{"id":180758,"date":"2025-08-27T21:43:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T21:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/180758\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T21:43:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T21:43:11","slug":"escape-clauses-creative-conditions-real-estate-agents-are-changing-the-game-plan-in-a-hesitant-market","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/180758\/","title":{"rendered":"Escape clauses, creative conditions \u2013 real estate agents are changing the game plan in a hesitant market"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

BMO economist Robert Kavcic says sluggish economic and job market conditions are contributing to a slump in the condo market.Sammy Kogan\/The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n

Improving sales, elevated inventory and flat prices are combining to create a stable real estate market across Canada, but some common factors appear to be dampening the enthusiasm of buyers in many regions.<\/p>\n

Robert Kavcic, senior economist at Bank of Montreal, points to sluggish economic and job market conditions, the Bank of Canada on hold, and mortgage rates hovering above levels that might spark strong demand. <\/p>\n

Market psychology is also a hurdle, the economist says in a note to clients.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust as expectations of higher prices drove accelerating gains on the way up, the understanding that prices are falling is holding back buyers on the way down in some locations.\u201d<\/p>\n

He points to Southern Ontario as the weak spot, with a glut of condos hitting the resale market and pushing prices down in Toronto and beyond. Prices for single-family homes are holding up better but are still falling, the economist says.<\/p>\n

Toronto market for new condos continues to crater as sales drop, developers cancel projects<\/a><\/p>\n

In mid-sized Ontario cities, real estate agents say putting deals together in the current market requires ingenuity.<\/p>\n

In Guelph, Ont., Aimee Puthon of Coldwell Banker Neumann Real Estate recently worked with one young couple who decided to take advantage of a slower market to trade up.<\/p>\n

The couple submitted an offer for a detached house with an asking price of $1.25-million in the city\u2019s historic Exhibition Park neighbourhood, but they lost out to a competing bidder.<\/p>\n

A few days later, the listing agent called to say the first buyer had backed out.<\/p>\n

Ms. Puthon\u2019s clients raised their offer slightly to $1.2-million and the sellers accepted.<\/p>\n

The homeowners also agreed to their conditions, including a common one in today\u2019s market: the \u201csale of purchaser\u2019s property.\u201d<\/p>\n

The clause means the deal would only firm up once the couple sold their starter home.<\/p>\n

The homeowners agreed, but the pact included an \u201cescape clause\u201d which would allow them to continue to show the property. If another offer landed, Ms. Puthon\u2019s clients would have 48 hours to waive their condition, or the sellers would be free to accept the new offer.<\/p>\n

Ms. Puthon was confident the couple\u2019s three-bedroom bungalow with a finished basement would sell quickly because of its appeal to first-time buyers. Soon the couple received two offers.<\/p>\n

They accepted one buyer\u2019s conditional offer, but that deal grew shaky as the buyer kept asking for more time.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t continue to keep stringing us along,\u201d Ms. Puthon advised their agent. That offer fell through, but another buyer stepped up and the home sold for $750,000.<\/p>\n

Ms. Puthon says finalizing the deal for the Exhibition Park house after all of the tumult was a relief to all.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe really didn\u2019t want to be bumped,\u201d she says of the escape clause, adding that pieces in the process are stacked like dominoes.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s \u2018the summer of lowballing\u2019 in Toronto\u2019s real estate market<\/a><\/p>\n

This month, Ms. Puthon says, the Guelph market has hit the traditional August slowdown. <\/p>\n

For inventory that has been sitting, cutting the asking price can bring new attention.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrice adjustments are common in our market right now,\u201d she says. \u201cWe want to try to get those people through the front door.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broker Faisal Susiwala of Re\/Max Twin City Faisal Susiwala Realty says setting a date for reviewing offers is less common than in the past in the Ontario cities of Kitchener-Waterloo and Cambridge, where he does much of his business. But with some fine-tuning for the current market, the strategy can lead to competing bids, he says.<\/p>\n

The practice is more successful for homes in the average price range or below, where the buyer pool is larger.<\/p>\n

Mr. Susiwala sets an asking price about 5 to 7 per cent below the price he\u2019s hoping to achieve. That\u2019s a change from the high-octane markets of years past, when he would set the asking price 10 to 20 per cent below the amount he estimated buyers would be willing to pay.<\/p>\n

