Dear Montrealers, Now that the Spring Season of 2013 is at it’s end we have enough information on sales and the market to get a clear view of this year comparable to previous years. We have been doing quite well considering we are in a Buyers Market. More houses on the market with fewer buyers for those homes make this Market challenging for Sellers and Real Estate Brokers. Here is a simple chart roughly illustrating the different periods throughout the year with the according percentage in sales for that period.

Being in a Buyer’s Market does not mean that we are in a “bad” Market , the Market today is simply different from last year’s. The challenges that life will throw at us along with changes in our lifestyles will continue to happen. The difference will come with the strategy used to promote and shop for our properties. More reason to use the services of a reputed Real Estate Specialist such as myself.

I received a phone call from Jacques last week; he will be relocating soon and has three months to sell his property starting in June. He asked me to help him with promoting and selling his home. Pros: his property is in an area where few homes are for sale and his area is in demand. Cons: timing will bring the property to market in mid June when people are on vacation and at their summer homes, and he has been the owner for less than one year making it difficult to come out ahead. After discussion we decided that an aggressive price out of the gate with some targeted advertising would be most successful. Preparation for this should take a couple weeks and hopefully we will have some quick replies.

With the spring market winding down, the summer doldrums are just around the corner. What should be done during this period? Buyers will be less active, Open Houses will not attract as many people, generally speaking most people that planned to move in 2013 are preparing to do so and already have a new location. Taking this time to prepare for a busier market would be important for those who would like to sell, painting, renovating, cleaning, taking pictures, etc … For those looking to purchase, there will be fewer new listings coming to market but it is important to keep an eye on your choice areas in case your “dream home” appears on the market.

Westmount

I would like to focus this month’s in depth analysis on Westmount, many reporters are running stories about wealthy communities in Canada and how these homes are more and more difficult to sell. Westmount falls right into this category with a 10% drop in number of sales at this time compared to the two previous years. We are also seeing a difference of -4% in the average value of these properties. With a total of 63 Homes sold to date, in Westmount one key sale could change these numbers dramatically.

Thank you for taking the time to read my column, if you are planning to sell your home soon please call me for an evaluation and to setup a marketing strategy. I am available to answer calls and via email anytime.