We are midway through the year and what a whirlwind it has been, not only in the Guelph real estate market, but for all businesses alike. Countries, cities, and communities have all experienced various effects from COVID-19. As real estate trends and activity are unique to a local level, there are considerable differences and changes with housing inventory and pricing from neighborhood to neighborhood, city to city, and so forth… Guelph is showcasing its resilience with both buyers and sellers pushing through this unprecedented time. While there are now more hoops to jump through for both buyers and sellers, our team continues to find new best practices to help our clients succeed when buying and selling in today’s environment.
The 2020 market started off very competitively for buyers and the circumstance is much the same now. We continue to see some multiple offer situations on properties that are listed well above the average sale price of $583,749*. With inventory lower than usual, but increasing month-over-month since March this year, the number of active buyers seems to be ramping up as well, at a quicker rate, in fact. One thing we know for certain is that there is demand in Guelph real estate. On a more broad perspective, we are seeing a heavy increase in the visitor traffic on our local and national real estate websites like RoyalCity.com and RoyalLePage.ca (18,665 visitors/month June 2019, 30,483 visitors/month in June 2020 on RoyalCity.com). In this day and age, the majority of buyers are starting their home search online, with industry-trusted websites like RoyalCity.com. This increase in traffic shows that there are a lot of hungry buyers out there searching, and sellers are looking to educate themselves on what is currently happening in their markets too. Of course, e-commerce and the evolving online environment of getting information, products, and services to consumers who may prefer to do so “at a distance” are heavily reflected in the traffic we are experiencing. The current situation has left many of our buyers and sellers pondering, watching the market closely, consulting with us, and waiting to see what happens next… We have dealt with some fairly impromptu client decisions in the last couple of months. According to Money Sense’s “Where to Buy Real Estate in 2020?”, Guelph has topped the list this year at #1. We suspect there will continue to be an influx of buyers zeroing in on Guelph as this article highlights key factors like average sale price, and the 5-year dollar appreciation, not to mention, the continuous other supporting factors that make Guelph a location hotspot.
Like many other industries, real estate is adapting to the current times in more ways than one. There have been a number of adjustments to the way we conduct our business. Some that are more notable are limited parties allowed inside a home at a time, sanitization & wearing of face masks and hand coverings, social distancing practices, no overlapping showings, virtual offer presentations, and much more. Until recently, Realtors were mandated with a restriction on hosting open houses. While these will slowly begin to be reintroduced as a way to market our clients’ homes, our team is waiting this out for the time being to ensure we can take all precautions necessary and that we can best protect our sellers and our industry. We have remained very busy transacting without this means of marketing our listed homes, having qualified buyers with health disclosures viewing in full attendance by their representative. Time will tell. As our Guelph community continues to move through and past COVID-19, our high level of service and care remains forefront with our clients.
The market fluctuates on a weekly basis and can often be unpredictable. Always reach out to your local real estate professional for current updates, market data, and guidance, especially in times like these! Have a look at the homes that are for sale in Guelph right now.
*Canadian MLS Systems, CREA (City of Guelph MLS Residential Market Activity – June 2020 YTD MLS HPI)