I’d say ‘I’ve never seen anything like it!’ but I have. As discussed in previous newsletters the market has drastically slowed from the obscene pace we were at these last two years. It reminds me of April 2018 when the government mandated ‘stress test’ kicked in, it felt like a tap had turned off – buyers just disappeared. Again government meddling in the market has ground us to a halt and it remains to be seen if we will recover like we did following 2018 or if we’re in for a longer term recession/depression.
To give some context, two of the agents at the Langley brokerage I own are currently carrying 30 listings and received a total of only 3 showing requests cumulatively last weekend. Let that sink in. That is a drastic change from two months ago. There are further interventions at the Federal and Provincial levels in the pipe that will only hit the market harder, which means that my candid expectation is that things probably won’t bounce back in the short term. Perhaps inflation will serve as a backstop for prices in Canadian dollars, but even with inflation running hot we may see further pullbacks.
So, what does that mean for you? As I’ve said in previous market updates, like ‘What Does The ‘Market Shift’ Actually Look Like?’, if you are happy where you are then fantastic. Personally, with interest rates climbing I’m actually trying to pay down my mortgage, as discussed in my recent podcast on the VYR Remo Show, rather than pulling equity and investing in an investment property. Sometimes that gets me in trouble with my colleagues and certainly with some mortgage brokers, but ultimately I want a clear conscience. For a number of years now I’ve basically talked ourselves out of business and I’d do it again. We will never place a transaction before a clients’ best interests, ‘People Over Property, Always.’
If you’re looking to sell, we need to talk sooner rather than later, especially if you are moving out of area. This market could be a little like ‘catching a falling knife’ and we want to make sure you can sell for the highest price possible. We’re still hovering around December 2021 prices, so any pullback is still minimal and huge equity increases can still be realized. If you’re looking to both sell and buy, most of our clients should be selling first at the moment, as I explain with our recent tool ‘The Flexibility Scale’.
If buying is on your mind, let’s also sit down together and discuss your goals. There are a tonne of opportunities right now, our last purchase was below list price and with subjects; we anticipate that continuing for the next few months. Negotiation is all of a sudden a possibility again and we’re loving going to bat for our buyers.
Having been through a few market cycles, we know how to handle this. As a team we’re actually quite excited to return to a more balanced market as it allows us to really achieve some huge wins for our clients. Reach out to us today if you’re thinking of buying, selling, or investing in real estate.