Sudbury real estate continues to be a sellers’ market

Sudbury -

Real estate in Sudbury is still a seller's market right now and has been since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Realtors say properties are still selling between three and five per cent higher than what they are listed for.

Tyler Peroni, chair of the Sudbury Real Estate Board, said realtors have seen significant changes in the market in the past year and a half, including the price of houses.

“At the beginning of the year anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 was the norm to bid on a property,” said Peroni. “Now we’re seeing that decrease a little bit but depending on the property you can still see anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 and sometimes over that.”

Peroni said when it comes to putting a bid in on a house, buyers have to act fast or they might miss out.

"Previous to COVID, you could show them five to 10 to 15 properties and they could have their choice on what one they wanted to bid on," he said.

"Now we’re trying to get them into a house as quickly as possible but at the same time you might have to bid on five to 10 properties before you actually get one.”

Long-time Sudburians Kaitlin Sheridan and her husband recently bought their third home, only this time around they had to offer a lot more than ever before.

“Even three years ago, when we bought our second home we thought was pretty exceptional even offering asking price," said Sheridan. "Now hearing that homes are going for well over $100,000 over, which was the case with our home, as well.”

She said buying a home during the pandemic does add more stress.

“Pre-pandemic you could do an open house, just walk through, you had time to think, and reflect before you acted on this really big purchase and now there’s this sense of urgency,” said Sheridan. “Everything is pre-booked in 30-minute time slots so you have 30 minutes to make the biggest decision of your life -- and that’s stressful.”

Peroni said since January, the Sudbury Real Estate Board has seen a total of 2,600 listings in the area, which is up by 400 compared to 2020.