Real Estate

Who is buying, and who has bought since Covid ?

  • Last Updated:
  • Jun 3rd, 2020 2:48 pm
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Sr. Member
Aug 17, 2018
639 posts
1155 upvotes
oasis100 wrote: Lets say since April 1st. Who has bought a property.
No need to say you think market will crash, there is already a thread for that.
So you started this by asking for people who are buying or have bought during Covid-19 and declared you wanted to avoid a market discussion, but everything you posted after is exactly just doing that.

This thread now really just turns into the other one that is already out there.
Newbie
Sep 11, 2017
14 posts
18 upvotes
JanZ95915 wrote: So you started this by asking for people who are buying or have bought during Covid-19 and declared you wanted to avoid a market discussion, but everything you posted after is exactly just doing that.

This thread now really just turns into the other one that is already out there.
I had the same thoughts. I was hoping for a meaningful discussion in this thread but it’s just re agents trying to pump prices and market activity.

If they want to talk about one offs that sold with multiple offers they should also try to shine some light on the properties that haven’t been selling.

Just would be nice to hear both sides of the coin. I’m firmly in the middle of the whole situation. I know there is property moving at strong prices but also some other situations aren’t so rosy.
Deal Guru
User avatar
Sep 8, 2007
10978 posts
14471 upvotes
Way Out of GTA
Bears already hurt because the data isn't going their way. Yet they have a full opportunity to post some actual deals to substantiate the market is in freefall and instead just attack the OP.

Ok.
Penalty Box
Mar 27, 2004
10493 posts
9009 upvotes
Toronto
JanZ95915 wrote: So you started this by asking for people who are buying or have bought during Covid-19 and declared you wanted to avoid a market discussion, but everything you posted after is exactly just doing that.

This thread now really just turns into the other one that is already out there.
I was giving an example of my client bidding on a property and losing out because there is still quite a lot of buyers out there looking to buy.
Last edited by oasis100 on May 28th, 2020 1:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Full-time Realtor
Banned
Jul 8, 2017
628 posts
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NA
cartfan123 wrote: Bears already hurt because the data isn't going their way. Yet they have a full opportunity to post some actual deals to substantiate the market is in freefall and instead just attack the OP.

Ok.
There are deals out there, the problem is can they come up with the down payment.
Penalty Box
Mar 27, 2004
10493 posts
9009 upvotes
Toronto
Silver1234 wrote: There are deals out there, the problem is can they come up with the down payment.
show me some deals.
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Deal Addict
Feb 19, 2017
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I've been looking to buy the right house for a while but this has delayed my search/decision making since my office is now considering allowing teleworking on a semi-permanent basis so I want to see how that goes before deciding on a new house. Mostly since I could move further up north out of the suburbs and have some land and quiet if my commute is only a couple times a week
RFD is love. RFD is life. I wish I had an RFDer for a wife.
Sr. Member
Aug 17, 2018
639 posts
1155 upvotes
oasis100 wrote: I was giving an example of my client bidding on a property and losing out because there is still quite a lot of buyers out there looking to buy.
Look, I am genuinely interested to hear from people who buy and sell and especially to hear about their personal situations why they buy and sell right now.

But this already turns into a competition of "look, this one had 20 offers" vs "look this one has been listed for X days without a buyer or sold X amount under asking". It just once again serves the purpose of pushing for their own bias instead of actually wanting to hear from people that bought or sold. We already have a market discussion thread.
Deal Addict
Feb 19, 2019
2347 posts
4020 upvotes
Stouffville ON
TW8511 wrote: I had the same thoughts. I was hoping for a meaningful discussion in this thread but it’s just re agents trying to pump prices and market activity.

If they want to talk about one offs that sold with multiple offers they should also try to shine some light on the properties that haven’t been selling.

Just would be nice to hear both sides of the coin. I’m firmly in the middle of the whole situation. I know there is property moving at strong prices but also some other situations aren’t so rosy.
The individual examples posted by me and Oasis are a reflection of a general market activity as of today in the specific segments of the market.
Here I have posted charts and commentaries regarding the condo markets as of April (haven't had time to update for May) which had a tone objectively reflecting that segment of the market at that time, and it wasn't pumping prices and real estate activity.
analysis-condo-market-over-last-2-weeks-2366411/6/
You are welcome to think all we do is pump the prices, will not to try to change your opinion, but that is simply not the case.
Please bring up examples or items you want to discuss.
Full Time and Full Service Realtor
Newbie
Sep 11, 2017
14 posts
18 upvotes
senasena wrote: The individual examples posted by me and Oasis are a reflection of a general market activity as of today in the specific segments of the market.
Here I have posted charts and commentaries regarding the condo markets as of April (haven't had time to update for May) which had a tone objectively reflecting that segment of the market at that time, and it wasn't pumping prices and real estate activity.
analysis-condo-market-over-last-2-weeks-2366411/6/
You are welcome to think all we do is pump the prices, will not to try to change your opinion, but that is simply not the case.
Please bring up examples or items you want to discuss.
In fairness I should probably apologize to you as you put some context in your prior posts and also personal feelings which is your first hand experience and it's appreciated. Not just "XYZ property sold in 24 hours for $XXX over listing", which just reads as hype to me. OP created a thread asking who is buying and specifically didn't want a $$ discussion. To me the insight I would hope to get from that discussion is, what is the general feeling in terms of buyers currently?

