If you’ve already attained enlightenment, you probably won’t give a second thought to how long it’ll
take you to find your new home because you know that it will appear when the universe decides the time is right. What will be, will be. Or, as my brother James Meltzer says, “It is what it is”. (He’s not a Buddha. He just likes that saying.)

But the rest of us who aren’t quite there yet tend to pay a lot of attention to our schedules and To Do lists. We’d like to know how long it’ll take to find our new homes so we can plan the rest of our lives. (I know, I know…as if that’s even possible.) So for those of us who are still concerned with time as we seek enlightenment, here are some things to consider:

As is always the case when it comes to real estate, there are no rules. Or, if you prefer, there are exceptions to every rule. Every situation is different and there’s no formula for determining how long it’ll take you to find your new home. I’ve had clients who bought the first home they saw (after I forced them to look at a bunch of other homes so they’d have a basis of comparison) and I’ve had clients who waited 5 years for their new home because they wanted a certain style home in a 3 block area.

Some of the factors affecting your timing relate to the market:

• Are you looking during a time of year when there are more homes on the market (March, April, May, September, October) or very few homes on the market (July, August, December, January, February)?
• Are you looking in an area that has lots of turnover or in an area in which very few people sell their homes?
• Are there a lot of homes of the type for which you’re looking or are you looking for that rare, once in a lifetime home?

Some of the factors affecting your timing relate to you:

• How picky are you? Do you want everything just so or are you prepared to compromise? And if you’re prepared to compromise, exactly how much are you willing to compromise?
• How patient are you prepared to be?
• Are you already up to date on the market or do you need to get educated? Do you know where you want to live, what kind of home you’d like and how much it’ll cost you to buy that home? Are you a quick study or do you prefer to do a lot of research before making a decision?
• Do you tend to act quickly or get wet one toe at a time? What do I mean by this? Some people will offer list price in their first bidding war and lose. Then they’ll offer a little more than list price in their second bidding war and lose. They’ll increase their price incrementally in each bidding war until they finally get to the price they need to be at to win. This can take months and sometimes years in this market. Other people will estimate the price they need to pay to win their very first bidding war, pay it right off the bat and win. This type of person is more likely to buy a new home in a shorter time period.

Generally speaking, I’d say that the larger and more expensive the house, the longer it will take to find it. To give you a ballpark idea of how long you might expect to look for your new home based on what I’ve seen in central Toronto over the past several years, it’s probably fair to use the following estimates:

• Price $1,000,000 or under: Approximately 3 – 12 months
• Price $1,000,000 – $2,000,000: Approximately 4 – 18 months
• Price $2,000,000 – $3,000,000: Approximately 6-24 months
• Price $3,000,000+: Approximately 6 – 24 months

Remember, every situation is different so these are just rough approximations. Also, I’m not the kind of person who pressures his clients and I’m also very picky about the homes they buy so it may take my clients longer to find the right home (which is probably why so many of them stay in their homes for so long – see Why No Listings?).

Given how long it could take you to find your new home, you might be thinking  “It would take me less time to attain enlightenment and that would be a better use of my time because then I won’t worry about how long it’s taking me to find my new home.” You could be right. But there are things you can do to shorten your home search and I’ll discuss those in an upcoming post.

In the meantime, if you know of anyone who’s looking for an honest realtor who really knows his stuff and doesn’t pressure his clients, Please Don’t Keep Me a Secret. I really appreciate your referrals. Thanks for reading and don’t be shy if you have any questions or comments!