Industry professionals encouraging sellers to limit listings unless necessary
While the housing sector in Windsor, Ontario looked set for growth this spring, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has industry professionals hitting the “pause button” on the market.
December forecasts from RE/MAX pointed to an “optimistic” year for the Windsor housing sector – however, Lorraine Clark, president of the Windsor-Essex Country Association of Realtors, recently told CBC News that she was already suggesting that sellers hold off putting homes on the market because of the pandemic.
“We're trying to limit listings if they're not necessary,” Clark told CBC News. “We're trying to hold off, but we can't tell them not to list the house."
Read more: Windsor-Essex market will continue to lean towards sellers this year
For real estate broker Goran Todorovic however, the market’s uncertainty may be hard to swallow for sellers who waited to take advantage of the optimistic forecast.
“Some waited and waited and waited for the spring market to show up, because they knew once the spring market hits, their house will be sold in a matter of days or a week,” Todorovic told CBC News.
According to CBC News, listings in Windsor have continued to go up for the time being – and Clark believes that it’s because of people who still need to buy a home. “We're still getting multiple bidding wars believe it or not,” she told CBC News.
Todorovic, however, thinks that activity will eventually slow down as the concerns around the pandemic intensify. “What I think is happening in the real estate business if you're asking me is pause, the pause button has been hit,” Todorovic told CBC News. “We realtors, in my opinion, should stay home, tell our clients to stay home, tell the real estate industry to stay home, be safe. There's no need to put anybody's life in danger. This is not the time.”