For example did your client pass on the Scarborough listing because 1. they are the type of person that doesn't want to ever be involved in a bidding war? 2. because they simply think they should be able to buy at a discount due to covid? 3. is it they need a place to live but are nervous about paying too much in this environment? those examples I'm not suggesting anything.

I'm curious where buyer are mentally. Not so much about sold prices. As long as home owners and buyers have confidence everything is going to work itself out, if owners and buyers in Ontario lose confidence we all have a problem on our hands.

Again sorry for lumping all realtors into the same category. The whole bull vs bear bs on this forum can be frustrating sometimes to those that are just simple homeowners looking to see what's going on out there.
Newbie
Sep 23, 2017
97 posts
52 upvotes
I would personally wait, being self employed is not giving me a lot of confidence right now. If I was an essential worker with a rock solid 5 year contract for example hospital job, I would not even think and buy yesterday.
Sr. Member
Sep 16, 2009
693 posts
481 upvotes
TW8511 wrote: In fairness I should probably apologize to you as you put some context in your prior posts and also personal feelings which is your first hand experience and it's appreciated. Not just "XYZ property sold in 24 hours for $XXX over listing", which just reads as hype to me. OP created a thread asking who is buying and specifically didn't want a $$ discussion. To me the insight I would hope to get from that discussion is, what is the general feeling in terms of buyers currently?

For example did your client pass on the Scarborough listing because 1. they are the type of person that doesn't want to ever be involved in a bidding war? 2. because they simply think they should be able to buy at a discount due to covid? 3. is it they need a place to live but are nervous about paying too much in this environment? those examples I'm not suggesting anything.

I'm curious where buyer are mentally. Not so much about sold prices. As long as home owners and buyers have confidence everything is going to work itself out, if owners and buyers in Ontario lose confidence we all have a problem on our hands.

Again sorry for lumping all realtors into the same category. The whole bull vs bear bs on this forum can be frustrating sometimes to those that are just simple homeowners looking to see what's going on out there.
Right now you can go by data or by anecdotes. Data is as of April (and march) wherein there was a drop in prices and inventory (we can debate the extent of it but there was a price drop from end of feb for sure but its probbaly back to Dec 2019 levels). For may, data is still evolving.

Anecdotally (which is to address your sentiment question), It appears buyers have started stepping back in as the ones that are buying at least (and therefore those with jobs) feel like its a good opportunity or they might get priced out or return to conditions as they were in February with many bids and prices going up crazy. This may change in a few months (and people have been debating a lot on other forums) based on change in unemployment (up / down), GDP (improvement/decline from current conditions), CERB discontinuation/not and its spillover effects and so on and on.

For now, it seems like confidence is coming back. Though for sure in last 2 weeks of march and april - it seemed low.
Deal Addict
Feb 19, 2019
2347 posts
4020 upvotes
Stouffville ON
TW8511 wrote: In fairness I should probably apologize to you as you put some context in your prior posts and also personal feelings which is your first hand experience and it's appreciated. Not just "XYZ property sold in 24 hours for $XXX over listing", which just reads as hype to me. OP created a thread asking who is buying and specifically didn't want a $$ discussion. To me the insight I would hope to get from that discussion is, what is the general feeling in terms of buyers currently?

For example did your client pass on the Scarborough listing because 1. they are the type of person that doesn't want to ever be involved in a bidding war? 2. because they simply think they should be able to buy at a discount due to covid? 3. is it they need a place to live but are nervous about paying too much in this environment? those examples I'm not suggesting anything.

I'm curious where buyer are mentally. Not so much about sold prices. As long as home owners and buyers have confidence everything is going to work itself out, if owners and buyers in Ontario lose confidence we all have a problem on our hands.

