With listings in both the freehold and condo sectors slowing down as we near the end of the month, the debate rages on. Should buyers wait until the New Year to purchase a new home or jump into the market now? There are different points of view on this topic. If you wait there will be more choice BUT you will be competing with all the other buyers who are also waiting for the spring market. More buyers bidding on the same home will drive prices higher. If you buy now there is less choice but fewer buyers. Still, demand for single-family homes supported by low interest rates and teleworkers, will keep the housing market resilient overall. What’s driving the market now is the lack of inventory.

We have entered what is universally known as the “holiday season” and the freehold market seems to respect this, so we are not surprised to see the number of listings declining from the previous week, down by 19%. We did see a nice jump in sales, up 20% week-over-week. We believe the ultra low mortgage rates (some banks as low as 1.85% for a five-year term) are keeping buyers interested and this has resulted in 54% of freehold properties selling at or above their advertised price.

The condo market saw a modest decline of 15% in new listings compared to last week but saw a small 3% uptick in sales. Forecasters expect the economy to improve next year now that there will be Covid vaccines available in the new year. For the short term, the winter will provide some good entry positions given the relatively soft nature of the condo market. There is plenty of choice out there now!