Is Now a Good Time To Buy A House? Buying a house right now is a smart move for some people and the wrong move for others. In this episode, three Ontario realtors answer one question honestly: would we buy a home in today's market? The hosts share recent purchases in their own families and explain why they were behind them. They talk about what buyers can find in Caledon, Brampton, Toronto and cottage country, from a two-bedroom condo to freehold homes and waterfront cottages. They explain why buying feels scary, even for realtors who have bought dozens of homes, and why trying to time the market usually costs more than it saves. You also hear a lawyer's advice on new build rebates and why waiting may shrink the benefit. If you are a move-up buyer, a downsizer or a first-time buyer, this episode helps you decide whether your life lines up with the market, and who should wait.
Is now a good time to buy a house?
Buying a house right now makes sense for some people and not for others.
In this episode, three Ontario realtors answer one question honestly: would we buy a home in today's market?
The hosts share recent purchases in their own families.
They talk about what buyers can find in Caledon, Brampton, Toronto and cottage country.
They also explain why even experienced realtors feel scared before they sign.
You will hear a lawyer's advice on new build rebates and why waiting could shrink the benefit.
Key takeaways:
1. The right time to buy is when your job, your money and your head all line up.
2. Trade-up buyers may sell for less than they hoped, but the bigger home they want has come down too.
3. Buy because you need the home, not because someone says you will make money.
Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube.
Thinking about a move? Talk to your lender and your realtor first, then decide with all the facts.
Reach any of us using the details below.
Host Contact Information
Connect with Evelyn, Ruth or Sandy about your next move. For podcast questions, guest inquiries or topic suggestions, contact the show directly.
Evelyn Lopes
REALTOR® | RE/MAX Realty Services Inc., Brokerage
Phone 905-965-5902 Email evelyn@evelynlopes.com
Website evelynlopesrealtyteam.com
Ruth Ballantyne
REALTOR® | RE/MAX Realty Services Inc., Brokerage
Phone 416-779-8732 Email ruth@ruthballantyne.ca
Website www.ruthballantyne.com
Sandy Casella
Broker | eXp Realty, Brokerage
Phone 416-467-8627 Email sandy@sandycasella.com
Website sandycasella.com
Contact the Show
RealEstateWithoutTheNoise@gmail.com
Watch youtube.com/@realestatewithoutthenoise
Listen Apple Podcasts | Search Real Estate Without the Noise on Spotify.
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CHAPTERS
0:00 Would we buy a home right now?
0:52 Yes, and one of us just did
1:27 Trade-ups, first condos and what your home is worth now
3:29 What buyers can find: condos, acreage and cottages
6:38 Why buying feels scary
8:38 Buying when others said don't
11:46 Realtors get scared too: the 10-day cooling off story
13:52 Buying at the top: a 1989 purchase
17:57 Buying for a reason, not for hype
18:52 There is never a perfect time
22:13 What is happening in Caledon and Brampton
26:08 New build rebates: act sooner
28:33 So, is it the right time to buy?
