Selling Your Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Selling Your Home During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Our country is slowly recovering from a global health crisis and Canadians are getting accustomed to living a new normal. According to RBC’s national aggregate affordability measure, it was becoming less affordable to own a home when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Home resales dropped in March and April when the government officially announced a health crisis. Home sales eventually started to increase slightly in May as the economy began to reopen.

So where are we today?
The high unemployment rate is making it a tough selling market even with lower interest rates being offered. Economic hardships are causing potential homebuyers to pause their purchasing plans, and owners that are facing financial hardships are looking to sell their properties quickly before bank and government support programs run out.

What’s next?
According to Canadian Housing Reports, an increase in the housing market is predicted followed by high resistance due to increased unemployment and reduced immigration. With fewer new families immigrating into Canada, the demand for homes is low while the supply remains high.

Experts predict an increase in housing affordability, but of course it is dependent on the homeowner’s ability to maintain their income.

What are my options?
Homeowners are looking for alternate ways of selling. The traditional way of selling with a realtor is showing to tip the scale downward due to additional fees and homebuyers backing out due to economic hardships, hesitancy in the economy, and frustration of no financial security from businesses and corporations.  

For example, home buyers who have invested savings into the stock market are now backing out of a sale due to loss of savings and uncertainty of what the future holds.

Homeowners are finding ease and comfort in having the option to sell their house “as-is” avoiding spending additional money on repairs and cleanings a realtor would require. They find peace of mind knowing that a buyer will not back out at the last minute and selling their house to a cash offer gives them financial flexibility during these tough times.

We’re all in this together
All Canadians have banned together to tackle the global health crisis, figuring out what financial decisions are best for you and your family is your top priority.