March 11, 2022

CONSISTENCY

Uncertainty and inconsistency are two words we’re hearing frequently to describe the local real estate market.

Inconsistency, in that some homes are not getting the attention as expected, and offer night has few offers (and sometimes, no one shows up). Yet other properties are still seeing multiple offers and big numbers over list price. And the kicker: there doesn’t appear to be any sort of logic to this.

I know a number of agents that have taken to pricing their new listings closer to a realistic selling price, trying to avoid the frustration brought on by dramatic underpricing and overbidding. But it seems the buyers aren’t “buying” the message sent, and avoid these properties thinking they are still going to sell well over list. There is a lot of head scratching going on as everyone tries to anticipate the signals and the intentions.

I’ve seen these conditions a few times over the decades I’ve been in this market, and that means there are opportunities out there. As the next few weeks unfold, buyer and seller expectations and strategies are going to keep evolving. Some will overreact, others will be oblivious to the subtle changes.

Smart agents and their clients are combing through the market right now, looking for the opportunities in buying and selling as conditions start to change one way or the other.

The uncertainty and inconsistency in our market is due in large part to factors that no one has control over. It will be interesting to see if these current conditions are the early warning of a course correction in the real estate market (which we discussed in a previous post, Is Now the Time to Take Risks?).

Whether you perceive this as the precursor to a market correction or the market taking a breather before charging ahead again will depend on how you perceive the external conditions as threats or opportunities.

Time will tell!

We’re on the cusp of another milestone with our weekly blog. Next week’s issue is #300, which means we’ve been posting for 300 weeks in a row!

One of the things we coach our team is consistency. We are like most people in that we all want instant gratification, and it takes effort to build good routines and habits that help us live the lives we want. So the habits and consistency we’ve grown with this blog have, in our opinion, helped us provide a better real estate experience to our clients.

When we started this blog, we weren’t thinking more than a few months in advance because we weren’t sure how it would be received or if we could even build an audience. There were many weeks where we struggled to even write a paragraph, and I’m pretty sure many of those earlier posts weren’t pretty to read. I’ll be the first to admit I’m no Hemmingway, but I do feel we have covered some important topics over the years and helped our readers build a better understanding of the local real estate market and beyond.

Today we’re looking forward to the next milestones, building the audience beyond our current level of 2,000 readers, and continuing to bring value to our readers by way of market education and continued access to active and sold housing data.

Stay tuned for next week’s 300th issue, and thank you for subscribing.

THE PAST WEEK IN THE GUELPH REAL ESTATE MARKET

Take a look at the full key week comparison:

REAL THE FULL

FEBRUARY 2022 MARKET REPORT

This report includes:

Market analysis & neighbourhood breakdown for Guelph
Sales stats for all Guelph home types
Township comparisons: Puslinch, Guelph/Eramosa, and Centre Wellington
Full home type breakdowns for Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge

READ THE FULL REPORT

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