Get a good rep, avoid aggressive sales tactics

My mom lives in a neighbourhood that has been undergoing gentrification and, until the pandemic hit, many owners had been downsizing. She’s been approached by someone telling her that she’d better sell now.

It seems that the person was using the pandemic to get her to sell. Do you have any advice? Let me start with saying, these are certainly unusual times for everyone. As you highlight in your question, even neighbourhoods recently considered hot pockets are experiencing fewer listings than usual because of the pandemic. However, research is showing that buyer interest is marginally lower, but still quite strong.

For people who bought prior to the provincial state-ofemergency announcement, they also had to sell a home — and vice versa.

Those closings are happening during the pandemic. Others may be seeking to lessen their financial burden by selling off investment properties.

Real estate brokerages in Ontario were deemed to be an essential service because people need to buy and sell homes.

Deciding to sell a home is a personal decision. It should be made with care and without pressure tactics.

Your mother is clearly in one of those desirable neighbourhoods and if — and when — she is considering selling, the way she was approached and the unique market conditions make it critical that she seek professional advice from a few real estate salespeople of her choosing prior to selecting one to represent her interests.

Preparing some questions for salespeople in advance is helpful.

She should enquire about their experience, what she can expect in terms of communication from them and explanation of the sale process, their approach to buying and selling, and how they have adjusted their services to meet any COVID-19 restrictions, limitations and requirements that may be in place during the time of her listing.

Finally, I recommend asking for references and verifying the salesperson is registered in good standing with RECO by using the search feature on the RECO website.

You also referenced that your mother was approached using the pandemic as a reason to sell now.

This is concerning, since no one is able to say for certain what impact this will have on the marketplace or individual property values.

However, professionals working in the market day to day have access to and knowledge of the current trends and transaction data for specific regions and neighbourhoods.

A registered real estate salesperson will be able to represent your mother’s interests and provide a market analysis of the home’s approximate value and be able to negotiate with other real estate salespeople on her behalf.

Sellers who have been out of the market for many years may not know the current value of their home, which can make them susceptible to lowball offers and other aggressive tactics from buyers looking to capitalize.