Amidst slower activity, higher sale prices are unlikely, even in the very near future
Those who are looking to benefit from a windfall in Canada’s overheated housing market should act now before the market shifts or the government intervenes further, according to real estate agents.
Sarah Blakely of Toronto recounted the recent sale of her renovated three-bedroom home for more than $1 million, after she and her husband managed to purchase a four-bedroom home in Ottawa. Seven years earlier, the couple spent a little over $300,000 on the sold property.
“My husband and I saw an opportunity to take advantage of the recent gains in real estate and to move to a less expensive city to live mortgage-free, support our savings for retirement and also to be closer to family,” Blakely told CBC News.
Josie Stern, the couple’s agent, stated that the transaction came at just the right time, as it would be unlikely that the home will be able to sell for that much in the near future.
“A little bit of air has been let out of the bubble,” Stern said, noting that price growth seems to be cooling a bit—a situation that Vancouver real estate agent Melissa Wu is intimately familiar with.
Wu said that while her recent deals included a $2-million sale for a hundred-year-old home in east Vancouver, the transaction took three weeks to materialize—far longer than it would have last year.
Wu encouraged Toronto homeowners to sell as soon as they can, explaining that their market is in an enviable position at the moment.
“There’s always a shift coming in,” she said. “Sell before it corrects.”
Sarah Blakely of Toronto recounted the recent sale of her renovated three-bedroom home for more than $1 million, after she and her husband managed to purchase a four-bedroom home in Ottawa. Seven years earlier, the couple spent a little over $300,000 on the sold property.
“My husband and I saw an opportunity to take advantage of the recent gains in real estate and to move to a less expensive city to live mortgage-free, support our savings for retirement and also to be closer to family,” Blakely told CBC News.
Josie Stern, the couple’s agent, stated that the transaction came at just the right time, as it would be unlikely that the home will be able to sell for that much in the near future.
“A little bit of air has been let out of the bubble,” Stern said, noting that price growth seems to be cooling a bit—a situation that Vancouver real estate agent Melissa Wu is intimately familiar with.
Wu said that while her recent deals included a $2-million sale for a hundred-year-old home in east Vancouver, the transaction took three weeks to materialize—far longer than it would have last year.
Wu encouraged Toronto homeowners to sell as soon as they can, explaining that their market is in an enviable position at the moment.
“There’s always a shift coming in,” she said. “Sell before it corrects.”
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