Should I Buy Or Sell First?

Should I Buy Or Sell First?

Are you ready to purchase a property but are unsure if you should sell your current property first? You are not alone! Im Meegan Dennie, a realtor in the competitive market of Toronto Ontario Canada and I'm here to guide you with a very recent client story that explains why buying first, may not be the best option for you right now. 

In March of this year (2022), I was instructed by my buyer clients to make an offer on a home in Vaughan that was $300,000.00 less than what the most recent comparable sold for on the same street just a few weeks ago.

Yes, I thought my clients were out to lunch with this offer and I politely told them so but they wanted to give it a go and of course we did! 

Their offer was not accepted and the sellers took a higher priced offer with a financing condition. I'd like to note that even seeing a conditional offer at this time was a sign of the times! 

The conditional offer fell through, so back on the market the house went. 

And it sat

and it sat.

A Price drop happened & the sellers got a new agent.

They listed it for an even lower price!

It continued to sit on MLS. 

Fast forward from March until May and this property is still available for sale!!! 

Come to find out The sellers had already bought a new property at the peak of the market and were extremely stressed. 

They accepted another conditional offer but that also fell through!!

My buyer clients came back to the table with the exact same offer they gave in March and it was accepted!!!   

Congrats to my buyer clients but not so lucky for the seller... 

Its no secret, its Been a sellers market in Toronto and the GTA for quite sometime now. Sellers have been very spoiled with not only sale prices but also how quickly their property would sell..

However, when we are dealing with things like rising mortgage rates and Several mortgage rate bumps are happening, it can take some buyers out of the equation and or change their mentality or their qualifying rate. 

During the pandemic from mid 2020 throughout all of 2021 -the market in Toronto and the GTA skyrocketed. Why? Because everyone reevaluated what they needed and wanted in their current home since everyone was working from home now, even Kids were in school virtually..

We also cant forget that our mortgage rates dropped so low that we were basically giving away mortgages for free. It created a selling and buying frenzy and brought everyone and their mothers to purchase a property or become an investor and purchase multiple properties. 

Prices rose and everything was selling in multiples within days, sometimes even hours.

In this case, YES you should buy first!  It’s the wild wild west and chances are your home would sell for top dollar and quickly. 

But Now we are in that transitioning market as I mentioned, you should really be considering selling first!!  I wouldn't be surprised if We may even start to see offers conditional on the sale of ones property.

My guidance here is, know your market and trust the experts advice!! We don't want to see you in that stressful situation guys!

So when IS the best time to sell your home?  Check out this video: https://youtu.be/qoYw8-fM-H4

My name is Meegan Dennie, call me for your Toronto & GTA real estate needs.