That’s the question I get asked at every party or every time I’m catching up with a friend. And the answer is the same as it has been for the majority of the past 8 years – it’s red hot.

But red hot is good for you as an agent, isn’t it?

Well, it can be if you’re primarily a seller’s agent, but for those who work mainly with buyers it can be quite a frustrating market to work through. Multiple offers are the norm these days and it can get quite tiresome finding a property your buyers love only to see the dreaded words “offers accepted on…”.

For certain properties that could mean 2-3 offers or something as silly as 15-20 offers on Offer Night. And, no matter how much you coach your clients, it’s always difficult to compete in a market where firm offers (meaning no conditions of purchase) and purchase prices routinely $100K over asking are standard.

January 2016 Market Update

Every holiday season the media tends to focus in on the economy and especially real estate. News of crashes, recession, bubbles, oil prices and energy dominate the news cycle. 

This year was no different and news of our impending doom filled our airwaves and made our roast beef a little bit harder to swallow. But, like most years, we’ve managed to crawl out of the rubble and get back to business.

This year was supposed to see a flurry of activity in January because of the mortgage rules changes for homes over $500K.

And, mostly by coincidence the GTA hasn’t slowed down.

In January, we’re back to multiple offers and prices continue to climb. Right now we’re going through a huge period of change in real estate and lifestyle in the GTA. For those that still desire the detached home with the large backyard, they’re having to travel 1.5-2 hours outside of the GTA. 

And for those not up for the day-to-day marathon commute, they’re either saving more and upping their budget or changing their lifestyle by making sacrifices to fit into the condo lifestyle.

Where do we go from here?

I answered most questions in my blog – 3 Predictions for the Real Estate Market in 2016-2017, but I’ll reiterate by saying that it’s incredibly important now that people begin to think about a home the way we used to think about homes – as a place to grow a family and be a part of a community.

For many years during the biggest booms, real estate became an incessant quest to find the pockets with the most potential growth. And, for many, that is of course still incredibly important. But, if you’re reading this and are just looking for a place to raise your family and find good schools, then I would suggest focusing on that and letting the market take care of itself.

For the investor, it’s a different story as you’re looking for trends and places to invest and aren’t necessarily as attached to the community you park your money. 

Everyone is going to have different goals but for the vast majority of people it’s time to start thinking about the community aspect of our cities again as they grow and reimagine themselves for the future.