This is a weekly YoutTube vlog series dedicated to informing YOU about the last week's market movements.
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Text of Video:
Condo Market
Starting in the Condo market, we are starting to see an increase in listings from last week, which is typical of the season. As of this morning, there are 671 condos on the market which is at the highest level of the year. This is still down about 15% from this time last year but, things are picking up in terms of listings for March. Last March we had 572 for sale, but currently, we have exceeded this number. This is promising for buyers and with the prices remaining higher than last year, this is good for sellers as well.
Single Family Home Market
In the single family home market, we had another increase in the homes in the 1-2M range, but a decrease in the under 1M segment. Some of this is because of the overall rise in the home values and less homes are in the under 1M category, as this is the segment with the most buyers, driving up the floor pricing of single family homes.
In the 1-2M segment, we saw 51 homes hit the market last week, continuing the upward trend of listing in this segment for 5 consecutive weeks. That said, these homes are selling very fast with most homes being sold for 25% above list price after only one weekend of open houses.
Luxury Market
In the luxury market, there was a noticeable decrease in listing, from 27 in the previous week to just 17 this week. DOM remains strong in the luxury market as the median Days On Market is still under 2 weeks. Additionally, the sale price to list price in the 2-3M segment remains around 25% above the list price.
Overall
Despite the slowdown in a couple segments, overall we are seeing an increase this month over last month. This trend is usual for late winter and we should continue to see a rise in listings as we head into Spring.
Sellers are still outnumbered by buyers and properly priced and marketed listings don’t stay on the market for more than one weekend in any category.
Lastly, I get asked frequently if now is a good time to buy given the historically high prices. To that I have one answer… it depends…. Historically, if you look back, there has never been a bad time to buy. Even if you bought a month before the market crashed in 2007, in almost every case, by now you would be up almost 50%. Let’s say you bought a 1M home in 2006 with 20% down, by now on that 200,000 investment, you would have made nearly $500,000 conservatively. Those who were able to afford their property are looking back at that as a wise decision and have made a good deal in equity from buying at the peak of the market.
So when people ask if it is a good time to buy, the simple answer is; if you are looking at your home as a long-term buy, there is no bad time to buy.