Have you been hearing more doom and gloom about the Real Estate Market? Unless you have been on vacation in the sunny south you must have heard more bad news as the statistics for December are out and the media have got hold of it. I was listening to the local radio two days ago and they were quoting Vancouver and Calgary numbers. Obviously their numbers are worse than ours in the GTA so why not quote those numbers, after all bad news sells!

Well here is what is happening in Durham Region. Our Real estate Market is probably one of the best. In 2008 our average price for a single family home actually increased by 1.4%

Admittedly in October, November and December, prices dropped by a couple of percent, but this was at the height of the doom and gloom.

The home buyers have been very cautious while the bad news about the real estate market has been spread by the media. As a result the number of sales has gone down dramatically. With the number of homes on the market and shortage of buyers a shift has occured. It is no longer a seller's market out there. The buyers most certainly have the upper hand. The graph below shows the drop in the number of homes sold compared to last year.

The typical buyer these days is an educated buyer who realizes it is a fantastic time to buy. They have a huge selection of homes to chose from and are therefore looking for “ready to move in” homes that are priced right. Buyers these days are looking for good value for their money and they are getting it. They are getting good value in the home that they are buying as well as the interest rate they are paying. You can get a a year mortgage at around 4.75% interest.

-- Masood Vatandoust