When we first make the decision to sell, we expect it to be a somewhat quick process. We are riding the excitement and adrenaline of prepping our home, having professional photography done, and are awaiting listing day. The energy in a home is palpable.
Your house goes on the market, maybe you get some scheduled showings (yay!), or perhaps there is silence . . . Week one goes by, week two goes by, then week five goes by and no offers have been presented. Where did your team go wrong?
Well, sometimes it does have something to do with your listing team (Are they advertising your property? Did they incorrectly enter a detail on your listing causing some buyers to miss your listing? Are your priced correctly?). Other times it has nothing to do with the agent(s) and everything to do with the market. Let me share with you my first hand experience of selling our homes in 3 very different markets.
Winter 2021: Sellers market
Covid was all the media talked about, restrictions were in place, and city dwellers were shopping hard in suburbia. We listed our 4+1 bedroom, 4.5 bath home in the town of Innisfil, ON in January. The first weekend we were bombarded with showings. It was unbelievable. And all it took was that weekend because our home sold in 6 days. We were very happy with our real estate team’s professionalism and felt they had done a fantastic job. BUT let’s not forget it was a hot sellers market (lots of bidding wars), so it was a pretty easy sale.
Fall 2022: Balanced market (with a little lean towards sellers market)
We decided to list our 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom condo in Southeast Barrie. We had been so happy with our prior real estate team that we chose to go with them again. This time, we were out of the province while our condo was for sale, but felt confident that things would work out. We gave ourselves 3 months to sell before our other property had to close. Week 1 goes by, then week two; we had very little showings. We couldn’t fully understand why. Week three goes by, then week four begins… we were getting nervous. But! we did end up selling in 28 days. Phew!
Spring/Summer 2024: Buyers market
We decided to make the big move closer to my family in Alberta. I got my real estate license (because after 7 transactions and some encouragement from friends, I felt pretty confident that I could make this a career). We get photography done, the condo looks perfect, listing goes live, showings start coming. We got excited and figured perhaps we would beat the buyer’s market and sell in record time (6 months is the average wait in our complex). But despite showings, no offers came. Month one on the market, then month two, three, four . . . We begin to feel frustrated. Prices are going down, so we lower our price. Twice. Many factors will influence a neighbourhood’s market; ours was being influenced by desperation sales due to unaffordable mortgage renewals or secondary properties needing to close with the funds from the primary property’s sale. It felt like a losing game. Was it me? I had advertised it well, it showed well, we had good feedback… what was going on? And what was I going to do?
So I sat my husband down and had a frank conversation with him. I had 3 questions for him – and they are the very questions I would ask you if we were in the same predicament while walking through the selling or buying process together.
1. How important is moving in your original time frame?
Sometimes we are not on a tight time frame. We don’t have a job starting or a property closing on a set date forcing us to sell asap. I am due with baby #3 . . . but that is surprisingly something we can work around. Having a set date you need to move by can add some pressure to decisions owners need to make on selling price (and other factors).
2. How much of your funds are you willing to let go of in order to make your set timeline? It’s not a questions anyone likes to hear, but it is had with agents more often than one realizes. Perhaps it’s phrased as “how high are you willing to go to win the offer?” Whether it is paying more for a home, or getting less for your sale, we all have a bottom dollar amount we are willing to go to in a transaction. Our goal as agent is to always save you money (buyer) or make you max dollar (seller). That is why you hire us, to negotiate the best possible outcome for you. But we must always keep in mind how flexible our funds and timelines are.
3. Can you stay in your current home and make it work for another year, or until the next sellers market? Spring markets are known for being the hottest of the four seasons. If a home does not sell, or offers are not at the desired price, one can choose to go off the market and wait until the next seller’s market. This is an option currently being discussed in our home. Though it is not ideal, sometimes waiting a few months for the market to go through its shifts can mean getting a better prices for your transaction. Do I want to move provinces with a newborn? No. Can I manage it if needed? Yes. So let’s not forget this too is an available option.
And always remember: agents do not control the market fluctuations. It’s hard to not feel discouraged and perhaps to even want to blame someone for the lack of success in a transaction. We must remind ourselves that our country’s financial stance is what dictates the market. I am very confident in my skills as a real estate agent, but even I felt a little discouraged with this current sale. So I check in with others. Just like other agents had called me (because they too were not selling in our complex), I reached out to other agents to see how their open houses went, if they were happy with the showings or offers they were receiving, if they were going to stay on the market or pause until further notice (many chose to lease instead of sell after a few months of sitting). This is something your agent can also do for you: research listing activity within your neighbourhood. It won’t magically sell your home, but it will give you insight into how other sellers are doing/feeling (you are never alone in any type of market!).
So! if you too are waiting to purchase or sell your home, and the process has taken a little longer than desired, hang in there! Real estate is its own roller coaster and you never know what turns are ahead of you.
Interested in working together to purchase or sell your home? Let’s get on the phone or meet over coffee for a chat!
Ashley Bergner
416-559-2575
bergnerrealestate@gmail.com
Bergner Real Estate 
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