Archive for December, 2020

Should I Buy or Sell my home first?

Wednesday, December 30th, 2020

Should I Buy or Sell my home first?

One of the most frequent questions I get as a Realtor is “Should I buy first or should I sell first?   Unfortunately there is no correct answer as it will really depend on your circumstances.  As I cannot simply answer the question for you here I will highlight 3 critical things you may want to consider to help you make your decision.

First is your finances, can you qualify for a  mortgage on a second home? Even if you can qualify for a second mortgage is this something you want to carry?  A catch 22 here is if you want to use the equity out of your current home to buy the new home then financing becomes a challenge as banks will want to sign you up for a full term mortgage. There are other option and this is where you need to speak to a mortgage professional.  Often once clients look at their finances the choice to sell first becomes very clear.

Your second consideration is what is happening in the market?

  •  In a Sellers market you may lean towards buying first as you may have a challenge securing the perfect property with the limited inventory on the market and if priced correctly your home should sell in a very reasonable amount of time.
  • On the other hand if its a strong buyers market then you might lean toward selling first.  In a buyers market homes are harder to sell while buying you have plenty of choice.
  • In a balanced market many will lean towards selling first as this gives you more control of the timing.

Your third consideration is,  how much stress are willing to handle?   In my years of experience there is typically a lot less stress on clients when the sell first and then buy.  You may ask what sort of things might cause stress. Here are just a few:

Having 2 mortgage payments

  • Having to  move twice
  • Your home does not sell as quickly as you thought
  • The market can change in the middle of a transaction

When I have clients asking this question, I first ask them to consider their finances, the market and how much stress they want to manage. If this does not make them 100% clear on their choice here is what we do next.

Knowing the state of the market I will be able to give them a clear picture of what the market is like and how challenging the sale might be.  The other variable is how challenging will it be to find their new home. I will then spend some time probing on the buying side.  Once I get clarity on the specific must haves and like to have in their new home then I can complete a search to determine if there is 1 home that meets their criteria of if there is 100 homes that meet their criteria.  If there are many homes available then I might suggest selling first and if they are looking for something very unique that may be hard to find then for them buying first may be the best strategy.

As there is no answer that is correct for everyone it is important to know whatever choice you make we have several proven strategies to ensure your transaction goes smoothly and stress free.  If you would like a free no obligation consultations simply contact us.

TSW Real Estate Group Announcement

Tuesday, December 15th, 2020

New Designations 

At TSW Real Estate Group we take our business seriously and understand that the more education we have the better we are able to Serve our Clients.  We are happy to announce that all Agents with TSW Real Estate Group have now received the following 2 new Designations.

SRS:  Sellers Representative Specialist

Seller Representative Specialist

Seller Representative Specialist

ABR: Accredited Buyers Representative

Accredited Buyers Representative

Accredited Buyers Representative

 

This adds to our list of current Designations:

CCS: Certified Condo Specialists

Certified Negotiation Expert

At TSW Real Estate Group – It’s all about you!

 

 

Just Listed: 3033 Edenwold Heights NW

Thursday, December 3rd, 2020

Outstanding opportunity in Edgecliffe Estates.  This top floor unit is priced to sell and is a great starter home or  investment.  Open Concept living, a corner kitchen with newer appliances. Living room features a gas fireplace and leads to your covered balcony that faces the mountains.  Bedroom is spacious.  Unit provides In Suite laundry with room for storage.  Complex offers great amenities including a pool, hot tub, exercise room and a social room with a pool table. Fantastic location just 2 minutes to Nose Hill Park, perfect for your outdoor exercise, close to U of C, Children’s hospital, Market mall.

MLS # A1052766

More Information Here 

Attention First Time Home Buyers & Investors

Calgary Real Estate Market Snapshot – Dec 1, 2020

Tuesday, December 1st, 2020

What is really happening in the Calgary Real Estate Market?

The market is simply a result of Supply and Demand therefore we look at both Supply (inventory) and Demand (Sales) and the relationship between the two.  We also update you on the current benchmark price for all housing sectors.

Following is a graph that shows the months of inventory for each housing sector.  Looking at a 2-year trendline gives you and indication of where things are really heading.

2 Year Graph showing months of Inventory.

Following is a summary of what I deem to be the most important numbers.  Again, we look at Total Inventory, Sales for the past 30 days, Months of Inventory and of course the benchmark price.  All numbers are taken from the Calgary Real Estate boards monthly stats package.

Calgary Real Estate Board Stats

 

Gord’s commentary for the month (just my opinion).

Calgary Listing Inventory

Our total listing inventory dropped in all sectors with inventory decreasing by 805 listings or a 13.8% drop from October. This is simply a normal seasonal adjustment and we can expect listings to drop further through December.

Calgary Sales:

November sales decreased in all sectors.  The largest drop was in detached homes and it dropped by 256 sales or 22.48% from October.  The total decrease was 327 sales less or a decrease of 18.54%.  As with inventory, sales declining in November is strictly a seasonal adjustment and we will see a further decline in December.

 Sales Compared to 2019:

It is critical to note that in all my other numbers I look at month over month.  This chart below shows us the numbers this year compared to last year.   Although November sales slowed, we were still 327 sales higher than last year or 25.4% higher.

 

  Jan Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2019 801 973 1327 1544 1915 1775 1642 1580 1365 1438 1146 858
2020 861 1195 1175 573 1080 1747 1835 80 1702 1764 1437  
Change +60 +222 -152 -971 -835 -28 +194 -7 337 +326 +327  
% change +7.49 +22.8 -11.4 -62.8 -45.5 -1.6 +11.82% N/A 24.87% +22.67% +25.4%  

  

Calgary Real Estate Benchmark Sales Prices:

For the 4th month in a row we saw the Benchmark Sales price in Calgary increase. The overall increase was $3,600.  All sectors except Apartment Condos increased.  Apartment Condo sector decreased by $3,200.

  

Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices Year to Date

Since the beginning of the year

Detached homes increased by $11,900

Semi-Detached homes increased by $1,000

Attached Row houses decreased by $800.

Apartment Condos decreased by $3,000

 

Current Months of Inventory (Absorption Rate): 

The months of Inventory decreased in Semi-detached homes by .24

Every other sector saw a small increase in the Months of Inventory.

It is also important to note that these numbers vary by community, and by price range.  If you would like numbers for your community contact us.   For example, many communities if I look at listings under $500,000. they are showing being in a Sellers Market position and are getting competing offers.