Normally, sellers wait for the good weather to return to put their property on the market. But brokers remind us that we are not in a “normal time”.
While the pre-COVID-19 real estate era was very marked by seasonality (spring and fall were the most active periods, while summer and the holiday break showed slowdowns in transactions), the market has changed a lot since 2020: an increase and a number of record sales were recorded last winter.
After surveying its pool of brokers this fall, the firm Royal LePage indicates that a large majority of them recommend that sellers seek to place their property on the market in the winter rather than wait until spring. Two main reasons justify this incentive: on the one hand, the state of the real estate market, still marked by a significant asymmetry between limited supply and sustained demand, a situation which remains favorable to sellers; on the other hand, the prospect of a possible rise in interest rates in 2022 which could come to play in the beds of buyers.
The real estate company notes that this recommendation to sellers is not specifically Quebec: it is found across the country, especially in British Columbia.
Across Canada, 79% of brokers surveyed internally by Royal LePage advise selling in the winter rather than in the spring (in Quebec, they are 83% to suggest it), whereas they do not. only 64% would have done so in the context leading up to the pandemic.
The same goes for Serge Brousseau, owner of Re / Max Du Cartier, who points out the few properties available, which should continue to create higher bidding situations this winter: maximum for his property, he says. From one year to the next, it can be different, recalls Mr. Brousseau, it is indeed a good time to sell his property, which does not mean that the spring will not be good. Normally April is the biggest month for real estate, with a lot of sellers and buyers in the market. I have the impression that we will not really be done with these overbids, even if they have nevertheless decreased. If it increases a little this spring, it will not be as acute as what we experienced last year. “
As a reminder, real estate sales in December 2020 had increased by 39% in Quebec compared to 2019. We had then observed a very strong increase in the peripheral areas of Montreal, including the northern crown (+ 49%), Laval and the South Shore (+ 31%), according to data provided by the Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers of Quebec.
For 2022, however, many variables will come into play, including the erosion of government aid and the tendency to return, partially or completely, to work offices, which could be a game-changer, especially in the suburban markets.