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Defence

We are bordering on a buyer’s market right now. I wouldn’t say we are quite there yet, but with the Sales:Active Listings ratio hovering around 35% for downtown condos, buyers certainly have choices when they go out looking for condos this summer. But I don’t want to talk about buying for a change, I want to talk about selling. Specifically, as a seller in this market, you better be able to defend your asking price.

In a seller’s market, where a monkey could sell a condo, agents and sellers will quite often pull a price out of the air without giving it any thought. In a buyer’s market, it’s back to the fundamentals of marketing: Product, Place, Promotion, and PRICE! Yes, choosing the correct asking price is a very important piece of the marketing mix for selling your property.

If you over-price your property, you are shooting yourself in the foot. You will get less potential buyers through your property, less offers, and potentially no offers at all. Inevitably you will have to reduce your price but by then your listing will be ’stale’ and most potential buyers will have moved on.

You might think there are no risks associated with under-pricing, but there are. Underpricing a listing in a seller’s market results in multiple offers and potentially an artificially inflated selling price. Underpricing in a buyer’s market when there are less active buyers and more listings means you could end up selling your property for less than it is actually worth, but you would never even know it because there just isn’t the same critical mass of buyers out there.

Bottom line, you (and more importantly your agent) need to be able to defend your asking price when a buyer’s agent comes a calling and says, “How flexible is the seller on the price? It is a buyer’s market after all…”. Questions or comments? Thinking of selling? Contact me.

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Greed: Part 2

I had quite a few reactions (mostly via email) to my last post “Greed“. It seems it really struck a cord with both my fellow Realtors and consumers alike. As a follow up to that post, I wanted to talk about another segment of the market that in my opinion has gone off the deep end and gotten greedy: Assignment Sellers.

For those of you who have been living under a rock for the past couple years and still do not know what an assignment is, please read through my series of blog posts on the subject before continuing.

Time and time again I see assignment sellers (and their agents) making the same mistake: over pricing their assignments.Finding a buyer for an assignment is tricky under the best of circumstances. Finding a buyer for an assignment when that assignment is over priced to begin with is nearly impossible.

For example, Maple Leaf Square assignments are popping up everywhere.  Some sellers are asking $700 per square foot for their units. This is insane. There is almost nothing selling on the resale market at that price anywhere downtown. Why would anyone pay this for a run of the mill condo?

The high end of the resale market (for non-luxury buildings) are buildings like Glas (25 Oxley), College Park (761&763 Bay), Murano (37 Grosvenor and 38 Grenville), and The Met (21 and 25 Carlton). Units in these buildings are averaging about $575 PSF for units with parking spots. The odd unit is selling for slightly above $600 PSF. This is the creme of the crop. Trying to sell an assignment in an unproven building for $700 PSF is just silly.

So what is a realistic way to price an assignment? There is no set rule at this point, however, I would suggest you first determine the value of the property if it were a resale property TODAY, then subtract 10% from that. This is assuming of course, you are a motivated, rational seller who does not want to close on the property. This is also assuming occupancy will take place in the next 6 months or less for your unit.

Don’t get greedy. Price your assignment below equivalent resale market value to give yourself the best chance to find a buyer.

This one is sure to excite some people-let me know your thoughts or comments!

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Fly Condos VIP Sales Event on NOW

April 2009 update: NEW PRICES  and NEW FLOOR PLANS now available for FLY Condos. Suites available from an amazing $159,900! Click here for details.

Fly Condos – the wait is finally over! Email me to get your hands on VIP price sheet right away for Fly Condos.

Project Details:

• Location: Front and Spadina
• Size: 24 Storeys, 396 units
• Starting Prices (tower suites): $269,900 for 495 sq ft to $684,900 for 1112 sq ft.
• Price per square foot from the Mid $500s
• Penthouse Pricing starting from $849,900 for 1145 sq ft to $1,169,900 for 1533 sq ft
• Loft Pricing from $399,900 for 690 sq ft to $619,900 for 1050 sq ft
• Terrace Suite Pricing from $289,900 for 495 sq ft to $419,900 for 710 sq ft
• Parking $35,000
• Lockers $5000
• Floor Premiums: $1000 per floor
• Maintenance: $0.46/sq ft + Hydro
• Occupancy: Oct 31, 2011
• Deposit Structure: $2000 with offer, balance of 5% in 30 days, 5% in 90 days, 5% in 180 days, 5% in Occupancy

They are offering some incredible incentives for purchasers during the VIP stage:

• Savings of up to $15,000 per unit
• FREE Locker ($5000 value)
• FREE Assignment Prior to occupancy
• FREE Upgrade to Integrated Fridge and Dishwasher in Kitchen
• FREE In-suite 5.1 Surround Sound Home Entertainment System ($3000 Value)

Also being released at the VIP stage are some of the Terraced Suites, the lofts, and some of the Penthouse suites. Contact me for more information.

Click here to view the Fly Condos floor plans.

Contact me now and I will send you the Fly Condos VIP Price Sheet.

April 2009 update: NEW PRICES  and NEW FLOOR PLANS now available for FLY Condos. Suites available from an amazing $159,900! Click here for details.

See all my posts related to Fly Condos here.

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