how Guelph is dealing with COVID-19, and a first-hand account of what it was like to become infected with COVID-19 and recover from it.  Dr. Fregeau indicated that the preventative measures taken at all levels has certainly allowed us to weather this pandemic better than others.  However, he did caution that we can’t expect to see life returning to “normal” in the span of the next few weeks. This will be a gradual process, and you won’t see crowded streets or events anytime soon.

Real estate will be one of the industries affected by policies that will limit the number of people congregating.  You can expect to see Realtors wanting to know who they are dealing with a lot more than in the past.  Whether we like it or not, I anticipate that we will have to be able to trace activities and personal contact with others once we open the economy backup for business, even with social distancing being practiced.  Even with open house restrictions, the potential of being exposed to asymptomatic carriers increases once people start coming back to the real estate market.  

Expect a lot more scrutiny, precautions and yes, even wash stations, when it comes to going through homes.

Our spring market might make a mid-summer appearance, and it could take some time for sales to fully rebound.  However, the Guelph real estate market is like our community — strong, vibrant and able to bounce back from any setback.  

Stay tuned as we continue to watch market conditions and trends and will keep you fully informed. 

Thanks for reading. 

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LOCAL BUSINESS WE LOVE

On a positive note this week, we wanted to share with our readers a fantastic initiative by a local business:

Alpine Print Shop is selling t-shirts featuring unique designs by local artists, and donating $10 from each purchase to the local community group/small business of your choice! Check them out at supportlocal.alpineprintcompany.com

Featured Property

54 Carrington Place, Guelph

3 BED | 2.5 BATH | 1,647 SQ FT

Location is truly the key to this beautiful property, nestled away on quiet a street in Guelph's south end and boasting a lush and private backyard that backs onto Preservation Park. You will love the layout of this bright & airy family home, perfect for gathering. This might just be your family's next dream home!
View this home virtually & contact listing agents for more information.

Listed by: Christianne Child & Terra White, Home Group Realty

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