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For long stretches over the past decade, a strong real estate market and rapidly improving technology did a remarkable amount of the work for us.
Homes went onto MLS®, appeared almost immediately on Realtor.ca and other websites, buyers received automated alerts, social media expanded the audience and open houses gave people another opportunity to walk through the front door. In a market with strong demand and generally rising prices, that combination often produced a buyer.
It also made it very easy to confuse exposure with strategy. Today’s market is reminding buyers, sellers and Realtors® that they are not the same thing.
Paul’s Observation | Three Houses, One Street and a Small Pool of Buyers
I had a conversation with one of our agents this week about a listing that has been on the market for about two weeks. There has been some activity—not a lot, but enough to know buyers are seeing it. Then two more listings appeared on the same street.
Both have some advantages in condition and lot characteristics, including greenspace and walkout potential, and both are priced roughly $50,000 higher. Suddenly, instead of being one available property in the neighbourhood, our seller is one of three competing for what appears to be a relatively small but steady stream of buyers in that price range.
The easy response would be to look at the new competition and say, “That’s good. We’re now the least expensive house on the street.” And that may be true. But I suggested to our agent that this is exactly the moment to become more aggressive about positioning the property to be the next one that sells. Not because there is anything wrong with the listing. Not because two weeks is an unusually long time. And certainly not because every new listing should immediately trigger a price reduction.
The question is simply: What can we do today to improve our odds of being the house the next buyer chooses? That is a very different mindset from waiting for the market to make the decision for us.
Market Opportunity | Turning Over More Stones
For years I have described the traditional sign-on-the-lawn, MLS®, open-house-and-wait approach as passive marketing. Those things all matter. We still need great photography, strong online presentation, MLS® exposure, open houses and effective digital marketing. The mistake is believing those activities are the entire job.
A proactive listing agent should also be asking who has shown competing properties, which agents are currently working with buyers in that price range, what those buyers are looking for and whether there are objections we can solve. We should be studying showing feedback, monitoring new competition, revisiting previous interest and considering whether price, presentation, possession dates, conditions or other terms could improve the property’s position.
It means turning over the smaller stones rather than assuming everything worth finding will be sitting underneath the biggest one. The buyer side is no different.
Technology makes it incredibly easy to set up an automated search and wait for MLS® to tell us when something new has arrived. A proactive buyer agent should also be networking with agents working in that market, asking what may be coming, revisiting listings that haven’t sold and looking for situations where a seller’s timing or circumstances might create an opportunity.
Sometimes the property everyone is waiting for hasn’t hit MLS® yet. Sometimes the opportunity is already listed but isn’t obvious from the photos and description. And sometimes a seller and buyer who appear to be too far apart simply need someone prepared to keep working on the problem rather than walking away after the first conversation. That is what I mean when I talk about making a market.
I don’t mean manipulating demand, manufacturing urgency or convincing someone to make a decision that isn’t in their best interests. I mean proactively doing the work required to bring willing buyers and sellers together.
The Bigger Picture | The Skills a Rising Market Allowed Us to Forget
This is not a new way of selling real estate. It is actually a return to many of the skills that were required during previous slower markets.
When inventory was high and buyers were scarce, we couldn’t simply put a property on the market and wait. We had to know who was buying, what else they were considering, where sellers had flexibility and what might allow two parties to reach common ground.
Over time, two things changed. For long periods, the market became considerably stronger. At the same time, technology became remarkably good at distributing real estate information. MLS® systems became faster, Realtor.ca put inventory directly into consumers’ hands, automated searches became standard, and social media created enormous reach. All of that was progress. But it also allowed the business to become more passive.
When almost every properly priced house eventually found a buyer, it was harder for consumers to distinguish between an agent who was actively creating opportunities and one who was largely waiting for the market to produce the result. A slower market exposes that difference.
Consumers today have access to more real estate information than ever before, including much of the same market data that once sat almost exclusively in the hands of Realtors®. They have property portals, sales information, social media, mortgage calculators and increasingly sophisticated AI tools that can help them interpret what they are seeing. That doesn’t eliminate the need for professional representation.
It raises the standard of what professional representation needs to provide. The value is increasingly in judgement, relationships, negotiation, experience and initiative. It is knowing which information matters, recognizing a problem early, spotting an opportunity that isn’t obvious and then having the skill to do something about it.
What Are You Actually Paying For?
That brings me to another conversation taking place in real estate right now. A recent Globe and Mail editorial questioned whether Realtor® commissions are too high. I think consumers are entitled to ask that question.
If the service being provided amounts primarily to putting up a sign, loading the property onto MLS®, running an open house and waiting for the buyer to arrive, then we shouldn’t be surprised when someone questions the cost of that service. Technology has made property exposure easier and more efficient than it has ever been.
