Sellers Market?
Today, depending on the inventory available in your immediate area, you might very well be in a sellers market, but this will probably only last for a few months until many of the expired listings from 2013 get re-listed.
Since 2008, any of my interested clients, and others who might have read my blog posts from previous years, will know that this is the time of year I recommended anyone contemplating selling there home to do so.
As of January 1, 2014, the number of resale listings available on the MLS in the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) is just below 11,000, compared to 11,651 on January 1, 2013.
This same pattern is seen in the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board where the listings as at January 1st are also at a 2 year low of 5,621.
At the height of 2013 in terms of supply, the REBGV was well entrenched in a buyers market, with listings almost reaching the 20,000 level, and there was some market balance remaining as late as November 30th with over 14,500 listings available for sale.
In the last 5 weeks of the year in the REBGV, we saw about 3,600 expiries, or, about one-third of the total supply. That’s an awful lot of failed sellers.
Less supply now gives most sellers a competitive advantage, and yet few think to take advantage of this, but let’s hope that those who do are realistic in their expectations for 2014.
A Happy New Year to you and yours.