… A drop in prices over the last month or so. You may be asking yourself, “Has the price of homes in Burlington finally calmed the heck down?” Maybe, but it’s still too early to tell.
If you’ve been following our blog, or trying to buy a house in Burlington, you know we’ve seen some double-take-worthy numbers in this real estate market.
Back in March, we reported that Burlington’s real estate prices had gone from $763,561 to $951,485 for an increase of 25% in 12 months. But, after seeing the numbers rise progressively higher for the last year or so, we’re starting to see a dip now.
As Realtors working in Burlington we’ve seen, firsthand, a number of homes that would have sold for $900,000 in March sell for closer to $800,000 in May and June. While official numbers haven’t been released yet, we expect the Realtor’s Association of Hamilton Burlington should release them soon.
What Does This Mean for Buyers?
A drop in prices is always good for buyers, that much is clear. But what’s not clear is where the numbers will go from here. This drop in prices could be:
- The start of a downward trend in pricing
- A temporary correction, before prices climb again
- Where the market will remain for a while
As prices sit now, buyers can now afford properties that weren’t in their price range 60 days ago.
This also means they’re likely to run into more motivated sellers, which can lead to a better price and a faster close. If you haven’t looked at the listings in Burlington in a while, take another look.
What Does This Mean for Sellers?
A few weeks ago, a seller just had to put their house on the market. Weak bids would get bullied out of the way by two families who had each missed out on 3 houses so far, and were ready to settle this Hunger Games-style if it came down to it.
Now a sudden price drop means buyers are becoming tentative, wondering if a better deal is around the corner.
This really sucks for sellers, because:
1. They probably decided to sell their home a few months ago when the market was hot. Now, the price they were quoted those few months back has to be adjusted. They could be forced to accept that their home is worth $100,000 less than they were originally quoted.
And….
2. That hurts the next house buy. They may have to downgrade or cut back the new phase of their lives.
Nobody wants to be the one who buys their home at the worst time, when prices are at their highest, right before they start to fall. And that very well could have been anyone who bought at the end of March or beginning of April.
But it’s too soon to tell and that uncertainty is causing a hesitation in buyers. Which is leading to frustration from sellers, because their house is just sitting on the market. Whereas in March, their house would have closed after a rabid bidding war.
Recently, we’ve have seen people not even showing up for offers, because they think they can do better elsewhere. That wouldn’t have happened in March.
Were You Priced Out of the Market in the Spring?
Like we said, we’ve seen some houses going for $100,000 or less than they would have in February, March, or early April. So now is a good time to take another look at the market, and see what’s suddenly in your price range.
One thing is clear: Burlington is NOT going to stop being a choice location any time soon. We were recently named the #1 medium-sized city in Canada, for the 4th straight year!
Click here to contact us to ask us any questions, or find out what’s available in Burlington right now!
