Should you sell your home before buying?- The Toronto Star

A Toronto Star article by Tony Young from May 1, 2011.

 

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Scott and Elizabeth McNeil plan to buy a larger home in the future as their family grows.
But first, they have to sell their existing one. It’s a simple strategy used by move up buyers everywhere. Take the money you’ve invested in the first home, and then buy another one.
But for some buyers, it gets a little more complicated. Should you buy your home first, then sell, or should you sell your home first, and then buy?
For the fiscally conservative McNeil’s, selling first was the best strategy.
“I just didn’t feel comfortable buying a new home, and then getting stuck having to sell my existing home quickly so that I wouldn’t be stuck with two mortgages,” said Scott, an information technology consultant. “One problem that would be worrisome is the possibility of taking less money for your existing home if you had to sell it fast so that you could close on the other property.”
Selling your home first before buying another is the generally accepted route in the home buying process. But that’s changing. The figures aren’t officially tracked by the Toronto Real Estate Board, but some realtors report that buyers are increasingly willing to purchase a new property, even if they still haven’t sold their existing one first.
With 16 years of consistently rising home prices in the Toronto market, it’s not hard to see why some buyers can get complacent.
Buying a new property in a rising market means you can always get rid of your existing property at a potentially higher price down the road.
But the reverse is true in a down market. If prices start to fall, buyers could end up trying to finance two homes which are steadily losing value.
Bill Johnston, president of the Toronto Real Estate board says market conditions are “critical” before triggering a “buy or sell first” decision for homeowners.
“You really have to do your research. If the market is good and homes are selling well on your street, then there is a good chance you can sell your home quickly. If the market is slow, it might not be a great idea,” said Johnston.
In the current spring market, listings are down by 19 per cent and homes are still selling well. Fewer listings means there is less competition if you put your house up for sale.
However, the average days that the house sits on the market are up by 15 per cent to 23 days from 20. Analysts also expect the market to slow during the summer and fall. Most economists expect the market to be relatively flat on pricing moving forward. But some expect prices to fall over the next 12 months.
Buying first in a down market has some serious pitfalls, says Johnston. During the 1989 market peak and subsequent crash in the Toronto market, many buyers got burned when they purchased a new home before unloading their existing property.
“It was as if the brakes had slammed on the market,” said Johnston. “If you were caught holding two properties, that was a tough time.”
One way to hedge your bets if you want to buy first is to make your offer conditional on selling your current property. But Johnston says this typically isn’t practical in the current marketplace, since the vendor will take the offer with fewer restrictions.
“Conditional offers just aren’t popular,” said Johnston.
John Andrew, director of the executive seminars on corporate and investment real estate at Queen’s University says in a strong market where there might be multiple offers on choice properties, some people don’t have a choice when it comes down to buying or selling first. In other cases, buying first could be prompted by a divorce or by a relocation.
“It really boils down to how flexible you are in your search criteria and your circumstances. In a hot market for example, when you think you might not get what you want, you may have to be more aggressive. But it’s also a really tricky game to play because the risk is real.”
Paul Swartz, an agent with Sutton Group Old Mill Realty says as a rule of thumb, he usually counsels buyers to sell first. However there are times when this isn’t possible.
“You’ve got buyers who are very specific that they can only live on a certain house on a certain side of the street. If that’s the case, then when the property comes up for sale you’ve got to buy it. But if you’re a little more flexible, I would sell first and buy later.”
Jim Wong, a mortgage broker with the Royal Bank, says clients should get pre-approved before bidding on a home to determine what they can really afford.
But sometimes emotions get in the way. One client recently ended up in a bidding war for a home earlier this month, even though she had an existing home, and hadn’t checked with a broker about what she could afford, said Wong. In one sense she was a lucky loser, since her income didn’t support having two properties.
“Their are some people who have good income. But realistically, the majority of the clients would not qualify for having two mortgages,” said Wong. “In this case they would be in a stressful situation if they bought the house, because they would have to sell before closing, which could be 30 days, and that’s not always possible.”
Queen’s University professor Andrew warns that vendors should carefully consider the advice they receive from agents, but ultimately decide for themselves whether they want to buy or sell first.
One underlying issue is that most people wouldn’t necessarily talk about is that agents are more incentivized to have their listing clients buy first and then sell later, he said. In the up market of the last decade, that wasn’t necessarily bad advice. But if the market goes south, watch out, he says
“If you sell first, it could take months to do that transaction, especially if you are waiting for the right price,” said Andrew. “That’s not good for the agent because it will take longer. But if you buy first, the commission is available right away to the agent, and then you really have to sell your home quickly to pay for your purchase, triggering a second transaction. Buying first would certainly cut down on the agent’s time horizon and they could move faster to the next deal. So there is some incentive.”
Not everyone agrees with that analysis. Veteran realtor Swartz argues that most agents wouldn’t last long in the business if they kept putting their interests ahead of the client.
“There are some bad apples, but not all agents are self-serving, you wouldn’t be in business for very long giving that kind of advice,” said Swartz.
The McNeil’s, meanwhile, listed their home earlier this month for $374,900, without an agent, relying on their own advice.
The urban townhouse near trendy King West village in downtown Toronto has been home to the family for about a year and a half. But it’s time to move on to larger digs for their family, which includes one year old baby Hunter.
“So far the spring market has been good, the phone’s been ringing off the hook, probably because there isn’t that much out there,” said McNeil.
With a hot property that appeals to the key demographic of first time buyers and young families, McNeil could likely have afforded to buy first and wait to sell.
But for those contemplating whether to buy first, make sure that you can financially withstand holding two mortgages in case the market turns, said RBC’s Wong. The bank could also conceivably rescind a mortgage approval if the first property is not sold before closing of the second property.
And whatever you do, try not to impulse-buy.
Mississauga based publicist Pat Cairns said she was walking by a condo in her home town of Dundas, Ont. last fall when she found the ideal condo unit.
“It was beautiful, exactly what we wanted,” said Cairns. “We absolutely fell in love with it.”
Cairns and her husband spent a feverish couple of days crunching numbers to see if they could afford the property. The condo was already completed and the developer was trying to sell off a few remaining suites. But the seller wanted an early closing.
“We were very seriously considering buying, but were worried about the risk. At this stage of our lives we decided we couldn’t carry a lot of debt if we didn’t sell,” said Cairns. “I think the lesson is, if you don’t think you can afford it, stay away from those open house signs until the cash is in the bank.”