Real Estate Downturn - Fact or Fiction?

REAL ESTATE DOWNTURN - FACT OR FICTION?
Let’s just set the record straight here. What people THINK happens in downtown vs what is actually happening are two very different ideas. If you ask most people, they’ll see a downturn as a burning hell. Probably quite literally on fire.

But wait ...

Believe it or not, our beautiful city of Vancouver is still looking normal, still looking beautiful, without any apocalyptic tendencies (as far as I’m aware) ….. GULP, and dare I say it, but with people still buying real estate!!! No way right! That’s CRAZY! This guy has lost it. The city is about to implode, frogs shall rain down from the sky, plus whatever else is supposed to happen in a downturn market blah blah blah.

Well another phrase for a downturn in the market is ‘Market Correction’.

An interesting term here, as what is there to correct? Is anything wrong? Well I’m a fan of this phrase as WE, the public are the market, and our expectations are what need to be corrected. The real estate itself is always correct. If prices are inflated and selling, that’s just what they are selling for, it’s not right or wrong, it just is. Same with if prices are being reduced. It’s not right or wrong, it just is. It’s our expectations that change as buyers and sellers.

Here is something that will put things in perspective. A recent figure came out stating how sales numbers have not been this low since 1986 in Vancouver Real Estate. It’s a statistic people like to throw around to explain the market. However, remember all of these headlines you read on the news are based upon Listings and Sales. That’s it. Nothing else, nothing in between, no extra information etc. What if I told you that in April 2016, during the peak of the market, the average time on market for a Yaletown home under $700,000 was 11 days. What if I went further to tell you in 2018, that same statistic was just 9 days. Now here’s the real kicker! That same statistic in 2019 is an average of 5 days!! Those are all true statistics. It paints a very different picture of the market don’t you think? Now let’s not get this twisted before some of you jump in. This is a certain segment of the market and does not represent the entire market. That’s the point we’re trying to get across. One or two statistics does not represent an entire market.

Ironically with the above example, the speed of sale is actually increasing. If you’ve been watching some of our previous blogs you’ll see we have been stressing urgency if you find something you like, this is the exact reason why. You actually have LESS time now in a market correction, than when you did during the so called peak timing. Not forgetting you sellers, this is the incentive you may need to realise the potential of aligning yourself with the new market.

Now you know we’re never ones to shy away from controversy, so if you don’t like that stat then that’s not on us, that’s you. These are public numbers and whether you like them or not they are here to stay.

So the FACT of the matter is, listings are high and sales are low. Another fact as proven above clearly shows if you have corrected your own expectations to the new market norm, then your home will sell, and likely pretty quickly too. Don’t forget, there are still people out there wanting to buy, if you’re priced for the current market, you’re already ahead of 90% of your competition in our professional experience. As a buyer, the fact of the matter is, if you see a property and like it (including price), you should be moving on it and not holding to see if prices come down further. That’s a risky game. The reality is property is still selling if it’s in line with the new market conditions - FACT!
FICTION - Nothing is selling and all homes are sitting on the market for long periods of time. Clearly this is only the case if the latest market conditions are not being met. Further fiction, is you have all the time in the world as a buyer to make your choice. A point we cannot stress enough for you sellers, it is complete fiction to think you can demand a high price and your property will still sell, but it will just take longer. In this new market it will just not sell. PERIOD.

We’re not here to sugar coat things. We want to give the honest truth that YOU need in order to succeed in this market. For more information, reach out to either of us on the contact details below and we’d be happy to start putting a success plan together for you, for all your Vancouver Real Estate endeavours!

Until next week,

Jay Mcinnes
T: 604.771.4606
jay@mcinnesmarketing.com

Ben Robinson
T: 604.353.8523
ben@mcinnesmarketing.com

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