The same applies to buyer representation. If the value being provided consists mainly of setting up an automatic search and opening doors after the buyer finds a house online, consumers are going to question what they are paying for. Where professional representation earns its value is in the work the technology doesn’t do particularly well.
Who hasn’t seen this property yet? Which agents are working with the right buyers? What obstacle is stopping someone from moving forward? Is there a better way to structure the transaction? Is there another property about to become available? Can a conversation that appeared finished be reopened? Are price, timing and terms closer than the parties initially believe?
A commission by itself doesn’t create value. The work does. And in my view, market making is one of the places where our fiduciary responsibility to the client becomes most visible.
Conversation Starter | What Happens After the Listing Goes Live?
If you’re selling a home, almost every Realtor® can put your property onto MLS®, distribute it online and advertise an open house. The more important question might be: What are we going to do if the buyer doesn’t immediately show up?
And if you’re buying, almost anyone can arrange for new listings to arrive in your inbox. A better question may be: What are we doing to find opportunities that aren’t obvious from today’s MLS® hot sheet?
Those are increasingly important questions in a market like ours, because when the market stops doing the selling for us, having someone prepared to actively help make the market move can make a very real difference. If real estate is in your plans for this year or next, and you’re not currently working with another Realtor®, talk to Paul about what a proactive strategy might look like for your particular situation.
Have a great weekend,
Paul
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Listing Of The Week
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154 Ontario Street, Guelph, Ontario | $895,000
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Detached 2 Storey
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3 + 1 Bedrooms
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4 Bathroomms
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1650 Sq.ft
Practically one of a kind! This custom-built, 1,650 sq. ft. home is the perfect mix of old soul and modern style. Tucked into the heart of St. Patrick's Ward, you'll be surrounded by the charm and character of one of Guelph's most beloved neighbourhoods, while enjoying all the comfort, efficiency, and peace of mind that comes with a newer home. Life here is refreshingly easy. From the thoughtfully selected finishes inside to the low-maintenance exterior, this home was designed to let you spend less time on upkeep and more time enjoying where you live. The bright, open-concept main floor is made for real life-whether that's hosting friends, wrangling the family, or simply kicking back after a long day. Throw open the sliding doors to the composite deck and your living space instantly stretches outdoors for summer barbecues, morning coffees, and evenings under the stars. Upstairs, you'll find three spacious bedrooms, including a dreamy primary retreat complete with a walk-in shower, double vanity, and plenty of room to breathe. Then there's the lower level-the home's secret superpower. Built with an accessory suite already in mind, it's wired and plumbed for a future kitchen. Add one small wall and a kitchen, and voilà-you've got a self-contained one-bedroom suite for extended family, guests, or a little extra income. Not looking to share? Keep it all to yourself as the ultimate rec room, home office, guest space, or teen retreat, complete with an additional bedroom and a 3-piece bath. And the location? It's hard to beat. Walk downtown for dinner, hop on the GO Train, or wander the nearby trails whenever the mood strikes. The current owners feel like they won the lottery with this home and this neighbourhood-and once you see it for yourself, you just might feel the same.
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Market Snapshot | The Buyers Are There, But They Have Choices
Over the past 30 days, 286 properties sold across Guelph and Wellington County. Guelph accounted for 143 of those sales, with an average selling price of $766,073. During the same period, 332 new Guelph listings came onto the market, resulting in a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 43%.
Homes that did sell averaged 41 listing days on market and achieved 97% of their final asking price. There were also 169 listing terminations in Guelph during that same period.
Those numbers aren’t horrible. They aren’t particularly great either.
They describe a market where buyers are still making decisions and families are still moving, but there is enough inventory that buyers can afford to be selective. Sellers cannot simply assume that because their house is listed, its turn will eventually come.
The 97% number needs some context as well. It measures the selling price against the final asking price. It doesn’t necessarily tell us how far a property may have travelled from its original list price after adjustments, cancellations or relisting. And because listing days on market can reset when properties are terminated and relisted, the 41-day average doesn’t necessarily capture the full amount of time some homes have been trying to find a buyer.
The market is moving. It is just making sellers work harder for the sale.
CHECK IT OUT! WE'VE JUST RELEASED OUR
July 2026 Market Report
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This report contains
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May 2026 Summary & analysis for Guelph
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Full home type breakdowns for Guelph, Centre Wellington, Kitchener, Waterloo & Cambridge
Are you curious what homes in Guelph are really selling for?
View today's sales prices, plus photos, maps & property details- imagine realtor.ca, but for sold properties!
