Home sellers forced to confront new market realities this spring
Home sellers are awakening to a new, sobering reality as the spring real estate market blossoms into action: the era of frenzied bidding wars and soaring profits in urban centres appears to be receding, replaced by a landscape where they must navigate price cuts, lukewarm buyers and mortgage-approval challenges.
Sellers have for years held the reins, dictating the terms and watching their property values soar. But the tide is turning, and many are finding themselves grappling with a market that demands their expectations be recalibrated.
As a result, Darren Cabral, a realtor in York Region just north of Toronto, said the need for sellers to lower their property prices below initial expectations is on the rise.
“Someone will come to me saying, ‘Oh, my realtor didn’t do enough. Our property didn’t sell. We didn’t get offers,’” he said. “Typically, what we find, and what I end up explaining to the seller is that the price was wrong. They priced way, way, way, way too high. It’s not getting enough action because it’s way higher than the market.”
Almost 60 per cent of all homes sold in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) have sold below asking so far this year, according to real estate listing website HouseSigma Inc., as of March 21.
About 54 per cent of homes in the GTA sold below asking in 2023, compared to 45.4 per cent in 2022. In Vancouver, 71.8 per cent of homes have sold below asking so far this year.
National benchmark home prices, however, held steady at $719,400 in February compared to the previous month, according to Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data. Prices had been on a downward trend for five consecutive months since the fall.
But prices are showing a greater tendency to trend downward rather than upward
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