XXXPOD.12B.11 (SEP.13)
Are you confused about buying a house right now? If we were buyers right now, today, would we actually pull the trigger and buy a home in today's market? As three seasoned realtors, we're gonna answer that honestly, walk through what's really scaring buyers, and tell you who should buy now and who should genuinely wait. If you're thinking about buying a home, this episode, it's for you. Trying to time the market perfectly usually costs more than buying a home. So let's answer the question everyone's thinking and nobody wants to say out loud: would I buy a home right now? There's so much fear and confusion in the marketplace right now, so I'm curious, ladies, would you buy a house right now in today's marketplace? So I would, and I just did. So I think the answer to that question is yes. I really think it's a perfect time to buy, yes, I would and I did. I would sell right now in a heartbeat, beat and buy something smaller, but I just can't get my husband to do the same. So he is part of the crowd that is thinking about moving, and he is in the situation where he's not sure if it's the right time to buy or not. And for me right now we're okay in our place. We've just done major renovations, so we've poured a whole bunch more money into the house, actually all three of my kids have bought a house this year, some for the first time, and two of them actually are trading up from a smaller house to a bigger house. And I was behind them 100% because this is a fantastic time to do that. And I think, they've been surrounded by real estate their whole entire lives, so they understand a little bit about it. And what I said to them is, "Your house might not be as much as you thought it was worth," because a couple of years ago, I would say, "Oh, your house is worth X amount of money," which was a lot of money. And then when it was time for them to sell, I said your house isn't worth that anymore, but it's only worth this. However, that house that you're moving up to that you could never have afforded has come down quite a bit, especially when you compare like a lower end to a higher end. So this is a perfect time to buy. So you're not gonna get the money that you thought you were gonna get, but it's a fantastic time to trade up." So two of them have traded up from a condo into a house. And then my middle just bought her first home, which was a condo and she a- was able to get it at a great price. A nice size condo, not one of the tiny little ones, and she's loving it. She's able to buy the condo and do things. She just went to Europe and so she's traveling and enjoying life and being a homeowner, so it's perfect. Yeah, and I think that's the key, right? Is what's your current situation right now? With my kids, one of them is considering buying an investment property, and the other two I'm really encouraging to buy something right now. They're, they would both be kind of first time... I shouldn't say first-time buyers, but kind of first-time buyers and I just think the timing is perfect right now. And when I see, some of the things that are on the marketplace and I see the prices, There was nothing that price in, in the GTA area. So you can get in very affordably. So for example, we just sold one of our client's condos in Toronto. It's not that old. Beautifully done hardwood throughout, two bedrooms under 425. Wow. And we had another client that bought four and a half acres out in the country for, like, just over six- Wow ... with a beautiful house- Wow ... and rolling hills and a pond, like this gorgeous pond that's got a little sandy beach and a little dock. And I thought, "You don't need a cottage. It's... You've got your cottage at your home." You know? So there's lots of things that you can do. I had another client that sold in the city, went a little, not far out, but just, you know, Dufferin County, and was able to sell their house in the city, buy another house a little further out for cash. So got rid of their mortgage, put some money in savings, and is now able to live without the stress. So I think it's a great time to buy. But I think, like, the caveat, as you said, Ruth, is you've got to be emotionally and mentally ready for it. So for example Rick is probably not wanting to buy because he's thinking maybe, thinking about downsizing, but he isn't retired yet. So it's on that cusp. It's thinking, but it's not the right time for him, and so I totally get that, right? We've had those conversations too. You know, do we, sell and go smaller, but for now we're just gonna stay where we are and hope our kids come and our grandkids come so they can use the space. One of the things I've been noticing because I have a client that's thinking about selling a cottage, is how much cottages have changed in price and how affordable. You can buy a cottage, between four and 600, like, waterfront. And I think that would surprise a lot of people too, that there are just a lot of things out there that you can buy that maybe you weren't thinking about a couple of years ago. So is now the right time to buy for a cottage? It's probably an excellent time to buy. Yeah, it's a very interesting market, and I think the, the question is what's holding people back, I think, because it isn't the right time for everybody, but it is the right time for a lot of people. And the question that we heard so much over the time that the market was going up like crazy was, "How are my kids ever going to be able to afford to buy a house?" There was lots of parents, lots of my demographic that were saying that, like, "I don't think my kids will ever be able to , afford to buy a house." And now that time