“It sucks to be a buyer in central Toronto these days.” While this isn’t the most elegant language, I don’t think I could’ve put it better myself. It’s too early to start throwing around words like revolution, proletariat and manifesto, but the time for those words might not be too far off. Buying a home in central Toronto just keeps getting harder and harder and buyers are getting increasingly frustrated and even angry.

If we ever get to the stage where the manifesto is written, the recent housing market in central Toronto will probably be described along these lines:

The residential real estate market took off in the 1980s. Prices increased dramatically. Lots of buyers made lots of money when they became sellers. But when the market crashed in 1989 and prices fell dramatically, lots of buyers lost lots of money when they went to sell.

The market languished between 1990 and 1997. It was a buyers’ market. New homes would come on the market, but buyers didn’t rush to see them. They’d take their sweet time, knowing there were more homes for sale than buyers so they likely didn’t have to worry about a home selling before they had a chance to see it. The longer they waited, the greater the likelihood the sellers would become more desperate and accept a lower price.

In 1997, the market started to take off again and prices started to rise. With the exception of a 6 month period in 2008-2009 (remember Enron?), they’ve been rising ever since and it’s been a sellers’ market.

At first, buyers rushed to see homes the first day they hit the market. Delaying meant another buyer could buy the home before you had a chance to see it. At some point, the practice of setting an offer date became the norm. This allowed buyers time to look at homes, think about them and do some research before deciding if they wanted to make an offer. It was pretty organized and relieved some of the stress in the home buying process, not just for buyers, but for their Realtors, too.

But then came the Bully Offer and everything changed. Sellers would list their homes and set an offer date, but at the same time they’d say “Even though we’re telling you offers aren’t until next Tuesday, if someone makes us a really good offer before then we may just take it.” I’ve already promised not to express my opinion of Bully Offers any further so please read this if you’d like to know my true feelings about them.

Bully Offers have thrown turmoil into the market and made life increasingly difficult for buyers and their Realtors. When a seller is willing to consider a Bully Offer, setting an offer date creates the illusion that buyers have time to consider a home, but this isn’t the case.  A Bully Offer may appear at any moment and then the buyers will have to decide very quickly if they want to make a Bully Offer of their own or risk losing the home to another buyer.

Imagine you’re a buyer: You see a home on Thursday evening. You love it, but you’re spending a lot of money so you want to sleep on it before deciding if you want to make an offer. You’re not concerned about making an immediate decision because the offer date isn’t until Monday. You’re out with friends on Friday night when your Realtor calls you: “There’s a Bully Offer and the sellers are reviewing it at 10 p.m. If you’d like to make an offer we have to move quickly.” You don’t want to be pressured into making the wrong decision so you tell your Realtor “I love that home, but I’m not going to spend over a million dollars without taking time to make sure I’ll be happy so I’m going to pass.”

How would you feel if you were this buyer? Lied to? Taken advantage of? Treated unfairly? Manipulated? And if this kind of thing kept happening, would you feel disappointed? Frustrated? Angry? How about all of the above? I wouldn’t blame you. Not one bit.

So what can you do to help yourself if you’re a buyer in this market?

• Go see homes as soon as they hit the market. Forget what the offer date is because the home may not last that long if there’s a Bully Offer.
• When you see a home you like, but aren’t 100% sure you want to make an offer, pretend you have to decide if you want to make an offer as quickly as possible. Do whatever research you need to do and ask whatever questions you need to ask as soon as you can. This way you’ll be ready to make an offer right away if someone else makes a Bully Offer.
• You could also sign an offer to be reviewed on the offer date so the seller’s Realtor will have to update you if someone makes a Bully Offer, but I don’t advise signing offers unless they’re genuine and you really want to buy the home.

These are some of the things you could do in the here and now. For better or for worse, sellers are in control of the market. But buyers are getting pushed to the brink. Let’s hope they don’t get so fed up with this market and Bully Offers that they decide to rise up and revolt. If you think there’s turmoil in the market now, I shudder to think what would happen if buyers decide to revolt. (I have a few ideas of what they might do and they’re not pretty).

If you know anyone who’s interested in learning how the market works and who’d like to receive the kind of help that involves honest answers, straightforward advice, no pressure and being treated like family, please let me know the best way for me to connect with them because I’d like to offer them this kind of help. And as always, don’t be shy if you have any questions or comments about this post! Thanks for reading.