As everyone who hasnt been living under a rock knows, our market has recently gone crazy and house prices increased dramatically. We were in a sellers market, one like Saskatoon has never seen before. This gave sellers the upper hand and, as people had to find houses to live in, buyers couldnt necessarily afford to be as prudent or as picky as in a normal balanced market. This has leveled off for the time being, however our market hasnt dropped. So fear not those who are skeptical and pessimistic, our market isnt going in the dumps, we are reaching a balanced market stage where there are enough new homes coming on the market on a daily basis that buyers can be picky again and not just buy the first house they saw (or, in the case of our boom, bid on just any old house).
Just as people were starting to wrap their heads around the whole bidding process our market seems to have returned to a state of normalcy. While you still see the occasional bidding situation, it is no longer the norm. We are back to a FCFS (first come first serve) market that makes the buyers much happier as they dont have to just take a stab in the dark at a price. They can generally bid lower than the asking price and there is the possibility of negotiating. If you are looking to buy a house in the near future, now might be the time as sellers are generally a bit antsy as they may not be as educated about the market as they should be. Their agent should explain to them what the market is doing, however people get a number in their head of what they want for a price and it may be totally unrealistic. They may be judging it on what their neighbour got for their house a few months ago and thinking they should get the same, but as bidding is almost phased out people KNOW what to offer, they dont pull a number out of a hat and hope that someone else doesnt bid higher than them (not having ANY idea how many people and for how much people are bidding)So congrats buyers, you are now back in the drivers seat (but dont be too cocky, this isnt always the case depending on what you are looking for, your agent should be able to advise you on competition, and if they cant contact me!)
Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.
www.karicalder.com