is here where they likely can afford to buy a house. So it is, it, the, the timing is very good. It's just, I think people have to wrap their head around that. And let's face it is scary to buy. It's always scary. I think that's the big thing is the fear and just the fear of having that mortgage, so I can remember our first house, our first mortgage. I can remember the first time we bought our first car. Forget about the house, right? We're just married, and we bought this new car, and I thought, "Oh my God, I've got a, a loan for this car," you know? So I think any kind of debt is a little bit scary, For a house is, it's over a long term. It's the ability to get in there. You've gotta live somewhere. And, you know, if all the boxes check off, and we've talked about this so many times, like, you've gotta have a stable job. You've gotta, you know, be emotionally ready for it. Yeah. I, I-- so here's a good question just to shift gears a little bit is, have you had a client who's bought a house when other people told them the timing wasn't right, and it turned out really good? And I think this is why I think this is a good market to buy in, because I've sold in so many of these markets, and I always remember this one young family that I was dealing with, and they lived in a condo, and I hadn't sold them the condo. They bought the condo when they were a couple, and they thought it's a... I think it was a one-bedroom and they thought, "Okay, when we have our first kid, this will be enough for us to be able to get through, and then when we decide to have the second one, we'll be able to move up and buy something bigger." And when they did get pregnant, they found out they were pregnant with twins, and so that all of a sudden pushed their timeline forward. But when we were selling the condo and they were moving up, I remember them saying that, "Wow, like, it's a good thing that we bought this," 'cause they bought in a down market and everybody was telling them, "You shouldn't buy," or, "You shouldn't buy a condo." All of those things that people were telling them, they bought anyway, and they said, "If we hadn't have bought that condo back then, we would not be able to move up and buy what we need right now." Because now they moved in, they built up equity, they had more savings, and they were able to make that next move. So it was really th-that was a perfect example of someone buying in a market and everybody telling them, "Don't do it, don't do it," and they ended up doing it, and it worked out better for them than anything 'cause they would never have been able to make that step up. I do think that the right time to buy it's a, it's overwhelming for people. You know, they, if they're trying to think of it. And it's the old adage that a confused mind does nothing. And so I think that's why we're seeing so many people sitting on the sidelines trying to decide what to do, because they're so confused. But if you sit down, just like Evelyn said, and tick the boxes, is now the right time to move because I've got this, these things are all in place, and you really wanna do it, it's the right time for you to do it. Because it's not just about the market and the money, it's about your life. It's about living in a place that you love building a home and a family. It's not just about $10,000. Saying that it's scary, it is scary. Even for me, and I've bought, i've bought dozens and dozens of houses, 'cause we... I flipped houses for years and I've bought a lot of investment properties, and every single time I've bought a house, I'm scared to death. And I'm in the business. And Even this time when I bought the house, I bought a brand new townhouse, which I'd n- I've never bought new construction, and we have the 10-day cooling off period, and I can tell you, I was driving my kids crazy. Every day I was calling saying I'm not sure," like, "Is this the right time? Maybe I should..." Like, it took me the full 10 days to, to wrap my head around what I was doing. And it wasn't the, it wasn't necessarily the, the fear of buying, it was more, is this the right time or should I wait? And I ended up doing it, and every house I've bought has been the same thing for me. I'm always nervous, I'm always scared, and my kids will tell you, like, every single time I've done this, I drive them crazy It's funny when you say $10,000, 'cause I always get to that point where we're like $10,000 apart and I dig my heels in. I'm like, "Nope, I'm not paying any more money." And I know two instances in particular where one of my kids has said to me, the same kid, "Mom, just-" Just do it. Just buy it. It's $10,000. Like, what are you doing? And I've bought the house, and it's worked out perfectly. So even for us as, as realtors, and we're in the business, I don't think any of us just sit back and think, "Oh, this is a piece of cake," or whatever. It's always scary. It's scary for everybody, so I totally understand it. And I think that people don't realize, too, even if you buy at the top of the market, like I, I bought in 1989, and I still live in that same house, but I bought it in 1989. The house is worth three times as much as it was then. If I hadn't have bought it then, who knows? You know, if I'd waited another 10 years to think about it till it was the right time, because at that time, it took about 10 years for the market to change. We had the enjoyment of naturally growing up here and you know, a big yard for and all those things that we wouldn't have had we not bought at that exact time when it happened to be right for us. You were asking earlier, Sandy, do we have a, a client that, was buying kind of off-market? And