We've had our house up for sale for a bit over a month now. Given the time of year and price point, a decent number of showings, and all to serious buyers... about the number we expected so far, which is still small enough that we aren't constantly having to keep the house sparkling. Everyone seems to really like the house, but the objections have been either it's a bit too big, or they "need" a more typical suburban-style backyard (no surprise).
Talking to our realtor and doing some hunting around, the Guelph market seems to be doing not bad overall, though most activity in the lower-middle end, very little in the higher end. Inventory is actually fairly low, and actually very tight at the high end. Given that, and the fact that Guelph prices didn't really shoot up like most places, prices have been fairly strong, though a bit weaker in the new (overbuilt?) south end subdivisions. We'll see how things continue as we enter the spring market, what little there will likely be of one this year.
Quite the contrast compared to Edmonton, which I've been watching for a while. Inventory looks quite high, especially in the high end where things are moving very very slowly. Combine that with the huge price run up they had over the last few years, and prices are nose-diving. And you keep seeing the same houses getting listed, expiring, relisted, etc. One I've noticed which last year came on at $900k, later expired and came on again after a while at $800k, dropped to $775k, expired, and just came back on this week at $675k. And it's a not bad house in a nice location.
We've actually been more seriously considering a larger downtown condo; not that either of us will work downtown (well, I'll work where ever I live) but for the convenience. Edmonton's downtown has improved a lot since we last lived there, and they've attracted a lot more professionals to live there, with tons of new condo buildings, factory to loft conversions, etc.
But there's still a few big new buildings started in the boom which are just going to be opening up very soon, so combining that with the downturn there... yikes! Needless to say, I suspect the price drops will continue... I'm pretty sure we'll end up renting for a while when we move out there. No shortage of people who can't sell their places who have them up for rent.
Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that.
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