This alone moves you from “maybe” to “front of the line.”

🍷 2. Crystal Clarity on Your Two Key Numbers

• The maximum that still makes sense for your life and goals

• The walk-away number you’ll never cross When you know both, you make decisions from strength, not stress.

🚲 3. Offers Built to Stand Out (Even When Price Is Close)

Flexible or perfectly aligned closing dates, strong deposits, zero or minimal conditions, and paperwork the seller’s lawyer loves on first glance.

These details often matter more than an extra $10K.

🌾 4. First-in-Line Access

My buyers see listings the moment they’re signed — often before they’re live anywhere else.

Being the first serious showing changes everything.

🏡 5. An Agent the Other Side Knows and Respects

In a small town like ours, reputation and relationships are real currency.

When my name is on the offer, listing agents return the call. Simple as that.

A Game of Inches (and Why Who Represents You Changes Everything)

A gorgeous North end home came up — listed aggressively, beautiful presentation, the kind of property everyone in NOTL wants.

Offer night arrived with ten registered offers.

We came in a very close second.

For most buyers, that’s the end of the road.

But within minutes the listing agent called me personally.

Out of ten offers, they called only us.

We were given the chance to improve our price–because they saw the offer came from me.

That second chance didn’t happen because we had the highest price on the first round.

It happened because the listing agent knows me, trusts how I work, and knew our offer would be clean and reliable.

In a market like this, relationships aren’t nice-to-have.

They’re the margin between “almost” and “done.”

Here’s What’s Really Happening in NOTL Right Now

Great homes still attract attention quickly, but the buyer pool has thinned.

Sellers are motivated yet careful — they want certainty above everything.

That combination creates openings for buyers who show up prepared and represented by someone the other side already trusts.

The Market Everyone Thinks Is Tough Is Actually Handing You the Best Shot in Years

Most people right now are hesitating. They see multiple offers, shifting rates, and cautious sellers, and they decide to wait for things to “calm down.”

Here’s what I’ve learned after 15+ years in this town:

The moment everyone else pauses is usually the exact moment the best opportunities open up for the people who stay ready.

2025 isn’t a “tough market.”

It’s a selective market.

Final Thoughts

The window in Niagara-on-the-Lake is wide open right now — but only for buyers who are

The homes aren’t going to get cheaper by waiting.

The rates aren’t going to magically drop another percent while you sit on the fence.

But the advantage you can build today — preparation, clarity, and the right representation — will still be paying off a decade from now.

If you’re even quietly thinking this might be your year, let’s talk.

No pressure, no hype — just a short conversation to map out your exact plan and see if we’re the right fit to make it happen.

Text or call me anytime at 905-401-4308 or reply “Ready” and I’ll send you the simple checklist my last few winning buyers used.

Looking forward to helping you turn “someday” into “sold.”

Talk soon,

Elisabeth DeBoer

REALTOR®, Royal LePage NRC Realty 

905-401-4308 | elisabeth.deboer@royallepage.ca