Barry Thom and Grant Lynch

Directors of Unlimited Potential

In this pre-Christmas season, the market in the areas we serve is awash with property for sale. It would seem the lack of enthusiasm vendors showed post-election to go to the market is being made up for this year. But as the number of homes available for sale continues to rise, the number of buyers has not. Consequently, the time it takes to sell has increased.

The run-up to Christmas will be interesting, in light of the foreign buyer ban that came into effect on October 22. The lower end of the market continues to be buoyant, but at the upper end there has been a distinct waitand-see attitude, although things appear to be thawing slightly as buyers make pre-Christmas decisions.

One of the issues we face as an industry is the proliferation of opinion of a home’s value as indicated on various property websites. These are generally called the “estimated selling range” and are formulated based on various algorithms that use historical sales data.

In many cases these ranges are incorrect, as are the latest council valuations. These two pieces of information together are indicating a likely selling range in excess of today’s value. This can be frustrating for vendors wanting to sell. Consequently, buyers looking to purchase should inspect homes without prejudice.

In terms of what is the market doing, there has been a tinge of hesitation/ lack of confidence, which is hard to understand given the overall state of the nation, immigration, low interest rates and low unemployment. However, nothing stays the same for long in this business.