A COLLECTIVE SIGH IN THE MARKET

That wind we experienced in our area earlier this week? That was the real estate market doing a collective sigh! 

Another incredible week of real estate in Guelph and the surrounding region. In fact, this past week sales were 18.5% better than the same week in 2019.  I’ll let that sink in for a minute or two.  

Not only were sales better than last year, the 64 homes sold this past week were also on the market less days (14 vs. 17), and had a median sales price of $632,500, compared to $549,950 for the same week last year!  The icing on this cake was that homeowners also achieved 99.8% of their list price. Impressive numbers for any market, even more so as we are still coming to terms with re-opening our economy.  

Great news right? 

It is, as long as the rest of the economy continues to pick up where it left off. In a perfect world, we all had a 100 day vacation and now it’s time to pick up where we left off.  I wish it is going to be that simple.  

I’ve been watching the commercial leases and properties in our area closely these past few weeks.  I’m curious to see what and who opens up at the first opportunity, and who is staying shuttered.  There’s been a lot of locked and papered space coming onto the market.  We’ve heard about the high profile national chain closures: Pier 1 Imports shut down 400+ stores, Victoria’s Secret 238 stores, Bose closed all of their 24 Canadian stores, Bench 24 Canadian Stores, Addition Elle all stores, and Links of London too closed all Canadian stores. 

Around town there have been a number of independent retail stores and restaurants closing their doors as well. 

The question ultimately is how much can be attributed to COVID-19 vs other issues, such as the move to online stores.  There’s probably a lot of overlap between the two issues, with the pandemic being the tipping point for a lot of companies that were teetering on the cliff edge. 

Some would argue that this cull in the retail landscape was long overdue.  Possibly, though these are jobs and incomes that many use to support mortgage and rent payments.  The true test in my mind is what happens with our manufacturing and tech industries as the rollout continues.  Will these parts of the economy swing back to action or will there be closures and job losses to follow as well? 

I’m trying to not pour water on this positive news.  The pragmatic character in me says we need to be a little cautious as this could just be the calm before the next wave of COVID-19 hits and pulls even more wind out of our economic sails.  

Your course of action if you are a buyer or a seller will all depend on your own personal risk tolerance.  I’ve talked to many people over the past few weeks about their real estate goals and plans.  The mood is split about 50/50 between those that are going to continue to sit back and monitor the market and those that are ready to jump back in with both feet.  I’m hoping we can find that comfortable middle and smooth sailing.  

What do you think the outcome is going to be?

Enjoy the weekend and Happy Canada Day to you and your family.

 

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