Who decides the London, Ontario real estate market? You do. Not the Bank of Canada, not the economists, not the spring market, not your neighbour. The market is the sum of individual decisions made by real people in real circumstances — and the best time to buy or sell is when your circumstances call for it, not when a headline says conditions are ideal. Ty Lacroix, Broker at The Envelope Real Estate Group, has lived through every market cycle in Southwestern Ontario over 24 years — and so have his clients.
Who decides the London, Ontario real estate market? Why? When?
The answer is simpler than most people expect — and more honest than most realtors will tell you.
You can study statistics, consult economists, listen to mortgage brokers, ask your relatives, or gaze into a crystal ball. All of that might give you useful context. None of it will tell you when you should buy or sell.
A Quick Theory Worth Knowing
Economist Hyman Minsky described a pattern that shows up in every economic cycle — real estate included:
When an economy is stable, people get optimistic. When people get optimistic, they take on debt. When they take on debt, the economy becomes unstable.
History doesn't repeat itself exactly, but people do. Since the beginning of recorded human behaviour, the cycle of optimism, overreach, and correction has played out in some form. Understanding that it exists — and that you're not immune to it — is the beginning of making a clear-headed decision.
The Best Time Is When You Want, Not When You Have To
Anyone who claims they can reliably time the real estate market should be walked politely to the door. Is spring the best time to sell? Summer? Fall? Winter? The honest answer: the best time is when your life calls for it — not when a seasonal narrative says it should be.
There are always outliers. Circumstances that override market timing entirely:
A job transfer between cities. A marriage ending. A death in the family. A genuine need to sell. Not needing a mortgage. Wanting to downsize before the decision gets made for you. Or simply being tired of ignoring a reality that's been quietly obvious for a while.
For every one of these, the "right time" is determined by life, not by what the market is doing. The market will be what it is. Your circumstances are what they are. The two don't always line up on a convenient schedule.
Full Disclosure
I am a realtor. I have been in this market long enough to have seen every cycle it can produce. There are things I know well. There are things I don't know at all. I am right-handed.
As you can see — I'm reasonably normal, aside from being a realtor. I try to keep my perspective on the London, Ontario real estate market grounded in reality rather than in whatever narrative is convenient for generating transactions.
I've lived through every market in Southwestern Ontario — the slow ones, the frantic ones, the corrections, and the COVID run that nobody expected and nobody should expect to see again. So have my clients. And the ones who made the best decisions weren't the ones who timed the market perfectly. They were the ones who understood their own situation clearly and made a decision that was right for their life — not for the market's mood.
A house or condo is brick and mortar. A home is you: your comfort zone, your reward at the end of the day. That's not a financial decision. It's a human one. The financial part is just what makes it possible.
Want a straight read on what the London market actually means for your specific situation right now? Reach out for a private conversation — no pressure, no pitch.
