In the world of Toronto real estate we have been living in strange and difficult times.

But… It’s a great time to be a buyer!!!

Thinking about a condo? Do it now… A little one, downtown… 1 bedroom. And 1 bathroom? No better time.

Thinking about an investment, a home you have to fix up and redo?

Stop thinking… Start doing. This is the moment.

Our lives have been a rollercoaster of interest rates over the last 10 years. The pandemic threw us into a tizzy… a tailspin. Going into it we were at historically low rates. So many people got into the market. Existing homeowners got mortgage rates under 2%.The pandemic happened.

CRAZY

MADNESS

END OF WORLD

CONSPIRACY

POLITIC

Then when it ended… And none of us were working for years… Someone had to pay for it. OH… SURPRISE… It was US who had to pay.

So interest rates went up to battle inflation from a worldwide disaster.

NOW… people are renewing mortgages here that they can’t afford because they were 1.79% and now they are 5.1%. So people will be starting to sell. This is true for homes… and also pre construction condos, (which I still say steer away from… the builder makes all the money). Resale condos have taken a historic hit, like the market outside of Toronto. Prices are down. Buy a resale condo!!

As a real estate agent that sells a lot of homes I have noticed, there are a lot of buyers shopping around for a deal.

I can’t remember a time when buyers offered 200k$ less than the asking price… Straight faced. I am sure there must have been one, but I don’t remember it.

Some places are still selling well and with offer dates. Oh yes… everything still has an offer date. If you have a home that is in a great location and everything is done you are still golden. Who can afford to fix up places now ? The trades are expensive and most people have to hire other people to do the work. The Feds told us this week they are going in a different direction from where we have been. Most money people are forecasting 3.5% interest by January 2024. That’s a steady and severe interest rate drop. We like that. It will help us. People will come out and buy again. They will open their eyelids to the warmth of the sun they don’t even remember knowing… It has been so long.

MY FORECAST??? Completely without proof or a crystal ball???

I think, people will start buying places at a reduced rate that aren’t perfect. They will start to learn how to fix them up themselves or live with comfort over style. Find a place with good bones and make a life actually living… Learning… Fixing… Gardening. I think it’s a good way to go. Oh and don’t move into the neighbourhood with the best schools. Move into a neighbourhood, with your kids and MAKE the school better. Be on the school council. Help run the bake sales. Talk to each other in the school yard and take back the parks. Yup… Great
neighbourhoods are made not born. Where I live now… so desirable…. 27 years ago, there was a crack den two doors down and the school was known as the ghetto school. Make your neighbourhood… So many great women and men I know, made this a place everyone wants to live in.

So if you are one of the luckies that is ready and able to buy right now, I am interested to see your picks. I want to watch you make a new market. Nobody is giving away their real estate. But… there are deals to be made.

You can feel it coming…like an undulating wave in the deep blue ocean.