As a Realtor, one of the things that continues to amaze me is the dynamics of human behaviour and how many people are content to follow the crowd. We saw it in COVID when bidding wars became the norm and buyers were eager to outbid and pay more for less because….”well, thats what everybody was doing”. This resulted in a “Sellers Market“, with ever decreasing inventory levels, sellers could almost name their price…and someone would pay. A great time to sell…dangerous time to buy. The good news for buyers…it’s over. Gone are bidding wars, homes selling in a matter of hours or days and buyers, burned from losing bids, eager to push pricing up.
Welcome to the new realities of 2024. How quickly we’ve turned to a “Buyers Market“. We have an ever increasing inventory of homes for sale in Peterborough. In real estate, we measure this as the number of ‘days of inventory available’. It’s simple – how many homes sell in a month versus how many come on the market? We can calculate based the current sales and listings, how many days of inventory are on the market. If on average, 10 homes sell in a day and there are currently 250 homes for sale = 25 days of inventory. Its dynamic calculation as homes come on and off market but the concept is simple.
Currently, more and more homes are coming on the market and many buyers are sitting, watching the market and waiting.
The big question is – what are they waiting for?
While we will likely see further interest rate drops, the reality is staying with variable rates will enable people to lock in when they feel comfortable. Experienced mortgage brokers will tell you the variability in rates has been accounted for in fixed rate offerings. Its debatable as to how much mortgage rates will fall and there are strategies to enable you to benefit from these adjustments.
Some buyers are indicating they believe we’ll see further reductions in house prices. There are two schools of thought with one group believing more inventory will push prices lower while others believe we’ve seen price adjustments this past year and that they’ve stabilized. I fall into this group as there remain a huge number of buyers waiting on the market. During COVID, when 25 people bid on a home and only one was successful, the question remains….where did the other 24 go? My answer…the majority are waiting.
Ultimately, the key to me is in the local micro markets that exist within the Real Estate industry. While each market has its own set of influencers, Peterborough remains a desirable destination. As people followed the highway 407 expansion East, so has awareness for what our region has to offer. A beautiful community nestled on the shores of the Otonabee River. An area with an abundance of trails, green space, rivers and lakes, yet with the infrastructure that home owners seek. Big Box Shopping (let’s not forget Costco), modern Sports facilities, great schools including amazing post-secondary options (Trent University, Fleming College). We have a regional hospital, a thriving downtown including Cafe district and Restaurants…
So, perhaps it’s time if you’ve been thinking of a move….to make a move before the pack decides to play ‘follow the leader’ and climb back into the market. There’s a great inventory to choose from and we can review options in some of my favourite neighbourhoods.
Feel free to reach out and let’s have a conversation – Zoom, text, email, phone or my favourite….over a coffee in one of my favourite cafes.
You can reach me, Ken Pipher, Realtor® at 705.933.9191
* Not intended to solicit those under contract but fully intended to help those seeking to move to Peterborough
