Spring Has Sprung
Spring has sprung
the grass has rizz
a garden of New Listings
for the Real Estate Biz
Springtime on Salt Spring is traditionally the time to put property up for sale. Everything looks better with some flowers in the garden and potential buyers are back from the south and starting to look again.
At the time I wrote this article there were 110 new listings on Salt Spring for 2013. With 23 sales for this period, the competition is growing. Taking a closer look, of the 110 “new listings”, 36 of these are re-lists of properties that expired in the fall. Sellers tend to take a breather over the winter. That means we have 74 new listings. If last year is any indication, up to 100 new listings will come up in April and May, with many repeats from last year. There are as many interpretations of these stats as there are Realtors® on the island. It will be interesting to see if the re- listings come on higher, lower or at the same price as before. If they didn’t sell last year the odds of them selling at the same price or higher this year, are not good.
Unfortunately it is like an auction for the Realtors®. Many times the listing goes to the highest bidder as if the Realtor® were the one buying it. Remember, it is not the Realtor® that is buying it. The market will dictate what your property is worth. No Realtor can guarantee a final selling price. Being realistic about your property’s true value in this current market is key to its sale and both the positives and negatives should be brought to light, evaluated and incorporated into its asking price.
Everyone wants the best price for their property in a ‘reasonable’ selling time. There is an old sales adage: ‘Speed, Price, Quality … Pick two’. The quality of the property is pretty much set. The variables are Speed and Price. As we are in a flat market for price inflation, the concept of holding out for that special buyer that will pay a high price may take many years… or not at all. Stats show that starting high and chasing the market down nets a lower final selling price. Hence, a Seller must be realistic about the true quality of their property, price it accordingly and it should sell within a reasonable time frame.