UNDERSTANDING THE "CHANGING" REAL ESTATE MARKET IN GUELPH (& Southern Ontario)

The BEST time to buy in this market is actually…RIGHT NOW.  A lot of buyers (or as you might refer to them, your competition) are on the fence right now, listening to the media and “waiting” to buy, which means prices are actually stabilizing and are AFFORDABLE for buyers.

There is actually room for that word we haven’t heard in a while: Negotiation!

But wait!  There’s more!

Buyers are able to include fair conditions in their offers right now (this is still difficult in multiple offer situations, but is happening in regular offers again).

The home values in Ontario as a whole have increased on average 3% per year for the past 60 years.  In Guelph, that number is closer to 4-7% per year for the same time period.  Real estate is the best investment, and 70% of Canadians who CAN buy property DO buy property.

We have recently been reclassified in Southern Ontario to be the “Greater Golden Horseshoe” as well – so the data that we receive is specific to our regions AND the averages focus on our area, not Ontario as a whole, to get a better picture.

Interest rates are set to remain the same until at least January 2018 (following the USA’s rising interest rates) which is another reason to BUY NOW.  When they do go up, the aim will still be to keep them on the lower side.

In Ontario, we are seeing immigration at an average of 90,000 people per year and the statistics are showing that the majority of these people are becoming home owners.  Demand for housing is not going anywhere soon.

In addition, for the first time since 1991, housing starts designed for rentals are beginning to become more prevalent again as are multiple dwelling properties. This is due to changing demographics and a higher number of home owners in the 55-70 age bracket as well as the fastest growing demographic:  The single female home owner.

Some slides showing the consistency of the KW region’s real estate market (with a dip in 2013 due to RIM’s decline and no true dip in 2008 – which shows the stability of our market).  This also shows 2016 and 2017’s SUPER CRAZY market: