February: the Real Estate Month in Review

As February has come to a close and we look forward to spring approaching, let’s look back on the shortest month:

The February market gave us a taste of what spring will bring. The month of February saw an increase in listings and an increase in Seller confidence.

Buyers also seem more confident, having accepted the increased mortgage rates, and are back house hunting with verve. Indeed, multiple offers are back in a big way. New listings are seeing ‘bully’ offers on the first day on the market. One 2 bedroom home had 18 offers on Offer day AND it was on family day! There are rumours of another rate hike. We don’t expect this will affect the market in any big way. Currently buyers are out there pursuing homes with consistent enthusiam for everything that hits the market. In point of fact, our latest listing, a 4 bedroom bungalow, came on the market yesterday and has had over 30 showings booked as I write this. We were being pressured by the buyer agents to consider their ‘bully’ offers but we stand firm with our Seller’s wishes to wait until next Tuesday which is the scheduled offer day.

The Media, which for months has been touting a weak market with large losses in home values, has finally caught up to the reality that the market is strong and that Toronto may blink for a few months when monetary changes occur but we always bounce back first and hardest. Pent up demand for houses in key areas, particularly East York, are driving the resurgence. There is every reason to think that we will soon return to the 2021 levels of mayhem. It is important to remember that if you are selling and buying in the same market, you will always be minimally impacted by any external forces.

Despite all this, there are still some good deals to be found! There are always opportunities for buyers who are ready to act when opportunity knocks. We managed to snag one for our lucky clients this past month when a detached 3 bedroom sold for 200K less than the original list price.