I've been selling homes in Milton for years.  In fact, I've sold over 500 Milton homes - so to quote a popular insurance company, “I know a thing or two because I've seen a thing or two…”

In those years, I've witnessed the market go every which way - up, down and sideways - and people are always asking for my market prediction. I think the hardest thing to do is predict what will happen with the real estate market. After all, remember 2008 when the recession hit and everyone predicted the real estate market would tank? Who knew it would come back in a year and show positive gains consistently for the next 9 years? Who knew the market would peak in March of 2017 and we would see gains almost on a monthly basis in the 5-10% range?

Well here goes. Here's my prediction for the market in the next few months. I'll try my best to update market conditions as we move further along into the fall:

The summer of 2018 has been slow. In my opinion, slower than most traditional summers. The number of sales has decreased but thankfully the number of listings hasn't skewed the numbers and put a lot of downward pressure on home prices. Yes, prices have dropped in the past 6 months but they've dropped very gradually.  Unfortunately, I still see a lot of sellers refusing to acknowledge the current market conditions. As a result, they're pricing their homes at 2017 prices and simply not selling. Due to this, listing days on the market is up and seller frustration levels are high. The reality is this: if you're over-priced, your home will sit and you'll actually help sell the properly priced homes in your neighbourhood.  

A rough example: In Milton, 3-story townhouses (depending on size), are starting in the low 500’s - sometimes even in the high 400's;  2-story towns are in the mid to high 500's; semis in the high 500's; small single car garage detached homes in the mid to high 600's or very low 700's; small detached with double car garage in the mid 700's and up to around 830 or so; 2500 sq ft detached are around 850 to 900 and 3000 sq ft homes around 900-1 million. All of these homes were selling for A LOT more a year ago. In fact, in March of 2017 I sold a 2500 sq ft home in Hawthorne Village Milton for 1.06 million. After the buyers came extremely close to backing out of the deal when they took a huge hit on selling their home, we ended up settling on 1 million. Today if I listed that same home, I would be hard pressed to get $900,000 for it.

So, my prediction? Prices will slightly decrease -but very gradually. Things will pick up after the summer is over when people (and agents) are back from summer vacation and the number of sales will increase but prices will not increase. The market will be more balanced. Here's a tip. Thinking of selling? Look at comparable sales in your neighbourhood and price slightly LOWER than the last comparable sale. Be ahead of the curve and don't price too high, playing catch up later on. Putting your home on the market for months is not fun, trust me!

As always, if you have any questions about buying or selling in Milton, let me know. Advice is and always will be free and I'm more than happy to help!