January 4, 2012
Welcome 2012! I hope you and your family enjoyed a happy, healthy holiday season and are making the most of the new year. You may have noticed my name in the news recently, I've just become President of the Victoria Real Estate Board. This will be an exciting and busy year ahead, but I'm looking forward to the challenge!
Looking back over 2011. it's been a strange year in the housing market. Those REALTORS® who have been around for a while say it's feeling like 1994. I bought my first house in 1995 so not sure what 1994 was feeling like but my house had been on the market for 101 days and saw 3 price drops before I came along. But I did come along and that just goes to prove - there's a buyer for every house. It's about price, exposure, timing with a great big pinch of luck.
I've got a couple great listings on the market including a HUGE condo in The Rudyard Kipling builidng on Beach Drive, almost across from the Oak Bay Marina. It's a co-op so check out the information attached to the listing to get some insight or follow this link for more details on how it works.
Closer to downtown, I also have a beautiful condo overlooking the Gorge Waterway. For infomation on either of these units, please see My Listings page.
Open houses are a great way to get introduced to what's available in the market but be sure to stay true to your REALTOR® if you're already working with one. Tell the agent at the open who your REALTOR® is and then don't tell them anything else - they don't owe you any agency obligation and if you ultimately decide you want to offer on the property, the listing REALTOR® is obligated to tell their client everything they know about you - make sure they don't know anything important! For a list of my upcoming Open Houses check out my Open Houses page. For most of the open houses going on in Victoria, click on the OpenHousesVictoria button for a comprehensive list. This is a great website for up-to-date information - check it just before you head out to open house - there may be new additions or some may be cancelled at the last moment.
What’s Going On In the Market?
There are still a lot of active listings on the market and with the number of recent sales there is approximately 8 months worth of inventory currently sitting on the market ( 5-6 months of inventory is a good amount). At that rate Sellers need to sharpen their pencils when it comes to setting a listing price - remember, it doesn't matter what you 'need' from the sale, it's what the market will pay - there's lots of competition and lots to choose from so you have to make it special for buyers to choose yours.
That being said, Buyers can't afford to hang back too long when they find a property they really like. Even though the average days on market is a bit longer than it used to be, there are still a number of sales in the first few days after the listing hits the market - it's all about price, presentation and how big your prospective buyer pool is for any given property.
If you find something you like that you think is overpriced, based on your market research and the advice of your REALTOR® (not a gut feel or an urge to undercut the seller), then make an offer. The worst that could happen is that you can't come to terms with the Seller - and of course the best that can happen is that you will. What's meant to be is meant to be but won't happen if you don't step forward.
Interesting Articles in the News
Please have a look at my In The News page for interesting articles about the real estate market in Victoria and around British Columbia.
For immediate assistance please call me at 250-477-7291 or toll free at 1-800-668-2272. I look forward to meeting you.
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