Recent media is quite a mixed bag with one pundit admitting that they can spin stats to read any sort of preferred slant.  Shocking!  I guess this is the foundation of “fake news”.  What isn’t fake is that despite lower numbers of sales due of low inventory, there remain a lot of motivated buyers wanting to get into our Sunshine Coast real estate market. 

Markers that have indicated a continued shift towards a “Seller’s Market” on the Sunshine Coast, and it won’t take much before we see the same demand we saw last year which pushed prices up almost 25%.  Last month alone saw over a 3% increase in our benchmark prices.   And as much as prices are being driven higher, it appears that the underlying strength and level of interest on the Sunshine Coast is going to keep that trend going for some time.  This means the market is still offering good opportunities for buyers, and owners can expect to see their home values continue to rise.

The reasons for the continued interest in our market are pretty straight forward.  Much more affordable values compared to Vancouver; an aging population moving towards a healthier and slower lifestyle; and discussion of transportation to the area is raising our profile in the Lower Mainland.  These factors are going to continue for the foreseeable future and the overall Canadian economy is starting to follow the strong American performance of late.  The one predictable headwind will be rising interest rates and borrowing costs likely later this year.  This will influence consumer confidence, but the question is “how much”?  The rates will only rise if the market is strong(er) so I doubt we will see any major shift in thinking.

Bottom line, the good news is the Sunshine Coast remains a healthy market and the continued underlying demand will keep it this way for the foreseeable future!

Cheers, 

Gord 

From the office this week: 

"Recently we’ve shown how there is more to our professional listing service than lawn signs and ads in the paper. We talked about our expert advice on staging, pricing and MLS. We covered qualifying buyers, dealing with offers and turning those offers into contracts. But doing this requires a skill that most non-professionals find difficult: negotiation. Many people don’t like negotiating. They find it difficult to advocate their own position and they equate the process with confrontation. They mistakenly think it has to produce a winner and a loser. This is where we can really help. We negotiate for a living. We’re comfortable with the process. We provide a buffer between the parties and we have no difficulty at all advocating our clients’ positions. At the same time we understand that the process works best as a collaboration. A win/win, if you will. The goal isn’t necessary to have both parties feel as though they got everything they wanted. It’s more to have both parties feel as though they got everything they needed. It requires a thoughtful, professional approach and a coherent plan moving forward. For more on our professional representation of sellers, contact your RE/MAX Oceanview Realtor. And keep reading the Weekly Report."

Sales

SALES THIS WEEK:  20 [SUNSHINE  COAST, ALL OFFICES]

PRICE RANGE

AREA

Listings

CURRENT LISTINGS:  499   

NEW LISTINGS THIS WEEK: 37        DETACHED. SALES, PAST 30 DAYS 

SALES to LIST  RATIO:  24%

*The Sales/Listings Ratio is a guide to market conditions.

…Is what I would have said if April Fool’s Day fell on Sunday, but it didn’t so there you are!