SELLER'S MARKET? This web page was updated on the 23rd January 2012 david woolverton Sales Representative
there are a number of ways of determining if we are in a sellers market ... the one used here is the "sales to new-listing ratio" (SNL) SNL  greater than about  55% is considered a SELLER'S market:- which usually means demand  exceeds the supply, prices are rising, homes listed for a shorter period, sellers have more power in the bargaining SNL   in the approx range 35% to  55% is considered a BALANCED market:- which usually means   supply generally balances demand, slower pace of price growth, prices are stable growing at about the rate of inflation, homes listed longer, sellers usually do not get  as close to the the asking price as in a SELLERS market SNL  less than about  35% is considered a BUYER'S market :- which usually means  supply generally exceeds demand, prices are declining, homes are listed longer, and buyers have more power in the bargaining (the CMHC have  changed that boundary between the buyer/balanced market from 35% to 40% ...but these charts are still using the 35% boundary )   this first chart is a detail of what has happened to the SNL from 2007 through to the end of December 2011 for singlefamily homes in the Peterborough & rural distrcts combined in Q1 2009 we came very close to entering a  BUYER'S market for the first time in nearly 14 years for this set of data ...... but by the  end december 2010 we were in the SELLERS market zone now December  2011 has also ended in the  SELLERS  market zone. so this is not what might have been expected as we entered 2009 ... if this recession was going to have a similar effect on real estate as the last big recession, then  the market might have been expected to  have fallen into the BUYERS market zone as we headed through 2009, 2010, 2011 ..... but this did not happen .... so all the low interest rates, incentives, and stimulus funds are really having a beneficial effect  so far...   and looking at some other categories of property for December 2011 on a table not shown here in Peterborough District  singlefamily properties, condos & multifamily properties were all still in the SELLERS market zone in Rural district, singlefamily no water access, and  cottage/rec with water access  were both in the SELLERS  market zone, whilst   singlefamily water access   was in the BALANCED  market zone give me a call  if you want to discuss these further
this 2nd chart was produced by CMHC  (  they have graciously given permission for me to use it here)  ... and shows the SNL over a period spanning 1981 through to 2007 you can see that from around 1998 through to about 2007 we were  largely in a SELLERS market the last major BUYERS market ran from about 1990 through till around 1995 .....  and it is interesting to then look at the 3rd chart below showing the average sales price, and see that this same period from 1990 to 1995 saw the average sales price falling .... just what you would expect in a buyers market as with all BUYER'S markets, the time to buy for the lowest price is usually at the end of the BUYER'S market, just before it starts to go back into a more BALANCED market condition... so contact me to discuss how this changing market  might affect your own realestate buying and selling plans ... every buyer and seller's situation is different and needs careful planning in order to achieve results that are in their best interests. next update due in February 2012