COVID-19 and the new normal

We hope that you and your family are safe and healthy during this unprecedented time of uncertainty.

As you may know, the Canadian government has designated the real estate industry an essential service. This means we are open for business and available to assist you should you need our help or guidance. Whether you have questions about your own home, a rental property you own or plans that you had to buy or sell real estate this year, we are here to offer our opinion, based on what we know and can predict about what may happen in the months to come regarding Toronto’s real estate market.

However, by no means is this business as usual for us. We fully support our government’s current restrictions and recommendations, and personally believe that staying home and ensuring proper physical distancing is key to stopping the spread of this virus. We are continuing our work with clients by leveraging technology tools available and also are taking extreme precautions around how our business is handled. We have implemented new protocols to ensure the safety of our clients, our staff and our partners in business.

It is important to know that prior to the necessary precautionary measures put in place relating to COVID-19, the GTA real estate market experienced the best January and February (in terms of sales and prices) of the past decade. Interest rates were amongst all-time lows and qualifying stress test criteria was set to be relaxed in April (now put on hold) which would have put more buyers into the market when there were already very low inventory levels, further challenging buyers who were already facing stiff competition. Once we get through this (and we will), even though it might take time for everyone to adjust and catch up, we feel that the momentum built up to March will provide a bit of a cushion and we hope to see favourable conditions in the market in the second half of the year.

How have you been impacted by the current situation? We are concerned and want to offer our support.

Whether you are overwhelmed by an online meeting schedule, trying to manage homeschooling, concerned about your mental health, in self isolation or quarantine, stressed about your financial situation because of a layoff, battling COVID-19 as a health care practitioner, or having to care for someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus, please know that we are all in this together. We are here to support you, so please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions or concerns, or if there is anything that we can do to help you or those you care about.

On a related note, if you love your neighbourhood, take an inventory of the local businesses that may need your support now more than ever. If you are comfortable doing so, continue to order take-out or delivery during this time from your favourite local restaurants. If you can spare a few minutes, write a Google review for them – it would surely send some positivity their way and it may be very welcome during this potentially stressful time for them, and once they are allowed to re-open, it will help to attract new business from those who may read your review. These businesses are going to need our help.

We do not have a crystal ball to predict exactly what is going to happen with the real estate market once the physical distancing measures have been removed, however, if you have questions or are concerned about your personal situation, please reach out to us so we can review all of your options and all of the potential outcomes. If history repeats itself, the real estate market has shown incredible resiliency and has always recovered and surpassed previous benchmarks. If you had plans to buy or sell this year, we would love to speak with you to discuss your situation further, to allow for you to be ready to move forward when the market is in line with your goals.

We wish you and your families health and well being,