The Price is Right in London Real Estate

The other day while driving down one of the most coveted residential streets in London I noticed first “PRICE REDUCED” sticker I can remember seeing in months. Ironically, it was across the street from a property I had more offers on than I have handled on any other listing to date.

“Price Reduced”. Sounds simple enough. Like a sale on that purse you’ve been eyeing, or last year’s model of i-whatever taking a slightly less obscene hit to your wallet.

But are asking prices even reflective of, well, anything right now?

Are prices actually dropping? Is there something substantially wrong with a house that didn’t sell with 15 offers in a week?

I hope I’m not the only one out there who’s willing to throw their hands up and say, I’m a little confused how to play this pricing game. And if I’m confused I’m telling you, sellers are confused and you know who’s REALLY confused: buyers. And I want to help them navigate the change in the market, but how do I explain it when things are still being priced at outdated prices?

We are going to burn out our sellers, our buyers and most of all ourselves underpricing everything and trying to manage multiple offers on every property.

This isn’t the price is right. I am no good at the showcase showdown and the big wheel terrifies me.

If the majority are still following that strategy the market doesn’t seem to tolerate listings priced closer to the true “2017” value. Buyers don’t like to see the 2017 prices on the listing, but they seem ok writing them on their offers.

Please feel free to jump in and correct me if I’m wrong but at least in the wheelhouse I do most of my deals in- people would rather pay over ask then look at something more accurately priced higher to begin with.

Are we all just assuming every seller wants more than list price? Is the code for “this is priced at what we feel is more or less fair” just not holding offers?

Are we leaving money on the table if we don’t fabricate a bidding war for our sellers?

So many buyers have asked when the market will ‘cool down’. My opinion is that if you want a ‘cooldown’ you’re looking at it. Inventory is flooding in daily. On most of my listings in the past few weeks showing requests have slowed down. I don’t have a crystal ball but I think prices will stabilize somewhat but we will never see pre 2017 prices again.

I think we all need to collectively light a cigarette, take a deep breath and reflect on what just actually happened to the London market and where we stand now.

London was Ontario’s bargain. Everyone caught on.

If you are looking for a “correction” to the new prices- I’d challenge you that the fury from the last 6-12 months WAS a correction.

So now our mindsets need some time to adjust. The list prices need to adjust. Our expectations need to adjust. And then we can go back to having a more balanced market, albeit at higher prices.

And for now, I will do my best to help you try to navigate a market where a list price could literally mean anything.

Cheers

-Heather