It was like a flip of a switch.’ How Toronto’s real estate agents are coping in the cooling market

It was crazy how quickly the market turned, says realtor Dajan Kumarasamy.

“It was like a flip of a switch,” he says. He had three or four homes listed in March. One week those houses were drawing 15 to 20 offers. The next week, it was two or three.

“I was so shocked. I was like, ‘What is going on?’ And then I was telling all the people in my pipeline, ‘Hey, if you need to sell, sell now, because (the market’s) going down.’”

For the last two years, Kumarasamy had been juggling bidding wars and bully offers. His Durham Region territory was seeing house prices escalate 30 to 40 per cent annually, month after month, as buyers flocked to the suburbs during the pandemic in search of more space.

Now, he says, some unique properties — those with big lots or extraordinary renovations — are still seeing 20 or 30 offers, but houses in average condition “are just kind of stagnant.”

Real estate agents know no one is shedding tears for them in this spring’s cooling housing market. But the transition from bidding wars and bully offers to a softer spring is presenting new challenges. They have to manage their clients’ expectations — both sellers’ and buyers’ — as well as their own businesses, said Kevin Crigger, president of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.

Article: https://www.thestar.com/business/real_estate/2022/05/13/it-was-like-a-flip-of-a-switch-how-torontos-real-estate-agents-are-coping-in-the-cooling-market.html