Soggy Summer ... Sinking Market? - Oakville Real Estate Watch

Oakville Real Estate Recap - July 2008 We have endured one of the soggiest summers in recent memory and with 'back to school' approaching faster and faster on the horizon how has Oakville's Real Estate market fared? Let's just say while I'm not ready to start bailing yet or grabbing my life preserver, I'm also not going to sail full steam into an ice field.

The stat's don't lie - Last week, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O'Neill tried to find a silver lining "Eventhough GTA sales were down 12 percent from the bes-ever July 2007 figure of 8,912, sales were up 10% from July 2006." These figures are for single-family dwellings only.

These overall figures do not tell the whole story. The decrease was not evenly eperienced throughout the Greater Toronto Area. Within the city of Toronto, Real Estate sales were down 14% from July 2007. The 905 suburbs as a whole experienced a decline in home sales of 11%.

How is Oakville doing in all of this? Let's see:

July 2008

Active Listings: 526 up 38%
Sales: 116 down 13%
Average Selling Price: $ 503,305 up 0.75%
Average D.O.M: 29 (Days on Market)

I recently found an article from the Globe and Mail "Soft Ontario market fuels concern".

My opinion is that the shifts we have been seeing and the flooding of listings to the market will result in changes to the Oakville Real Estate market. Homes that are priced well, in better locations and in superior condition will sell first. Not exactly rocket science.

The difference this year is that home buyers are being more patient. There is tons of product available. There's less bidding wars on homes and we will start to see reductions in pricing when home owners realize that their homes isn't really worth $150,000 more this year than last year when they bought it (all hypothetical numbers).
 
Time will tell, but it's not unthinkable that we will start to see that average selling price coming down. I am not a proponent of testing the market. If you have to or want to sell your home, price it right the first time. Houses that are reduced multiple times raises warning flags that can scare buyers.

For more information or private, no-obligation Home Evaluation contact me. For more information on Oakville Real Estate, Home Listings and Condo Profiles visit my website.

But enough of my rambling.... Tell me your thoughts. Post a comment sharing your thoughts on where our Oakville Real Estate market is going.