H2 | REALESTATE O THEGLOBEANDMAIL| FRIDAY,MARCH27,2020
A
Toronto-area real estate
market that started the
year by revisiting the mar-
ket euphoria of 2016 abruptly
feels like it’s reliving the financial
market meltdown of 2008.
“A couple of weeks ago, it felt
like 2016 – now it feels like right
after the crash,” says real estate
agent Rochelle DeClute of Toron-
to-based Union Realty.
In a market that can be fuelled
or halted by sentiment, buyers,
sellers and their agents are grap-
pling with the societal and eco-
nomic upheaval that accompa-
nies the COVID-19 pandemic.
This week, the essential parts
of the real estate industry were
given the green light to keep run-
ning in Ontario as Premier Doug
Ford ordered all non-essential
businesses in the province to
close for 14 days.
Land registration services, real
estate agent services and moving
services may all continue to oper-
ate. Financial institutions and
lawyers are also able to keep pro-
viding their services.
So far this month, Ms. DeClute
says, some properties have been
selling with multiple offers and
prices above asking. First-time
buyers have been particularly ac-
tive, she says, pointing to one
small condo unit with an asking
price of $699,000 that received 11
offers and sold for $950,000.
She returned early from vaca-
tion to find that the tempo had
shifted in just a few days.
Several sellers cancelled their
listings as uncertainty intensified.
“They’re in a position where
they can wait,” she says.
In other cases, listings are com-
ing to market as divorce, downsiz-
ing and estate sales continue.
“Because of life, people will still
have to move,” she says.
Ms. DeClute says other sellers
are forging ahead because they’ve
already bought another property.
Some homeowners bought dur-
ing the recent run-up in prices
and now they need to sell their ex-
isting home in a market that is al-
ready slowing.
“They bought in a very strong
market and it’s not that market
now for sure.”
Other people who are in a bind
are the tenants who have given
notice on their rental property
with the expectation they would
be moving into a newly finished
condo unit. With many govern-
ment services shut down, inspec-
tors are not giving out occupancy
permits for new construction, she
says.
But purchasers were still buy-
ing units in preconstruction sales
for projects that will be complet-
ed in six or seven years.
Serious buyers have continued
to bid on houses, including one of
her own listings that sold last
week with nine offers. Open
houses have wound down as gov-
ernment admonitions about stay-
ing home grow increasingly stern.
“We’re not seeing tire-kickers
out there,” Ms. DeClute says.
The DeClute team has joined
many real estate agents who are
offering virtual tours instead of
in-person showings and open
houses. Serious buyers can follow
up afterward to see a property in
person.
They are now asking buyers to
provide a deposit worth 8 per cent
of the purchase price instead of
the standard 5 per cent they re-
quired before.
And they have also thought
ahead to what will happen if dealscan’t be completed on time in the
event that the services of land reg-
istry offices and lenders are dis-
rupted.
The DeClutes sought advice
from three law firms on how to
protect buyers and sellers in such
a time of unknowable conse-
quences.
They are inserting a clause in
their sales agreements that re-
quires buyers and sellers to agree
that both sides need to provide
flexibility around the closing date
for the reasons above or, for ex-
ample, if one party is sick or in
quarantine inside a house or con-
do unit.
“It doesn’t protect everyone
from everything,” Ms. DeClute
says of the legal language.
She describes the clause as
more of a heads-up to signal po-
tential pitfalls.
It wouldn’t allow a buyer who
loses their job before closing, for
example, to back out of the pur-
chase.
“You would have to still be re-
sponsible. You can’t walk away,”
she says.
Christopher Bibby, a real estate
agent with ReMax Hallmark Bib-by Group Realty, says he is mon-
itoring developments by the hour
and changing best practices by
the day.
“I don’t think we’ve worked in
a market quite like this.”
Mr. Bibby says he sometimes
feels he’s turning into a therapist
as clients work through the long-
term implications of the crisis.
Meanwhile, some owners are
calling him in for an evaluation,
quite determined to get their
property on the market no matter
what, he says.
“They’re being upfront and
saying they need to get a deal
done because they have to close
on a place in 60 days or 90 days.”
