Why more home sellers are listing in January

 

With an uncertain housing market, more homeowners are opting to put their houses on the market in January.

Michael Stuparyk/Toronto Star file photo

By Mark Weisleder | Fri Jan 11 2013

 

Traditionally, January is a slow month for real estate as most sellers choose to wait until the middle of February in the hopes of capitalizing on the early spring market. However, given the uncertainty in the housing market right now, more sellers are opting to put their house on the market in January.

This presents an opportunity for buyers. Most people are reluctant to uproot their families during the school year, so that means less competition — and fewer bidding wars. Lenders will not be as busy, so buyers can expect a more efficient process to get approved for a mortgage to ensure they have financing in place before making an offer.
But there are things you simply won’t be able to inspect during the winter. Here are some tips for protecting yourself when making a deal during the winter months:
Sellers
Spruce up the outside: Use urns with light wood branches to brighten up the exterior of your home, to compensate for any overcast day or snow on the ground.
Get rid of the Christmas lights: homes that look dated on the outside give the impression that they are probably dated on the inside.
Make sure your fireplace is working during any showing, that the temperature is comfortable in the home and that any interior lighting compensates for what is usually grey lighting from outside.
Have pictures of your landscaping available from the summer and autumn, showing how beautiful your home looks year round.
Have available any inspections that you may have done on your air-conditioning unit or swimming pool before they were closed for the winter, as buyers will likely not be able to conduct inspections on these items and will have questions.
Consider inviting a company to do an environmental audit on your home in advance, confirming that there is no moisture behind the walls that could lead to mould and that you have sufficient insulation behind the walls.
Buyers
If there is anything that cannot be inspected because of the winter, such as the air-conditioning system or any swimming pool, then negotiate an extended warranty in the agreement, to give you until at least May 1, to inspect and have the seller be responsible for any damages. In addition, also negotiate a holdback of, say, $2,000 so that if a problem arises, the money comes out of that fund to fix it and you don’t have to chase the seller in court later.
Be careful about snow accumulating around the base of the home. It will be difficult for a home inspector to figure out whether the grading is likely to cause water problems in the basement later. Consider doing your own environmental audit to check for moisture behind any walls.
If the snow on the roof looks like it is evaporating faster than the snow around the house, it is likely a sign that there is not enough insulation in the home.
Check with your insurance company early as to whether you will have any difficulty obtaining insurance on the home; for example, by finding out whether there have been claims made in the neighbourhood about water damages or sewage backups.
Check whether snow accumulation makes it more difficult for street parking, as this may be the only parking available on certain streets. Also see how bad weather may affect your morning commute.
Check the last electric/gas bills, to determine how energy efficient the home is in winter.
People tend to hibernate and stay at home in the winter, so take the opportunity to get to know the neighbours before you finalize your purchase.
By being properly prepared in advance, buyers and sellers can negotiate a safe and successful winter home sale.
Read more stories from Mark Weisleder: click here.
Mark Weisleder is a Toronto real estate lawyer. Contact him at mark@markweisleder.com

November Sales Cool!

Sales of detached homes dipped 15.9% in November 2012, with 417 homes exchanging hands.  Sales of condos, however, were up 18.8%, with the result that, Year-to-Date, total sales are down only a modest 0.3%.  “With the exception of last month, condo sales have been quite slow over the past half a year,” says Barb Whitney, President of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR), “so it’s good to see that condos starting to move well again.” Altogether 512 homes sold, down 11.1% from the previous year.

New listings were down 12.9% for detached homes and 9% for condos.  Overall new listings were down 12.1%. Inventory – the number of active listings at month end – was also down 5%. However, “Sales to new listings ratio, a measure of market balance, confirm that our market remains a balanced one,” says Whitney.

Here in Grand Bend we are slowing down as well but the upper end properties have been selling, even in November, so Mark and I have been keeping busy.

SALES COOL IN SEPTEMBER

The real estate market cooled in September 2012, with only 596 homes exchanging hands over the course of the month. Altogether 493 detached homes sold, down 16.3% from September 2011, along with 103 condos, down 8.8%. Altogether sales were down 15.1%

"There was a slump in resale housing activity nationwide between July 2012 and August 2012, with declines reported in about two-thirds of all local markets, including our own," says Barb Whitney, President of the London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS®. "The data isn't in from around the country yet, but we're likely going to see a similar pattern play out this month as last." She adds,"According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, recent changes to mortgage regulations are just now starting to have a dampening effect upon the market. Now that amortization periods for high ratio mortgages have been shortened, fewer first time buyers can qualitfy for a mortgage than previously. Lower first-time buying activity is a lynchpin of the housing market and its curtailment was bound to have downstream effects over the rest of the market. Year-to-Date home sales are even with last year's.

Our Family has moved into Grand Bend

After 29 years in the same home we have moved into the Harbourcourt community here in Grand Bend. That was a lot of work moving for all of us, especially Jeannette and she never stops working. We have most of the boxes unpacked and it almost looks like home, just have to get a few pictures on the wall to make it complete. I can now walk to the office, grocery store and the beach just have to find time to do that too!

Townsend Meadows Block 5 has started

The foundations are in for the four units in Block 5. They are now waiting for the infloor heating and we are hoping to have the units ready for Christmas.

April sales are Brisk!

Sales last month outstripped those of the previous April by 17.3%, with 716 detached homes exchanging hands and 164 condos. “Although we’re obviously delighted by these figures, we need to put them in perspective,” advises Barb Whitney, President of London and St. Thomas Association of REALTORS® (LSTAR). “In April 2011 sales were down 26.3% from those of April 2010 -- the same month that set an all-time LSTAR record for the month of April, 2010 of 1017 sales. What we’re seeing now is more on a par with previous Aprils going back to the turn of the millennium.”
“Active listings at month’s end were down 4.9%, which is a bit of a departure from what we’ve seen over the past several years and points to a ramping up in activity,” says Whitney. “We continue to see our market as balanced, however – now and for the near future.”

Soup'n Bread Day in London

President Barb Whitney, Melissa from London St. Thomas Association of Realtors (LSTAR) and myself helped feed the homeless in London yesterday. LSTAR sponsored the annual event that was held at the Covent Market in downtown London on York Street. We served goodies, bottled water and Melissa's birthday cake.