There is an underl;ying belief that the spring market is the best time to sell real estate in Ottawa. And while there is some truth to this, it isn't always the case. There are typically more buyers looking in the spring than at any other time of the year. However, listing inventories tend to be at their peak from the months of March through June. Simply stated, more buyers have more choice in homes to purchase during the spring market.
So when is the best time to sell?
According to Trevor Burchett, founder of Equity One, the best time to sell is during a sellers market, where the ratio of buyers is substantially higher than the number of homes listed for sale. "Selling prices soar when buyers compete for homes during periods of low inventory. In the years prior to the pandemic, fall markets heavily favoured sellers. As listings of unsold homes were being taken off the market for the winter, newly listed properties were getting the full attention of buyers, who were motivated to purchase before the winter". Trevor goes on to explain that even though the buyer pool tends to shrink in the fall, those buyers tended to be much more serious about purchasing. "You would have 5 showings, and 5 offers. And those offers tended to go way over asking, given that buyers didn't want to lose out and restart in the spring".
What about this spring? Predictions for this spring have the Ottawa market a red-hot sellers market, and it's already showing signs that the madness of 2020 is here for the foreseeable future. Homes prices through the first 30 days of 2021 continue to rise, with homes routinely selling for 6 figures over asking, despite a provincial stay-at-home order. The two property types that are seeing huge gains are larger estate properties, and investor-driven townhomes & rowhomes.
"The sustainability of this market is a complete unknown at this point. One thing is for sure, first-time home buyers are being squeezed out of the market unlike anything we've seen in Ottawa".
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