Spring is also the worst time to buy a home. Why? Because while there is more selection, there’s also more competition from other buyers. Spirits are up and people are willing to bid and pay extra. (Which means Spring is technically the best time to SELL your home, but first you should determine what your Toronto home is worth.

In contrast Summer is a slow time of year. Too many people go on vacation and home selling or buying isn’t a priority. The slow season is actually better for homebuyers because there is less competition and you’re more likely to have your offer accepted… especially if the sellers listed their home in the Spring and have yet to receive an offer. The sellers have become tired and are more willing to accept a lower price for their home.

The best day of the year however is not in the Summer. It’s actually Christmas Day. There are advantages to buying a house on Christmas Day.

1. Almost nobody looks at homes on Christmas Day. There is zero competition.

2. People on Christmas Day are usually in a good mood, celebrating and enjoying time with their family.

3. People are more inclined to be generous, lowering their price.

4. If they’re trying to sell their home during the Christmas season they’re serious about selling.

Of course if you can’t wait until Christmas there is no time like the present. You could start now by getting home listings by email or searching local real estate listings in Toronto in the comfort of your home.

Susan Isenstein and husband Norman sold their Toronto home 24 hours after it was put on the market
last month. They were looking for a home with fewer stairs, but have been having difficulty finding
something in their price range. “So you can’t find what you like, and then there’s the concern about
whether or not prices are going to go down,” says Susan.

Such homeowners who cashed out at the peak of the real estate market are aiming to put their money in
the bank rather than investing in a house. As a result there are a whole slew of new renters looking for a
good place to rent and they are engaging in bidding wars to snap up rentals that are comparable to the
properties they just sold. This is putting pressure on the supply of houses for rent in major cities.

The vacancy rate in Toronto is 2.2%, 2.7% in Vancouver, two of the lowest in Canada.

If house prices fall 10% in the next year, a possibility cited by both TD Bank and CIBC World Market
economists, a $700,000 house in Davisville Village or Leaside could be worth a mere $630,000 a year or
two from now (Find out how much your Toronto home is worth). Some homeowners apparently
think that is worth the gamble of selling their current home, renting in the meantime and then trying
to buy a comparable property in the same neighbourhood two years from now when the market has
cooled down.

But it’s a gamble. The high demand in the Toronto real estate market could just as easily drive housing
prices up instead of down. In such a big city there are so many ways to find a new home… word-of-mouth, craigslist,
search listings, you can get home listings sent to you by email, real estate agents, or just driving
around in neighbourhoods that you like and looking for “for sale” signs. With so many people in Toronto
and new immigrants and university students moving here every year the market is overflowing with would-be buyers.

See Also:
Are Toronto Housing Prices Up or Down?
Have You Had Enough Fear-Mongering?
Why Retiring Baby Boomers Hold The Key to The Future of Housing

I would like to thank you for handling my recent house sale with such meticulous efficiency.

I very much appreciated your thorough (two hours, plus!) presentation about the state of the real estate market and the Leaside market in particular. The combination of your detailed preparation and your lack of pressure were certainly key to my choice of you as listing agent.

Throughout our delightfully brief endeavor, I was most appreciative of your immediate attention to whatever needed to be done and your scrupulous commitment to times and timelines.

I enjoyed working and chatting with you and it is was somewhat of a disappointment to be saying good-bye to you so soon! I don’t know that my new house is my “pine box” and I will certainly think of you if ever again I’m in the real estate way.

Best regard –
Linda L.

Just a note to thank you once again for your superb efforts in finding Hamish and I our new home and helping me sell my current home so quickly(… .with very little inconvenience for a house filled with three children, a nanny and a dog, I might add)

You have been helping me find real estate solutions for over 10 years and each transaction we have done together has yielded a great return on my investment and resulted in happy homes for my family. That said, hopefully we will be staying put for a while!

Thanks again for spending so much time with us. We truly enjoyed the experience and your company. Please stay in touch.

