Real Estate Talk: Selling
in a difficult market

There are strategies to bypass issues and permit buyers and sellers to achieve their goals

By Joseph Marovitch

July 10, 2025

I have had several conversations with sellers who had their property expire from the market. There are more expired listings than usual in the current market.

In the conversation, after I provided a current market report, I was asked what I would do to sell their property. I suggested what should be done. As there are so many properties that have not sold, I decided to write the following. Inspection will be explained next week.

It is easy to sell a property in good condition, in a desirable location, and in a stable, growing market. A broker does not have to be experienced in selling. They do have to know real estate law to avoid trouble, but other fields of knowledge are also required to be successful and help clients reach their goals.

The real estate market is based on hundreds of moving geopolitical parts… We are currently in an uncertain and volatile market with several factors affecting the market daily.

What about a property that is either not in good condition, not in a good location, not properly priced for a specific market, or not properly targeted to the right audience based on price and location?

The real estate market is based on hundreds of moving geopolitical parts such as politics, climate, war, terrorist acts, pandemics and more. These are prevalent issues we have experienced in the last two years or more. We are currently in an uncertain and volatile market with several factors affecting the market daily.

All these issues affect Canada’s supply chain of goods and services, which in turn affects inflation, which affects interest rates, which affects supply, demand, insurance rates, building materials, contractor services and more. Therefore, there must be a strategy to bypass these issues and permit buyers and sellers to achieve their goals, including price and terms, whether a buyer or seller. There are strategies.

Buyers are more at the whim of any market; however, there are many negotiation tactics to achieve an acceptable price and terms.

For sellers, there are actual tools and strategies to achieve their goals in any market. Three factors are required:

1. Expert knowledge and experience in evaluation, negotiation, marketing and real estate law.
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2. A tactical mind to strategically price a property in an easy or tough market to acquire more interest, inquiries, visits and offers. A property priced slightly below its higher-end value provides incentive for buyers to inquire in an uncertain market. The more interest and offers, the higher the price.
   .
3. Targeted marketing to the appropriate audience. One does not target a $300,000 property to a high-net-worth audience, and one does not target a $3 million property to a mid-range net worth audience.

An expired property may not have sold either because of price, condition, improper marketing, or lack of strategy in an uncertain and volatile market. Therefore, an expired property requires examination of all these factors to find out which ones affected the expiration, find a resolution, and apply what is needed.

Many new brokers sign listings, place the property on Centris and wait for calls instead of examining the property, the location, and the state of the market, to apply a tactical strategy.

Brokers are taught they must “list to last”. New brokers have been told to list as many homes as possible and let other brokers and Centris sell the house. The brokers were taught to play the numbers and not worry about the 25% of listings that fall by the wayside.

‘An expired property may not have sold either because of price, condition, improper marketing, or lack of strategy in an uncertain and volatile market.’

A property for most people is their life savings and either their retirement, education for the children, their next home, or a new business, to name a few uses of the equity in a home.

Acquiring a real estate license should be considered the equivalent of an investment advisor or accountant, and possibly a university degree. Any profession that deeply affects one’s life, not unlike a doctor, lawyer, police or fireman, and can cause serious reward or loss, should be treated with the utmost professionalism and seriousness.

Yet, the majority of brokers are high school graduates with an average age of 18 to 25 years old. They are in the business for the money and to see if the profession is suited for them. The notion of placing one’s life savings in inexperienced hands is questionable. Who takes a one-year course at the age of 18 to 25 years and then performs surgery? This is how serious real estate is. There may even be a suggestion of requiring new brokers to be mentored by seasoned brokers.

Many excellent brokers have been in the business for several years, but new young brokers keep being produced and placed in the field immediately.

Summary of requirements to sell:
Strategic tactical pricing + Targeted marketing + Experienced/ expert knowledge

The information in these articles is summary. Should you have questions, comments or wish to discuss further, please refer to the comments section at the bottom of the page or contact me directly. As well, to view past articles, click here.

Next article: Inspection

State of the market

Currently, mortgage rates and inflation are still low, which provides the opportunity to purchase a property at affordable prices. Buyers must consider future carrying costs, which can rise or fall depending on foreign politics, world conflicts, and US/Canada relations.

The Quebec Professional Real Estate Brokers (QPAREB) states that June home sales in Montreal rose by 16% compared to June last year, and condo sales increased by 19%. Yet, with the current rates and inflation of 1.7%, many buyers and sellers are still waiting to see what the future holds.

According to the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC), the carrying costs for new homeowners in 2025 have increased by 48% of the average household income compared with 34% in 2019. The CMHC also states that this is the worst decline in housing affordability in any Canadian city. The CMHC suggests the solution is to increase the supply of homes.

‘According to the Canadian Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC), the carrying costs for new homeowners in 2025 have increased by 48% of the average household income compared with 34% in 2019. The CMHC also states that this is the worst decline in housing affordability in any Canadian city.’

It should be stated that the increase should be affordable housing, not expensive new homes and condos, as most developers are prone to do. Which is why the construction of new homes should be a joint provincial, federal and developer collaboration.

During the pandemic, real estate values rose significantly since there was little supply and high demand at the time. The city then increased the taxes based on those prices. From that point, prices remained high and unaffordable for most buyers.

Now, combined with the uncertainty of tariff effects and the threat of more tariffs on aluminum from the U.S., along with the U.S./Russia, Gaza, and Russia/Ukraine conflicts, we cannot be certain where inflation and interest rates, which affect carrying costs, will go yet.

Have a great week!

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