Cliff Barron here with the market update for December 1, 2023 - almost the end of the year!  We're heading into the holiday season and the question that alot of people are asking me is, "How's the market? How's the market?"  It's kind of balanced, believe it or not - it's not bad.  Everybody thinks its terrible but it's not really.  There aren't alot of sellers and there's not alot of buyers, but they're kind of balancing each other out. The reason for that is the rates are so high, people are thinking hey, let's stay put, deal with what I have right now and see what happens in the future. Pack mentality or crowd mentality however is that people tend to follow the crowd.  When the rates start coming down I can see people rushing in and overpaying again like they were doing in 2021/2022.  

My opinion now is that it's a good time to buy.  Sellers aren't "desperate", but its funny because if their house is on the market for longer than 3 or 4 days, panic sets in. That used to be the norm up until all this bidding started happening.  A house would be on the market 3,4,5 weeks and that's the way it worked.  You'd sell 98 or 99% of asking price. The main thing right now is that you have to price your home properly.  If you do that, you shouldn't have any problems selling. Buying first is another question.  I'd consider selling first before you buy.  If you sell first with a longer closing, it gives you lots of time to find something when you do sell. Then you're not under pressure.  If you buy first and you're thinking - I'm gonna get $ X  for my place and it doesn't happen, then you start feeling the squeeze a little bit. So, the market isn't that bad right now.  

Remember too, if you're in a position where you're downsizing and you're mortgage-free, you can actually get some pretty good deals. You don't have to worry about all the fluctuating mortgage rates that is driving the market dow. You can take that and use it to  your advantage. So that's something to consider.

If you're selling a rental property, that's another big question I get quite often.  Right now, the rents have gone up so much, tenants can't afford to leave, they don't want to leave, so they're doing whatever they can to stay where they are. It's becoming a problem for landlords left, right and centre. So, if you're thinking of selling a rental property, get in touch with me first before you do anything because I can help guide you.  You don't want to make mistakes and have tenants in there that could take forever to get out. I've heard lots of stories like that lately - it's scary.  So many people bought during the pandemic when the rates were nothing. Now the rates are much higher, so they're under water every single month.  It's a really stressful position for a lot of landlords.

Anyways, on a happy note, it's going to be the holidays pretty soon. So, take care, talk soon and - happy holidays!