Buyers RULE
BUYERS RULE:
After 6 1/2 years of a strong Seller’ s market, BUYERS R RULING. Sellers R reducing prices & offering bonuses 2 Realtors who have Buyer’s. Builders R looking @ creative financing & amenity packages 2 lure hesitant Buyers 2 purchase. Flippers R filling Craigslist w strata units that they didn’t intend 2 buy in the first place.
Statistically, the number of sales decreased 30% from 2007, w house sales dropping the most @ 36.8%. It now takes over 60 days 2 generate a sale on a property. Essentially this means that only 4 or 5 properties / 100 sell every month – SO if you want 2 SELL you better B the BEST PRICED of your competition.
The Housing Price Index (HPI) is an indicator of price trends for a ‘typical’ house which is defined by the residential property features that occur most frequently in our area. So while the Average Price of a house only showed a decline of 8%, the HPI declined 12.8% in 2008. So according to the HPI, a house that may have sold 4 $800,000 in Dec. 2007, would sell 4 $697,600 Dec. 2008.
When will we reach the bottom? Nobody can accurately predict, but we can examine past trends. FVREB Stats would indicate that we have further 2 go if we R 2 follow the trend established by previous years. The worst may B behind us, & while further price declines may B forthcoming, the current oversupply of existing product provides choices that may not B available @ the BOTTOM of the market.
We experienced the biggest change in the last 4 months due 2 the worldwide financial crisis. During Nov. & Dec. Sales were down more than 50%. 2009 may B down approx. 10% compared 2 2008 which should put us @ 1998-2000 levels. When supply/demand gets in better balance, likely by the end of the year, we may C a bounce-back in prices & a more balanced market.
So, if you R a Seller and U need 2 sell – don’t mess around, the Buyer is now in control, price your property accordingly. If you R a Buyer do your homework & bargain all U want, but don’t B surprised if U have competition from other savvy Buyers. Given that Dec. was just as busy as Nov. (not usually so) despite the crippling weather, it appears that many Buyers R already taking advantage of the deflated prices.
Times like we R currently experiencing R filled w opportunities, move forward instead of reflecting on past mistakes. The Strong get Stronger in a Weak Market !