He also monitors weather forecasts for upcoming heatwaves and rain storms, and he has moved his typical offer night to Tuesday from Monday in order to give buyers an extra day to go to the bank.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had to pivot,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re so in tune with what external factors are going to affect our offer date.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the sellers do not receive an acceptable offer on the designated date, Mr. Susiwala will extend the deadline by one week.<\/p>\n

If, after the second week, the property has not sold, Mr. Susiwala advises the clients to accept that the market has spoken. Some homeowners then decide to wait and try again later, or they list the property for lease instead.<\/p>\n

In higher price brackets, Mr. Susiwala aims to keep the asking price below competing properties in the area. He doesn\u2019t build in much room for gradual price reductions or haggling.<\/p>\n

In his experience, homes quickly gain traction when they land on the market at a price below the prices of comparable properties languishing on the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re going to price it tight and we\u2019re going to hold firm,\u201d Mr. Susiwala recommends to sellers.<\/p>\n

In some cases, the sellers decide to go with another agent who agrees to list at a higher asking price.<\/p>\n

Mr. Susiwala says some agents agree to try a higher asking price because they\u2019re afraid the seller will choose to hire someone else, but Mr. Susiwala says that approach often backfires.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re going to lose the listing anyway because you didn\u2019t do your job and deliver,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In one case, the sellers of a farm listed with another agent in March, 2024, with an asking price of $5.5-million. The property had a series of price trims until it reached $4.895-million in February of this year, and the listing eventually expired without a sale.<\/p>\n

In July, Mr. Susiwala took over and recommended an asking price of $3.995-million. The property is unique, he says, because it provides space for three generations, but listing below $4-million and bumping up the social media was key.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce you get to a certain cap, you can\u2019t get anything to move,\u201d he says, adding that only a handful of properties in the area have ever sold above that mark.<\/p>\n

An offer soon landed for $3.7-million. The sellers made a counter-offer of $3.915-million, the buyer agreed, and the property was sold in five weeks, Mr. Susiwala says.<\/p>\n

Today, he finds most aspiring sellers are receptive when he gives them unvarnished guidance.<\/p>\n

\u201cSellers are looking for people who tell them the truth \u2013 not what they want to hear.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for buyers, Mr. Susiwala says many buyers have been holding off because they are waiting for interest rates to drop. Others are concerned about employment, tariffs, and politics south of the border.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mood is uncertainty and it\u2019s surrounding us.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some cases, a return to the office is driving transactions. <\/p>\n

In the technology hub of Kitchener-Waterloo, for example, employees are increasingly required to show up to work in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe key people at companies are no longer able to work at the cottage \u2013 they want them in the office,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a little bit of movement because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Done Deal: Buyer upgrades to larger condo in a slow-moving market<\/a><\/p>\n

In other cases, people are leaving the area to move closer to jobs. It can be a tough calculation for people who bought at the height of the market during the early years of the COVID-19 pandemic, he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are the ones who are really feeling the pinch,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Mr. Susiwala is working with one employee who plans to sell a four-bedroom detached house in Cambridge because she now needs to drive to her job in Mississauga five days a week.<\/p>\n

The homeowner will likely fetch around $900,000 for her property, he says, but she will be paying about $1-million for a three-bedroom townhouse in Milton.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe is downsizing in property but upsizing financially,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

In the segment for new homes, Mr. Susiwala is seeing multiple builders cutting their prices on houses in various stages of construction.<\/p>\n

People are reluctant to buy from plans, so builders are sometimes going ahead with projects so that buyers can walk through finished homes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re slashing just to exit the market, just to break even, just to keep their employees,\u201d he says. \u201cThey can\u2019t afford to keep these lots just sitting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: BMO economist Robert Kavcic says sluggish economic and job market conditions are contributing…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":180759,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[64,135,19617,102046,4329,102045,67,132,68],"class_list":{"0":"post-180758","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-markets","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-markets","10":"tag-noastack","11":"tag-ontario-real-estate","12":"tag-real-estate","13":"tag-toronto-real-estate","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-unitedstates","16":"tag-us"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115102915262053035","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180758","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180758"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180758\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180758"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180758"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180758"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}