There are still 4 weeks before we are into the holiday week - should you keep looking for your home or wait for spring inventory?
Here are 6 things to keep in mind
1) Inventory Counts:
sure there maybe fewer homes listed at this time of the year, but as long as there are homes coming on the market, should you still look? After all it’s about finding the 1 home that works for you. Does it matter to you if you only have 3 homes to tour in the winter weekend vs. maybe 6-8 in the typical spring weekend.
2) Less competition:
perhaps it the cold temperatures that keep buyers away or the hopes of shopping larger inventory counts in the spring, we know for one reason or another buyers tend to hold off or take a break from the home search in the winter months. This is good news, for those of you that keep their eye on the prize and keep all options open. I have still experienced multiple Offers in the condo/townhome sections but instead of 8-10 people that may have written in the spring time, we are down to 2-4 offers.
3) Better Value or Lower Prices:
Now we could look at the average sale price for the past few years,and compare the difference between average prices from say oct, nov to dec, but that wouldn’t tell the whole story. There needs to be an understanding of the why? Although relative data over last 5 years has shown a slight drop in average prices between Nov and Dec, I am reminded of many instances over the last 3 winter where prices were higher in dec over November but lower than January
…case in point: It was in Winter 2015 when new mortgage regulations called for the tightening of the min. 5% deposit, which was supposed to cool the market, but instead drove it out of control over the winter months as buyers scrambled to purchase before the new policy came into effect in Feb 2016. There will always be a house that takes advantage of timing on the market that gets the buyers excited to pay crazy prices.
Ask those buyers that paid over ask, and they will say they got great value.
4) Selection: condos vs. single family homes:
there are more condos available for sale than single family homes especially during this time of year. But even if the market slows down we can still say there are still opportunities that exist to purchase a quality home in the winter
5) Motivation:
In light of all the uncertainty in the market place, any seller that is choosing not to wait and to use this time of the year to place their home on the open market is showing some motivation. This could lead to a win-win for both parties don’t you think?
6) Winter:
lets take this back to the basics. Ask a foreigner and they are convinced that Canada is buried under 10 ft blanket of snow from October to March. We all know this is far from the truth. Vancouver has milder temperatures every year and our winter is 72 days shorter than our east coast counterparts. We are easily able to conduct showings and even open houses to encourage buyers to keep shopping - not just in the malls! Just don’t forget the umbrella.
So, it comes down to this - which is more important to you? Value/opportunity or having optimum selection? No matter, what time of the year, it never hurts to keep looking - believe in the magic of the season and you may just find a new home under your x’ams tree this year.
any questions or comments email me at shali@shalitark.com
(photo cred: cmhornung @studio calico)