it reminds me of a client that I've had for years. And this particular client He bought a house, got married, and then shortly thereafter, they divorced, and he had to go and live somewhere. So the market wasn't good, and he ended up buying this house, and I remember his friends were saying, "Oh, you shouldn't buy right now. It- the market's terrible," you know, like, whatever. Anyways, he ended up buying this, this house, and he didn't live there very long. I would say maybe a year and a half. Now, this is going back 20 years, so when I give you these numbers they'll seem like no big deal. But back then, it was a big deal. So about a year and a half later, he ended up meeting a new girl and they were gonna move in together. But where he was living and where she was living were so far apart, they had to kind of find something in the middle. So he sold this townhouse that he virtually put no money into and made, like, $60,000, which at the time was, like, huge because he bought it so rock bottom. And then they bought another house, and then they sold that house, and now they've moved into a beautiful house on acreage. And every time... Like, he's bought and sold quite a few times, and every time, it's never been the perfect market conditions, but he's always done so well. And he's the type of person who doesn't really think of it like, "Oh, it's not a good time." It's just like, "I need to do this. Let's just do it," you know? It's that personality, so he doesn't really think, "Is it a bad..." He just I wanna buy a house. I'm able to buy a house. Let's just move on," right? And it's served him very well over the years. Yeah that's very funny. I think it it's really tough to figure out, but what is the right time to buy? I think the right time to buy is just when everything lines up for you when it's needed. And I think that's what we've lost in the market right now is during COVID and before that, a lot of people were moving because they were seeing so much equity build up in their house. Now, most people are moving, I would say the majority of people are moving, they have a reason to move, right? Like they're, like you say, maybe they- it's a couple and they, you know, they've just got together and now they're buying a house together, or somebody has a baby, downsizing. People typically have a reason to be moving right now. They're not just, they're not just moving because they've made so much money on their house. And I think the mentality over the past few years, especially during COVID, was just buy anything, and the whole intent for a lot of people was, "Let's just buy. Let's just make money. We're gonna sell and flip it," you know, which is why a lot of people ended up buying, you know, six and seven condos as investments, and I think that kind of was part of, their demise, their shortfall is buying beyond your means, never anticipating that you would actually have to close any of those properties. And that's a whole different story. But I think in terms of like you said, buying because you have a need is number one and the ability to do but here's the other part of the equation that I think we really need to address. It's never gonna be the absolute perfect time. It never is the absolute perfect time. So just like there's never the perfect house or there's never the perfect partner, you know, you meet them and they're fine, and then you go, "Oh my God, they snore," or whatever it is, right? Like there's always something. So it's never perfect, but it's right, and it feels right. And if it feels right and you have the ability, then move forward. And understand that the fear that you have is normal, it's gonna be there. I've never had a client that said, "Oh, I'm so sad that I bought a house." Like, I've never had that. Never. Me either. I think the worst time to buy is buying because people tell you should buy a house 'cause you'll make a lot of money. That's the worst time to buy. So just like don't listen to everybody when they tell you shouldn't buy, don't listen to everybody tell you that you should buy, because I think that's where a lot of people got into trouble is they just saw that the market kept going up and their timing was off. But timing the market's the, the absolute hardest thing to do. I usually sit down with people when they're telling me that they're, you know, thinking about buying or selling. And I just spoke to a client referral just the other day, and we had this conversation. They had a house, but they were looking to buy a house or help someone in their family buy a house. And after talking to them, I said like, "Here are some things that you need to consider. You know, maybe this isn't the perfect time for you to go out on this limb and help this other person, because things aren't 100% for you, and I don't know whether they're 100% committed to doing what they need to do." So sometimes, you may think it, you may have these reservations. Talk it out with someone, a good realtor can sort of give you some questions to think about that maybe you didn't consider, and then see how you feel at the end of it. And sometimes it's like, you know, I'm saying, "Yeah, this is great. Go ahead." And sometimes I'm like, "Maybe not." Yeah. So I think it's funny, Ruth, when you say you bought in 1989, and I think the next few years was probably pretty daunting thinking about what the prices were at that time. But now when you look back on that price, you're probably like, "Oh my goodness." Right? Like, it's funny. Yeah. Sometimes you hear when somebody paid for a house and you laugh, right? Like, you're just like, you laugh. You're like, "Wow," like, that's a