Jason Bondy-Sawyer's Toronto Real Estate Blog
In my last blog post (read it here) I explored some of the unique factors involved when selling one property and buying another at the same time. I touched briefly on market conditions, budgetary concerns, and the best way to avoid being pressured into making a purchase you’re not completely happy with. There’s one more factor I’d like to take a look at – Timing.
On Tuesday I helped a client of mine purchase a great 2 bedroom + den/2 bathroom condo in St Lawrence Market. The suite had only been on the market for 5 days, yet we found ourselves competing with two other buyers. The sellers purposely listed the property approx 5-6% under market value and held-off on reviewing offers until after the long weekend. Needless to say, the property sold firm for over asking.
Part of my job as a realtor is to educate my clients about the costs involved with buying and selling real estate. Sellers generally have to deal with lawyer fees, real estate commission, and in some cases, the costs of discharging their mortgage. Buyers have a whole other set of costs to budget for.
In the Toronto real estate market, tenanted properties come up for sale all the time. Listings for houses with basement tenants, for example, are quite common. And there’s certainly no shortage of renter-occupied condos for sale. There’s one very important distinguishing question for the potential buyer of such a property though, “Can I take vacant possession or do I have to assume the tenant?”
When working with a new buyer client, part of my job is to educate them as to the elements of an offer. Different types of properties require different clauses and conditions. If they’re in the market for a resale condominium then chances are we’ll be including a condition that allows for the buyer’s lawyer to review the Status Certificate.
I showed a property to some clients of mine a few weeks ago, a fixer-upper in the Parkdale area. We all agreed that the house had plenty of character but that it would potentially need plenty of work as well. There were 16+ offers on the table come offer night and it sold FIRM for more than $100,000 over asking. The thing to note here is that the property sold FIRM – no home inspection condition.
In a seller’s market, where demand outweighs supply and properties often receive multiple offers, buyers need to do everything they can to give themselves the upper hand. One of the most powerful ways to strengthen their position when competing with other buyers is to submit a firm offer-to-purchase.
Save for those two frosty seasons of uncertainty, stagnation, and price reductions that we experienced last fall and winter, “multiple offers” have been and are now a very common occurrence in the Toronto real estate market. In a seller’s market, which is what we’ve been in for the last four months, demand outweighs supply and there are more buyers that there are properties for sale. As a result any attractive, well priced property is going to receive quite a bit of attention.
