It’s hard to believe that summer is coming to an end. Back-to-school shopping is in full swing, university students are settling into their dorms, and the evenings are becoming cooler. Another sure sign that autumn is coming is the acceleration of activity in the GTA real estate market.
Year after year, the busiest times of the year for Realtors are the spring and fall markets. This year, however, the fall market may represent a particularly good opportunity for buyers—an opportunity that may not present itself again anytime in the near future.
If you Google “fall real estate market in the GTA,” you’ll be inundated with countless articles and opinions. Some will tell you prices are going to fall, while others will predict that prices are about to rise. It can be difficult to separate fact from speculation.
The reality is, there are no definitive answers. As far as I know, we still haven’t figured out a way to see into the future. The best we can do is look at the data we have, interpret what we’re seeing, and make educated predictions.
Based on what I’m seeing in the market, it is becoming increasingly evident that prices have stabilized and are showing early signs of moving upward. To put it bluntly: if you’re planning to purchase a property, now may be the time to act.
I expect that by next spring, prices will be higher and competition among buyers will be more consistent. If that happens, the balance of leverage will begin to shift back toward sellers. Right now, the market is still slightly in favour of buyers, but that appears to be changing day by day. My suspicion is that by the middle of September, we will be in a much more balanced market.
Of course, a lot of buyers believe that if the market is in their favour, they should be able to purchase the home they want for a rock-bottom price. That simply isn’t the case.
Sellers aren’t that desperate. Yes, there are deals to be found, and buyers have more negotiating power than they did in a stronger seller’s market. But sellers are not giving their homes away.
Interestingly, one of the most common questions we’re hearing these days is, “Should I wait until the spring to list my house?”
Our answer is always the same: waiting for market conditions to swing completely in your favour is a risk.
We can never say with certainty what the economy—or the real estate market—will look like four, five, or six months from now. There are simply too many variables. What we do know is that there are buyers in the market today who are ready to purchase.
And that’s the point.
You can spend months trying to predict what the market will do, or you can make decisions based on the opportunities that exist right now. For buyers, there is still leverage. For sellers, there are still qualified buyers looking for the right property.
The fall market is here. The question is: are you ready to take advantage of it?
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