Best Regards

According to testimony heard in court, more than half a million dollars in home buyers’ and agents’ money was unaccounted for.

“These were very serious matters,” said Robert Lewin of the Ontario Court of Justice. “This was a large amount of money lost to people who were trying to close real estate transactions.”

Seto pleaded guilty to eight counts of failing to comply with the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act. His lawyer said that Mr. Seto was a victim of the economic downturn, when real estate sales started to fall in 2008. Instead, Mr. Seto put the money into the general accounts of Executive Realty. His company was also fined a total of $200,000.

The lawyer argued that his client didn’t profit from this. He didn’t run away with the money or put it in a foreign bank. “He and his wife are virtually wiped out”.

After receiving an anonymous complaint in January 2009 the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), the regulatory body for realtors in the province, decided to investigate, according to an agreed statement of facts. RECO requires all deposit monies from house buyers who have purchased a home, to be placed in a trust account. Seto was also under emotional stress because his wife was suffering from cancer and he had to mortgage their home twice to keep the company going, he told the court.

Seto’s lawyer asked the court for leniency, but prosecutor Tim Snell, legal counsel for the Real Estate Council of Ontario, requested jail time as a “deterrent” to others who may contemplate doing the same thing.

Want to know what’s happening in the Toronto real estate market? Send us an email.

You will receive all Toronto MLS listings that you have selected in your inbox minutes after they are listed for sale.

Sellers have the upper hand in this market because of low numbers of homes for sale.

Buyer demand, fueled by both low interest rates and a scarcity of homes, could continue to cause home prices to increase in Central and Downtown Toronto.

We are enjoying our mildest Winter in a long time, we have seriously low mortgage rates, a very healthy Sellers’ market, and yet……where have all the Sellers gone?

Traditionally, Sellers are not enthused about having their home for sale in the frigid winter winds. Why are they not delighted to take advantage of the lack of snow and take advantage of those more-than-eager Buyers right now?

More important than the weather to Buyers is the availability of super-low mortgage rates. This is why they are most eager to find their new home right now.

We are constantly being reminded that these low mortgage rates are unsustainable. So why wait until this happens? Those Sellers who decide to get ahead of this will reap the benefit. It’s an obvious case of “supply and demand”.

 I’d be happy to give you an accurate opinion of what your home is worth.

Drop me an email at  rsmithcarr@sympatico.ca    or call me at 416-482-8330 ext 3519

At the same time, I’m also aware that real estate agents have a reputation for chasing clients. Nonetheless, there is a fine but legitimate line between hounding and going on a successful hunt.

Let me explain. Let’s say you’ve hired me to sell your home. Your circumstances are such that it must be sold within 45 days or you may find yourself in a very difficult position.

My job is to shift into high gear and find your buyer as soon as possible. This means:

• Following up with every agent who has either viewed or taken a potential buyer through your home
• Staying in touch will all potential buyers I’ve sourced myself

But here’s where the hunt can get somewhat hound-like.  Because of your time-crunch situation, I can’t afford just to sit back and wait for buyers to contact me. So, I’ll call (and, sometimes, call and call), email, or even drop by to firm up a definitive “yes” or a “no”.  After all, this is my job and what you are paying me to do.

Few sellers (or buyers, for that matter) would prefer I sit back and wait for the buyers to come to me. Most sellers under time-pressure expect an agent to be pro-active, even if it means coming dangerously close to hounding.

So, how do you as a buyer (or seller) get information from an agent while at the same time preventing the agent from becoming a nuisance?

As a consumer, here’s what I would do: Tell the agent from the get-go that you are just starting your search, and to please respect your wishes, especially those regarding further contact. You will find that most will.

However, if the agent disregards your request and steps over that fine line, I’d tell them you are going to report them to the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO), which is the real estate’s agents’ policing body.

And if that doesn’t work – you will send in the hounds!

Want to get the best new home listings sent directly to your inbox and not be hounded? Send me an email.