Why Right Now Is a Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity for Sellers

If you’re thinking about selling your house in 2022, you truly have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity at your fingertips. When selling anything, you always hope for strong demand for the item coupled with a limited supply. That maximizes your leverage when you’re negotiating the sale. Home sellers are in that exact situation right now. Here’s why.

Demand Is Very Strong

The Canadian Real Estate Association(CREA) said annual home sales reached a new hgh in 2021 surpassing the previous record in 2020 by 20%. CREA said that about 667,000 residential properties traded hands in 2021, which is about 30% higher than the 10-year average.This was the largest number of home sales in 15 years and demand isn’t expected to weaken this year, either. 

Supply Is Very Limited

The reality is, inventory decreases every year in December. That’s just how the typical seasonal trend goes in real estate. However, as TD Economics economist Rishi Sondhi explains, listings have not kept pace with sales.

“In fact, the number of homes newly listed last year was below levels that generally prevailed before the pandemic struck,” Sondhi wrote in a note to investors. "It could be that a lack of supply is perpetuating itself, in that potential sellers who would be more active in ‘normal’ times are holding back their listings due to a dearth of inventory to relocate to, and intense competition for available properties.”

The lack of properties available weighed on sales, which rose by only 0.2 per cent on a seasonally-adjusted basis between November and December. On a non-seasonally-adjusted basis totalled 35,971, down nearly 10 per cent from 39,940 in December 2020.

Right Now, Sellers Have Maximum Leverage

As mentioned above, when there’s strong demand for an item and a limited supply of it available, the seller has maximum leverage in the negotiation. In the case of homeowners who are thinking about selling, there may never be a better time than right now. While demand is this high and inventory is this low, you’ll have leverage in all aspects of the sale of your house.

Today’s buyers know they need to be flexible negotiators that make very competitive offers, so here are a few areas that could tip in your favor when your house goes on the market:

• Competitive sales price
• Flexible closing date
• Potential for a leaseback to allow you more time to find a home
• Minimal offer contingencies

Bottom Line

If you’re thinking of selling your house this year, now is the optimal time to list it. Let’s connect to discuss how you can put your house on the market today.