parking, that's a parking space these days. Yeah. It's so funny, but it seemed so high back then, right? That it... But then it was massive, but now it seems like you know, chump change, right? Just gonna change the topic and ask what's happening in your market right now, and what you think would be a good thing for someone to buy in each one of our individual markets. Oh, condo. If that's if you are looking for a condo or that would be your first time buy, right now I think is the perfect time to buy a condo. And in my market, what I'm seeing is some really nice homes with some good property on it that have come down quite a bit. And they're, you know, more affordable than they ever were. And so if you're looking to get out of the city and, you know, get into the country with a little bit more space in the Caledon and surrounding area there's some amazing opportunities right now. And a lot of those people, too are downsizing. It's not 'cause they don't love their property, it's just you know, it's too much house for them at this point. Yeah. Quality of life. What do you wanna spend your time doing, right? So they're, they are moving on. And they wanna see s- usually wanna see another family come in, younger, that's going to love it as much as they have and be able to enjoy it. I'm seeing in Brampton right now, there seems to be, like, a lot of houses around the million mark that are bigger, and people are getting some really good deals on the houses. They, you know, it's somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 square feet, depending on the area, and and coming in under a million dollars. So there's quite a few opportunities there. And then there's quite a few freeholds available, let's say 500 to 700, so that doesn't have any maintenance fees. And then condos, in-- you're looking at condos anywhere between, let's say 300 and up. Even some lower than 300. So there is opportunity for sure if there was a buyer that was looking, you know, to get into the market right now. And when you're saying freehold for between five and seven, a few years ago you'd be lucky to get a condo for between five and seven. So now you know, it's a great time. And the same thing with the, the condo market. And it's, a lot of those condos in Brampton are good square footage as well. I've got clients they live in Brampton, they wanna stay in Brampton, but downsize from their house to a condo, and there's some great square footage and floor plans available, for sure. Yeah. And moving up, I think a lot of people are starting to realize that. I've talked to several people this week who've said, "Yeah, I realize I would be selling my house lower than what I could have got a few years ago, but hey, I'm also paying way less," right? Like, we tend to forget what was happening then. Yes, the prices were higher, but y- i- it was very hard to buy. Everything was so expensive that you couldn't you couldn't do... Or, and there just wasn't enough inventory. I think there's a , much better selection, although I'm seeing that tighten up a little bit. But there's a, a good selection out there right now to find what you're looking for, and you can take your time and wait for the right property to come up. I think there's a lot of negotiating power. And there's a lot of other things, too. The rates are decent. We've also got, if you're looking for new builds, we've got the HST rebate that's come in place for a short period of time. So again, you've got that window right now for those types of properties. If everything else is aligned for you and you feel like this is something that you wanna do, reach out to your lender, reach out to your realtor. Have a conversation, see what your options are, and then you can make an informed decision. I just thought of something I'd like to share. I was at a presentation a couple of weeks ago, and it was from a lawyer who was talking about the rebates and how... Because at that time they weren't, they still weren't completely passed, so there was still some uncertainty about the rebates. And what he said is, "If you're thinking of buying a condo with these rebates, do it sooner rather than later." Because the feeling he said was that as the, as this continues to go on and as the market continues to get a little bit better, Even though the government is giving those rebates, the builders are going to raise their prices, and you're not gonna get the full effect. So basically, what he said I'm gonna say exactly what he said. The builders are going to change the way they apply those rebates, and they will get the rebates and the buyer won't. Now, I don't know exactly how that would happen, but basically what he was saying was do it sooner rather than later, because as the prices go up, You're not gonna benefit as much from those rebates. A- and that's so true, because I had spoken to one of the reps at a, a new site and basically she said, "We've sold so many, we're gonna be raising our prices." It kind of is a little bit of a wash. So it's always like everything. You've gotta get in early to make the biggest bang for whatever it is. Whether it's, a new business venture, real estate you've gotta get in on the ground floor. Now is the ground floor. Evelyn, your kids have all bought houses. Sandy, you bought a house. I'd love to buy a house right now. Is this the right time to buy? I think it's a great time to buy if it's right for you. I agree. I agree. So if any of you are thinking about buying a new home, whether it be a resale home or a brand new home from the builder, and you're not sure, but you think it's the time for you, just give us a call. We'll be happy to help you