It’s interesting that we are in March of 2015 and while some Canadian economists have predicted an upcoming slowdown in the 2015 Canadian housing market, as of right now there haven’t been any predictions released about how spring 2015 is going to look – at least not from real estate industry professionals.
By this time last year, Royal Lepage had released a prediction that the Canadian housing market was headed for a spring boom. The Globe and Mail reported on a press release by Phil Soper, CEO of Royal LePage where he was quoted: “We predict continued upward pressure on home prices as we move towards the all-important spring market…This is the most optimistic view of the housing market since the recession, that’s in half a decade.”
The proof was in the pudding because, in April of 2014, Royal Lepage went on to release the company’s latest House Price Survey which found that most regions showed healthy year-over-year price growth, with the average price of a home in Canada rising between 2.5 per cent and 5.4 per cent: http://www.cbc.ca/m/touch/news/story/1.2602082.
The average price of:
- A two-story home increased 5.4% to $428,943.
- Detached bungalows rose to 4.4% year-over-year to $380,765.
- Standard condominiums increased by 2.5% to $252,174.
This year over last, Canadians enjoyed an interest rate drop in the first quarter. This means that many will head into spring with mortgage pre-approvals committed through to summer – this could signify a boom despite economists’ predictions.
You can pay attention to trends and predictions to try to gauge where the housing market will go, but working on the frontlines you also have to be in-touch with the real estate market at the micro level – after all, you are charged with the task of working with clients to understand the value of their homes in a listing scenario where you are representing sellers and reasonable offers in purchases in the case of buyers.
Supply and demand shifts seasonally and accordingly the market value of real estate does too. This can make helping your client price their listing more challenging.
Some clients may have a list price in mind, while others will have no idea. The easiest way to help your client figure out what they want to list their house for is through sales comparables in the area. Reviewing these sales comparables with your client will help them see what other houses close at in the area – ones that are similar to their own.
When representing buyers, when you have showings scheduled with a potential buyer, you will have addresses you want to show in mind. Before your appointment you can generate a property details report on each property that includes the sales history information on each property and some sales comps. This way, if your client wants to make an offer you are positioned to review sales comps with the client against the asking price to come up with a fair offer.
For more information about how you can value a property or values in an entire area – visit www.geowarehouse.ca.
