Most sellers believe the main issue when selling is the price
By Joseph Marovitch
August 26 2026
Selling a property is never simply a matter of setting a price and waiting for an offer. Every seller enters the market with their own experience, expectations, level of knowledge, and tolerance for risk; in today’s economic climate, however, these factors must also be accompanied by a clear-eyed understanding of the local conditions and global pressures influencing buyers.
There are several categories of sellers:
- Experienced sellers
- New sellers who have not sold a property before
- Affluent sellers
- Middle-income sellers
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Then there are other categories of sellers:
- Sellers who are unsure and want to learn how
- Sellers who are unaware and refer to experts in the field
- Sellers who have an idea of how real estate works
- Sellers who believe they know the process. These are the ones that learn the hard way and then know the process better than most.
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No one learns anything without trial and error. Mistakes are the best form of experiential learning. Mistakes can be difficult and expensive, but they are never forgotten, and they create wisdom.
Over 18 years, I have met with every type of character in real estate, from gurus to criminals. I tend to work with the middle range, meaning reasonable and intelligent people. In the process, we work as a team. We both inform and advise one another; I advise, then the client makes the decision, which I then implement to an expedient and satisfying result.
Most sellers believe the main issue when selling is the price. They often fail to consider terms, conditions, current local market conditions, and global conflicts. This can be a terrible mistake, especially during global conflicts, whether economic or actual war.
In a recent experience, I met with a couple who wished to sell a property they owned for almost, if not more than, 60 years. The property was in very good condition but somewhat dated. However, because of the excellent location and the house’s structure, which held vast potential, only a few cosmetic changes were needed to bring it up to date and create an absolute dollhouse.
The real estate market, on the surface, appears to be in a good state, with slightly increasing interest rates and inflation. For most people in their busy daily lives, global events aren’t something they pay much attention to. They may feel the effects of global issues, such as increased carrying costs in electricity, insurance, taxes, food, clothing and so on, due to things such as conflict and tariff wars, but people will attribute the issues to their own government and therefore believe the current market will pass. In some cases, people ignore or don’t believe what they hear and see on the news.
Most sellers believe the main issue when selling is the price. They often fail to consider terms, conditions, current local market conditions, and global conflicts. This can be a terrible mistake, especially during global conflicts, whether economic or actual war. The world has become smaller, and global conflicts affect our economy, real estate market, inflation and interest rates.
Therefore, given current local and global market conditions, price matters, but so do buyer sentiment, concerns and mindset, future carrying costs, and future devaluation, among other potential effects.
Westmount – January 1, 2026 to August 27, 2026 – 133 single-family home sales – 30 sold below evaluation or 23%
Côte Saint-Luc – January 1, 2026 to August 27, 2026 – 62 single-family home sales – 19 sold below evaluation or 31%
The figures are due to uncertain carrying costs, inflation and interest rates.
These kinds of figures can be avoided and the desired price attained if buyers look not only at the price they wish to sell at, but also at the strategy required to attain it.
Buyers who do not use a specific strategy to sell, such as tactical pricing to motivate buyers and targeted marketing to reach the appropriate audience in an uncertain market, can find the property sits on the market too long and the value drops. Not to mention the sudden market fluctuations that can, and have taken place, every time the U.S. administration states, “we won the war” (market rises), “we are sending more troops and attacking the economy” (market falls), “the Straights are closed” (market falls), “the Straights are open” (market rises), “Kim Jong Un is our ally” (market falls), “Canada is our enemy” (market falls), “we love Canada” (market rises).
Buyers who do not use a specific strategy to sell, such as tactical pricing to motivate buyers and targeted marketing to reach the appropriate audience in an uncertain market, can find the property sits on the market too long and the value drops.
This is why strategy matters in both buying and selling, with full disclosure of all pertinent information before making decisions. Otherwise, it is like entering the market and buying a stock recommended on TikTok with no knowledge of its cash flow, assets, past history, risk, current valuation, or projected future valuation. Too often today, we make decisions, judgments, and opinions based on what we see on the surface, without looking below the wave for the real issues.
As much as I prefer not to mention this, many brokers also don’t stay informed about global events that affect the market, and in some cases new brokers won’t discuss the global market and its effect on the buyer during and after the sale.
They will emphasize the positive attributes of the current local market to get the listing, acquire as many listings as possible and profit by attrition, meaning if they list 100 homes and expire 25 or more of those homes by relying on the Centris system, they will still profit from the numbers rather than performing full and targeted marketing, attending visits themselves, contacting their own network, place ads in publications, sending newsletters by mail, distribute market updates and flyers and using other tools at their disposal.
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These articles summarize the information. If you have questions or comments, or want to discuss further, please use the comments section at the bottom of the page or contact me directly. As well, to view past articles, click here.
State Of The Market
According to Paula Tran, an economist for the Financial Post, Canadians will feel the uncomfortable effects of newly implemented U.S. and Canadian tariffs, but not for several months. Overall, the tariffs are projected, if they remain in place, to increase inflation by .01% to .03%. This would mean Canada’s economy will continue to grow, but not as quickly as in the past.
The actual effect would not be devastating if Canadians budget a little tighter. However, the optics are the problem, along with the added stress of prolonged daily conflict and drama.
With reduced household income and fears of sudden inflation and rising interest rates, sellers have more motivation to sell, and buyers have less motivation to buy.
With reduced household income and fears of sudden inflation and rising interest rates, sellers have more motivation to sell, and buyers have less motivation to buy. Buyers and sellers can take opportunities to gamble on discounted property or hold their cards close to their chest.
Till next week, take care and have a wonderful weekend!
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Joseph Marovitch has worked in the service industry for over 30 years. He was first director of Camp Maromac, a summer camp for children, before becoming a real estate broker, where he applies the same values of reliability and integrity. You can reach him at 514 825-8771 or at josephmarovitch@gmail.com