Others question whether it’s
ethical to have showings if they
have tenants living in a property.
They also don’t want to put real-
tors at risk or disobey the edicts of
federal and provincial leaders.
“These people are fine just de-
laying their process. They feel
that’s the right thing to do as a ci-
tizen.”
Mr. Bibby says some older resi-
dents or people with health con-
cerns feel more worried about the
potential of coming into contactwith the coronavirus that causes
COVID-19.
“If they’re feeling anxious or
vulnerable, we can put them on
pause,” he says. “Certainly as we
learn more we have to be sensi-
tive.”
Some property owners are
afraid – not just financially but
afraid for their family members,
says Robin Pope of Pope Real Es-
tate Ltd. in Toronto.
He has been working with in-
vestors looking for condo units in
recent weeks and has found the
market competitive. Units have
sold at record prices, he says.
Mr. Pope says some condo
buildings are not allowing real es-
tate showings and some are ban-
ning movers.
Mr. Pope says conditions and
government measures are chang-
ing so quickly that it’s too soon to
tell what will happen with the
market longer term. But he ex-
pects anxiety to persist for some
time.
“If I were to sell, I would sell
now. Like tomorrow,” Mr. Pope
says. “I certainly believe the situa-
tion is going to be worse in two or
three months.”GrapplingwithamarketshapedbyCOVID-19
Ontariohasgiventheessentialpartsoftherealestateindustrythegreenlighttokeeprunning.Butbuyers,sellers
andagentsinTorontoarestrugglingwiththesocietalandeconomicupheavalthataccompaniesthepandemic
CAROLYN
IRELAND
NEXTMOVEAnopenhousesignisseeninToronto’sRiverdaleneighbourhoodonMarch21.Suchshowingshavewounddownrecentlyasthegovernment’s
warningsaboutstayinghomegrowincreasinglystern.D’ARCYMCGOVERN/THEGLOBEANDMAILTORONTO
THEACTIONThe asking price for this three-bedroom bungalow
in Ancaster, an affluent suburb south west of Hamilton, re-
flected the average selling price for area properties this year
of about $800,000. The 20-year-old property was inspected
by a wide range of buyers, including young families and
downsizers, and received an offer within 72 hours of listing.
“The majority of [new listings] are not going to be selling
in a few days for over ask in this price bracket,” agent Michael
St. Jean said.
“We got a lot of activity very quickly for a combination of
reasons: it’s in Ancaster, which is
a desirable area, and the fact it’s a
bungalow is of interest to many
buyers.”
WHAT THEY GOTThis 1,892-square-
foot bungalow with a double ga-
rage was kept in top form with
new roofing and flooring and ren-
ovations to the kitchen and three
bathrooms.
There is a two-storey foyer
and vaulted ceilings above the
open living and dining areas.
There are arched windows, a gas fireplace and double doors
to a two-tiered deck.
The basement is finished with separate recreation, study
and guest rooms.
THEAGENT’STAKE“It’s not easy to find a one-floor [plan] in a
newer home in an area like this,” Mr. St. Jean said.
“This showed better than your typical home in that neigh-
bourhood that hasn’t had a lot of updates like this.”
The 49-foot-by-115-foot grounds are near conservation and
parkland, but the big box stores along Highway 403 are also
easily accessible. “It’s quiet and very scenic with a lot of trees
around there,” Mr. St. Jean said.
“But literally five minutes up the road, you can hit every
amenity imaginable.”
–SYDNIAYU
SuburbanHamiltonbungalowsellsoverasking
54AndersonCourt,Ancaster,Ont.
PARKVIEWHEIGHTS
Askingprice:$799,900
Sellingprice:$825,000
Previoussellingprices:$625,000(2016);$227,316(1999)
Taxes:$5,657(2019)
Daysonthemarket:Three
Listingagent:MichaelSt.Jean,St.JeanRealtyInc.
DONEDEAL
Thisshowedbetter
thanyourtypical
homeinthat
neighbourhoodthat
hasn’thadalotof
updateslikethis.
MICHAELST.JEAN
REALESTATEAGENT