The summer is hot and so is the Guelph real estate market… but in a different way than we have experienced for quite some time. After a wild Seller’s market in the first half of the year, in a matter of a couple of weeks, June saw a very significant shift. Suddenly, we had a real estate market something the likes of which we haven’t seen in Guelph for several years. Today, things feel pretty balanced and, for the first time in a long time, buyers have options.
It’s a great time to buy a house in Guelph, and here are just a few of the reasons why.
Guelph Real Estate Market Conditions
Inventory. Our massive supply and demand imbalance has corrected itself. No, houses aren’t exactly falling from the sky, but we have inventory! In virtually every part of town and in most price ranges, we’ve got houses to show buyers. For those who were asking, “where are all of the houses for sale?” back in the spring, the answer is… they’re here… finally.
Shifting Buyer Demographic. People are still coming to Guelph from the GTA, but not in the record numbers we were seeing in the spring of this year. That slow-down in GTA-buyers is important, because it reduces a level of competition with buyers who are already used to cash offers and wild competitions.
Buyer Due Diligence. It’s back! We’re seeing offers with common-sense conditions again. Buyers are asking for a few days to lock down a firm mortgage commitment, to conduct home inspections – and even to sell their own properties. It’s a welcome return to offers that are designed to protect both buyers and sellers from making poor decisions and/or buying homes that will fail to close.
Pacing. Those Buyers who are out there in earnest looking for homes may not have to wait a week or longer to put an offer on the property. Roughly half of what I’m seeing and listing includes a waiting period for offers. Other Sellers are saying… if you want it, make an offer. And that’s a refreshing change, too. If you want to move quickly on a property, you have a good chance at being able to now.
Prices. Well, if you are waiting for a crash of some sort, and for prices to come down dramatically, I think you may be disappointed. Prices have risen and we have set a new standard for the Guelph real estate market. In fact, I still see room for prices to rise for homes in Guelph. That being said, there are good opportunities to be had for home buyers. We always have properties coming onto the market that, for a number of reasons, are going to sell for less than market-value. They may be dated; they may be a mess inside; they may be in distressed condition. But those are the homes that present opportunities to build equity, often quickly and with minimal expense (cleaning, painting, tearing out old carpet, and so forth.) If you have some vision, you can find a home for less than it’s worth. A good Buyer’s Agent will help you identify the diamonds in the rough vs. the money pits – and can show you examples of comparable homes fixed up, to give you a sense of where that fixer-upper could end up in value, once fixed up.
Summer Season. It’s the height of the summer and people are taking time off, heading to the cottage, and doing lots of other things aside from buying houses. That makes it a good time to buy. The fewer the people out looking, the greater the chances that you won’t be in competition at all on a home you’re interested in – and that means we get to do something almost unheard of… like making a conditional offer less than full asking price. Who’d a thunk it?
Yes, buying is actually enjoyable again in Guelph, so make the best of it. Could I see a return to another wild Seller’s market in the fall of 2017? Yes, I could. It might not happen, but it could. All we do know for certain is that, at this moment in time, it’s a great time to be house-hunting in Guelph.
Thanks for reading my thoughts on this latest shift in the Guelph real estate market.
