As this year progresses, the real estate market remains unpredictable and crazy. As the COVID cases rise we may see a downward shift in sales activity this winter. I am personally seeing a bit of what I call “OFFER FATIGUE” from buyers. Some feeling a bit of hopelessness. Who would have thought it would be so hard to purchase a home.
But with so much economic turmoil, the question remains as to the effect this will have on the housing market in the coming months. There seems to be consensus that next year we will see a softening of the market. I’m not so certain this will happen in Kingston and Area as we continue to have a greater demand for single family homes, as well as a increasing portion of out-of-town cash buyers .
The impact of COVID-19 on the housing market is complex, and we believe it will lead to diverging price trends among regions and housing categories. The pandemic is affecting demand and supply of various market segments quite differently. It is cooling demand for and boosting supply of rentals in large urban areas. This, in turn, is reducing investor interest in condos. The pandemic is also altering the housing needs of many current owners who look for more spacious properties in less crowded settings. This is simultaneously shifting demand from condo apartments to single-detached homes and other low-rise categories, and increasing the supply of smaller condos in core urban areas. Work-from-home arrangements and the lesser appeal of big-city living (with reduced cultural and socializing opportunities during these times of social distancing) are increasingly driving buyers further away from downtown locations into suburbs, exurbs and even cottage country. We believe this trend will sustain strong demand in smaller markets, putting intense pressure on their housing stock. The bottom line is we expect condo prices to weaken in larger markets next year, while we see prices for single-detached homes remaining generally resilient—albeit increasing at a slower pace. “ RBC
There continues to be a good percentage of homes which are going for over asking price. More people are now offering greater amounts of money to get a home. Recently a house priced at $259,000, sold for $350,000. It had 17 offers. The question is was this house actually only worth $259k or $350k to begin with?
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Year to date we have seen a 14% increase over same period last year for the Kingston & Area market. September sales were higher and as you can see the days on market was significantly less for the month of September.
Let’s hope for a slower winter for us all!