Again sorry for lumping all realtors into the same category. The whole bull vs bear bs on this forum can be frustrating sometimes to those that are just simple homeowners looking to see what's going on out there.
No problem.
I also think and agree all the bear v bull debate is a waste of cyberspace.
For this particular situation the buyers have a set budget in mind which they are not willing to exceed. The property was very nicely renovated couple of years back (not a flip quality by any means, and nicely done renovation with good workmanship and quality materials), after seeing the property I have advised them that it’s very unlikely the property will sell within their budget however there is an outside chance it may because many buyers do not want to a property facing hydro lines (the hydro lines are just behind the fence, really close to the back of the property), this has obviously not materialized. At the time of viewing the property market has began to turn for entry level properties, prior to that, pretty much all the way through April and first week of May, there was a hesitation on the part of the buyers, most properties were going around or below asking, some significantly below asking, setting up for bidding wars have backfired on many occasions. That has quickly changed around the first week of May when the multiple offers became the norm again, and many properties that were lingering on the market for large part of April and even end of March were quickly, one by one, sold.
This particular couple are first time home buyers, showing them number of houses was a learning opportunity for them to figure out what they can compromise on, what are most important must haves, what to pay attention to etc. Seeing how the market has quickly turned into crazy sellers market they decided to put a house search on hold for few months to see how things play out, it will give them an opportunity to save a little bit more and hopefully to allow them to purchase a property later on in the year.
I have number of potential buyers waiting for the prices to correct and from purely selfish perspective I would wish the prices to come off since I would likely be making more money, and if I wasn’t objective I would be pumping the prices down (that is if I had an illusion that anything I post has any effect on the market, I do not have such illusion.).
Last edited by senasena on May 28th, 2020 2:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dec 5, 2009
2789 posts
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Just purchased. I have been looking for the past 8 months and prices have actually gone up 5-10% in my segment since I started looking.
Sr. Member
Sep 16, 2009
693 posts
481 upvotes
Alpine84 wrote: Just purchased. I have been looking for the past 8 months and prices have actually gone up 5-10% in my segment since I started looking.
Thats consistent with broad #s. Prices have gone down since end of Feb though.
Deal Addict
Dec 5, 2009
2789 posts
3289 upvotes
oasis2002 wrote: Thats consistent with broad #s. Prices have gone down since end of Feb though.
Generally speaking, prices have gone down. But I was looking for a very specific type of detached property in Vancouver/BBY/Coquitlam (3 beds (1000+ sqft) up, 1-2 beds down (rentable suite), decent neighborhood) around 1.3-1.4M and there's been no weakness in this segment. I was involved in a property, 4610 Pender, that had 7 offers on the first day. It ended up selling subject free for 1.35M. What was it? A Vancouver special, on a standard Vancouver lot (33x122), ~2400sqft, in original condition (minus some upgrades like vinyl windows). The same house in the same neighborhood sold for 1.3M subject free at the end of last year.

Add: We gave up on Van/BBY and bought in Coquitlam instead.
Sr. Member
Jun 19, 2010
722 posts
699 upvotes
Vancouver
I live in kelowna and we put an offer on a house in the last week. It was accepted and I feel we got a fair price. We bought because we had transfer benefits expiring from one of our workplaces that paid the land transfer tax and fees associated with the purchase so even if prices go down a bit we're still ahead. We had been looking for a year and wanted a specific area with limited homes so we knew what all of the homes that had recently sold were valued at.
Newbie
Sep 11, 2017
14 posts
18 upvotes
Thank you both @senasena and @oasis2002 for your answers.

What I took away from it is that there are people starting to WANT to buy a home. I did have concern that the uptick in transactions and interest was from buyers that HAD to buy a home for whatever reason.

Even those that are pulling back a little for the next couple months is promising. I feel like a month ago the answer was they are putting it off till next year to see where things are.

It does seem like properties that are going to be occupied by the end user are what’s selling. There’s always going to be investors both making money and losing money, it’s all part of it. When the end users are willing and comfortable enough to make one of if not the biggest purchase of their lives I feel like it’s promising for the recovery of our economy.

Ultimately right now I just really want to see money keep changes hands. Just for the sake of all of us making money. I don’t care if your a landscaper, realtor, doctor or a kid selling shoes at foot locker we all know real estate is the biggest economic driver in this province.

Selling soon will continue to be on my radar so I’m going to keep a eye on this thread. Thanks again and good luck to you all.
Deal Fanatic
Jul 3, 2011
6517 posts
3798 upvotes
Thornhill
Here's one more perspective and most people in RFD know I do not pump real estate choosing instead to post information as to the state of the market.

Listings and sales in May picked up significantly as I posted previously.

Bidding wars are back. Not every 8 out of 10 as it was before but they're back and where most were failing up to the last week of April they're starting to take off again.

Within the last week, 2 days after a property was listed at a conservative price, I placed a preemptive offer for a client who is seasoned in buying and selling real estate and who refuses to enter into bidding wars - at 3 offers maybe, any more than would be because of very late bidders. The seller opted to wait for offer date (although there was an underlying different motive). 6 offers were received, my client did not rebid as we knew once it hit 4 offers his price would be passed. The property sold for 2.8% higher than he was willing to go (in a double-ending situation - the different motive). And this property was already listed for more than the combined sale prices of the properties mentioned by Oasis and Senasena. It happened to be one of the 10% of properties within the sector that managed to come in over list since March.

The property mentioned by Oasis was priced relatively tight compared to market value and did exceptionally well as a link in Raymerville. The Sensasena property was listed about 10% below comps but given the location, it was a good play.

May is almost over. So far, for Toronto which along with Durham was hardest hit by sales and price decreases went on a tear in May. Freehold average prices have blown past Feb 2020's high, with about 90% of the number of sales, left April's in the dust by a double digit average price increase and is besting May 2019 by about 5%. At present it's just a few points shy of the May 2017 high. Meanwhile the average price for Condo apartments in Toronto have flown to new heights.

And that's where we are at present. Unless covid-19 regains strength, I expect June to do what i don't think any other June has ever done in Toronto - be the month with the highest average prices on record,

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