How quickly things can change.
Only a few short months ago, the buyers had a great upper hand with the sellers. Lot's of inventory, good prices, and lot's of time to make a decision.
But, things changed. With good mortgage rates and good choices, smart buyers picked off deals and reduced the inventory. Seller feeling being taken advantage of, decided to wait and hold of listing their properties, creating a shrinking inventory.
As a result the time to sell a condo or a home has been greatly reduced. As an example, Vancouver West condo inventories , in a February report, took 12.4 months to move. This means that an average listing would take a year to sell.
This month, as you can see from the attached chart, the time on the market has been reduced to 4.19 months. According to the Real Estate Pulse, the Vancouver West market has moved into the Sellers market in 4 short months.
Quite a change from the last report in December 2008. This means that as a Buyer, you have to be on your toes and be the first to know about HOT new listings, because the competition is strong.
As we are still in an uncertain market, the prices may not move up in a near future, but it will effect the most popular price ranges in a first time buyer categories. Eventually as the markets and economic conditions improve and the levels of inventory stay low, we will see the price upward movement.
When will that be? No one really knows, but if you are thinking of buying, keep your eyes on the market.
If you are looking to Buy or to Sell real estate in Vancouver area, give me a call. My consultations are FREE. The benefits to You, may be worth a lot of money.
Call Jeff Stark at 604-506-8481 or email me at jeff@jeffreystark.net
