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Re: Real Estate in the time of Covid: Unusually great July... could we see a busy August?


Blog by Patricia Houlihan - Personal Real Estate Corporation | August 11th, 2020


We have seen the market rebounding strongly the last few months and July continued that trend.
 
The supply/demand equation continues to favour sellers with buyers still wanting to buy, but the supply being much lower than buyers would like to see. We have continued to receive multiple offers on many properties-although in a lot of cases (unexpectedly) the offers still came in under asking price. This suggests that while buyers are wanting to buy, they are not as prepared to pay high as they have been in some other hot markets. We still hear a lot of comments about what may happen over the next months as Covid impacts continue to be felt. Some are optimistic; others are not.
 
July stats show:
 
-July sales volumes were 9.4% higher than the 10 year average!!!
-July 2020 sales volumes were 22.3% higher than July 2019
-July 2020 sales volumes were 28% higher than June 2020
 
These numbers reflect a strong market-likely still playing catch up from the almost complete shutdown we had for much of March and all of April 2020. 
 
Normally the market tends to slow significantly in July as people go on vacation. This trend tends to be accentuated in August as people cram in their last bits of summer vacation before the kids go back to school. This August may be different given the July we just experienced. However, just one week in, August does seem a bit slower than July-the phone is not ringing as much! Personally, I wouldn't list my own home in August when we know that September usually yields much better results for sellers. There is too much risk that the "launch" of the listing could fall flat in August. The best time to get the highest price for a home is the first two weeks of the listing-I wouldn't want that key time to coincide with what is usually a very slow month in real estate. Even if this August turns out to be better than usual (as July was) I think it is too much of a risk; waiting until September makes more sense to me. I suspect September will be exceptionally busy this year. Buyers who were impacted by our Covid-19 March and April market are still out there trying to buy. They will likely be out in full force in September.
 
For anyone thinking of selling this fall, being ready to go the week after Labour Day could lead to some great results. It is always advantageous to be "ahead of the pack" in a strong market. Given the strong impact that supply and demand has on the market, being listed while others are still recovering from summer and back to school can increase the likely sale price and decrease the time on the market. If you are thinking of waiting until Spring, I would be happy to go over the pros and cons of that timing.
 
We continue to do things differently to do our best to protect our clients and the public from Covid-19. The additional safety measures take more time but we are still able to get great results.  
 
If you would like to discuss the market, or how to get your home ready to take advantage of what may be an exceptionally busy fall, please call or email me.