Seller's Market...Balanced Market...Buyer's Market??? The Toronto Real Estate Board reports the market is slowly shifting towards "balance" after several years of favouring sellers.

Hogwash! With inventory up 28% over June of 2007 and sales off 15% from the same period, we are in a Buyer's Market, just to be real about it. Seller's must compete ever so aggressively for a buyer that is fewer in numbers. That said, good homes that are priced right still sell, usually fairly quickly.

Resale prices are running 3% to 4% higher than last year and the total volume of sales in Durham Region for June was 967 units, still the 4th best June on record. When comparing resale numbers to June of 2007 keep in mind that 2007 was a record breaking year and it would be practically impossible to maintain that pace year after year.

In Metro Toronto sales are down 18% from June of 2007 and across the 905 sales are also down approximately 18%.

Advise: If you need to sell, price it right and present it right. If you need to Buy, do your homework on price and negotiate hard.

If you are doing neither, enjoy the summer!