This is a difficult question to answer in regards to specifics, but there are statistics that the real estate profession goes by to answer this question in the broad send. This is done by obtaining an average. A total number of days that all the listed houses on the market will be determined. Then this is divided by the number of houses that are listed. This gives an average day on the market (DOM) answer. The number is going to fluctuate depending on whether it is a buyer’s or seller’s market.
The Following is a chart that shows average days on Market for the Toronto Area for 2018. December has not been included as this is a month that creates a lot of variables when it comes to house selling. These will vary all across Ontario based on region and the circumstances that are present for each month.
Month | City of Toronto | Toronto West | Central Toronto Central | Toronto East |
January 2018 | 28 | 32 | 26 | 29 |
February 2018 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 23 |
March | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
April 2018 | 16 | 18 | 15 | 16 |
May 2018 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 16 |
June 2018 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 17 |
July 2018 | 21 | 24 | 20 | 20 |
August 2018 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 21 |
September 2018 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 30 |
October 2018 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 |
November 2018 | 22 | 23 | 22 | 21 |
What Factors Contribute to the Hold Up of a House Sale In Toronto
Aside from the best months for selling a house, there are other contributing factors which include;
- Whether it is a buyers or seller’s market
- Is the house priced too high?
- The house may not be presented well
- It may not pas a buyer’s home inspection
- Interest rates may be a factor
- New laws may be enacted
- It can even be affected by an election year
How Long Does it Take to Receive Money After Selling a House?
When a seller accepts an offer to buy there will be a closing date on the contract. This is the date when the deal is finalized. The buyer’s lawyer will normally send the amount owed to the seller’s lawyer. Which is held in trust but should be released on the day of closing. So technically the seller does not receive any money from the house sale until the deal is formally closed.
What Can I Do To Sell My House Fast?
If you are querying the internet as to how you can sell your house fast, you are going to see a lot of returns on your query. A good majority of these will be buying houses for cash promotions.
Cash House Buyers:
In Ontario as well as the rest of Canada there are companies that are in the business of buying up houses for cash. There are pros and cons to this.
The Pros
- Usually, this type of buyer will buy the house without stipulating any conditions
- These buyers don’t normally ask for a home inspection
- These companies are prepared to close the deal quickly often within a few days
- The seller ends up getting their money much quicker
The Cons
- More often than not these buyers are going to put in an offer lower than the asking price. Taking into account all the pros that come with this type of sale.
Choosing the Right Real Estate Company
Another way of potentially getting a house to sell fast is making sure that the right realtor is chosen. There are plenty to choose from but some perform better than others.
There are a few ways to help determine if one is choosing the right realtor
- By checking out those that do the most marketing
- Looking at online reviews
- Making sure that the realtor being considered specializes in home sales
- That the realtor is familiar with the area
- By looking at what they have sold recently
- Referrals by others within the same area where the home being listed is
What A Seller Can Do to Help with a Quick Sale
A lot of the responsibilities for selling a home fall on the realtor. But, the owner has some responsibilities as well to help promote a quick sale. Such as;
- Making sure the house has curb appeal. First impressions are important even when it comes to selling a home.
- Minor repairs that could affect the sale should be done
- Sprucing up the home to make it more modern can help. Such as making sure wiring is not out in the open. Updating electrical plugs to the USB type. A fresh coat of neutral coloured pain throughout the home will do wonders for giving the home a fresh look.
- Taking down heavy curtains and allowing as much natural light to come in.
- Decluttering the home and staging where possible.
- Making sure that pets are not in the home during showings
- Taking care of any odours by airing out the home prior to a showing
- Cleaning of carpets even if they are not sold with the house
- Being able to make the realtor aware of all the positive features of the home.
- Paying attention to feedback that comes after a showing. Some home shoppers may reveal reasons they were not interested in buying the home. Some of these reasons might be ones that can be addressed by the seller.
What to Do After Selling a House
Some think that after the house is closed that this is the end of the responsibilities that come with the home that has just been sold. This is not the case. There is still a time period before the house deal closes and still things that need to be done by the seller such as;
- Getting all the required documents to the seller’s lawyer so he can deal with them. Such as deed of the property, property taxes, utility bills, property taxes.
- Cancelling pre-paid accounts. Many homeowners do auto payments on many of their house bills. These will need to be cancelled as of the date of closing.
- Make the proper arrangements to be moved out of the home at an appropriate time on the day or closing or prior to this.
- The keys to the home will have to be dropped off with the seller’s lawyer so he can give them to the buyer’s lawyer.
- If the seller has bought another house, then there are several steps that have to be taken in preparation for this move.
Selling a house comes with a lot of responsibilities even when all the right resources are relied on.