While the demand for properties in the Montreal area has been steady since the beginning of the year, the supply of available homes remains historically low. These factors have combined to create the perfect environment for bidding wars; in fact, it has become common for properties to receive multiple offers shortly after listing, and ultimately sell for above asking price.

Of all property sales in Montreal in 2018, 10% have been above asking by an average of 3.5%. While these statistics are impressive enough for anyone looking to sell their home in the near future, it’s important to note that Deakin properties continued to experience even greater results. Of all Deakin transactions throughout the year thus far, 40% of sales have been above asking price by an average of 4.5%.

“The marketing platform we’ve always used in a more balanced market has proven to be even more effective in the current hot market,” said Jay Deakin, real estate broker and co-owner of Deakin Reality. “We’ve seen a number of our listings sell for much higher and faster than expected this year, due in large part to the systems we have in place for preparing the house for sale and presenting it to the market.”

While sellers definitely have the upper hand given these market conditions, it can be difficult to know how to price your home in order to optimize its sale while still getting top dollar for your property. That’s where expert advice becomes priceless.

“The pricing process has become more complex given the new market conditions,” Deakin said. “Depending on the price point of the house, there can be two to three valid strategies for pricing. In many cases, we are pricing homes to solicit multiple offers, which can often yield a better result than pricing 2-3% above the anticipated sale price as we have traditionally done. Simply looking at sales data is not enough anymore; you have to be aware of homes that are currently under contract with accepted offers and which buyers are still in the market and may have missed a few homes.”

Buyers are also often unsure about how to proceed with making an offer on a property in such a competitive market. In a typical real estate climate, buyers generally decide upon an offer based on the data of comparable properties in the neighbourhood. However, in today’s market, with an abundance of buyers and few properties for sale, the sheer volume of competing buyers is driving up prices often to well beyond recent comparables.

“Seeing a mortgage broker prior to shopping is a very important step, not only for establishing your budget, but also to have a pre-approval letter ready to present to sellers with your offer,” Deakin said. “Also, having a realtor who is a local market expert is more important than ever before because it helps ensure that you can make a competitive bid, while protecting value and not over-paying.”

While it’s impossible to predict exactly how the rest of the year will play out, it appears as though the trend of bidding wars will continue into the fall, as the market factors driving the phenomenon aren’t expected to change in the coming months.

“We have seen inventory levels creep up in the last month or so, but they still remain well below historical averages,” Deakin said. “We’ll be watching this closely as we go into the fall season. All eyes will be watching prices and inventory as we head into mid-August to see how the rest of the year will shape up. It seems as though we could see a slight cooling as the year ends, however it seems highly unlikely that the market will flatten off or give anything back this year.”