Tues Post #2:The Real Estate standoff

Local realtor Ian Watt on the current 'standoff' between buyers and sellers of Vancouver Real Estate.

Downtown condo sales are down dramatically, 23.5%. In 2011 Jan-Feb-March, we had 808 sales; in 2012 Jan-Feb-March, we have 619 sales. We used to have about 11.5 sales per day, now we have 8.5 sales per day...big changes. But the pricing, as far as condo sales is concerned, hasn’t changed all that much... Our listing counts are only up 5%; not a big deal right there... But it goes to show you that people are not really motivated to buy right now... And it goes to show you that sellers aren’t willing to drop their prices, and they’re not motivated to sell right now. So, it’s a bit of a stand-off. Only time will tell if this is going to impact pricing... if people become more motivated to buy, or more motivated to sell... but as far as things are concerned right now, it just means activity is down... Eventually, if this continues, it’s going to impact prices... and I can’t see it going up anytime soon... I can’t see buyers becoming more motivated because mortgage rates are already super-low... and sellers don’t really want to sell all that much, because if they bought in the last two years and they have to sell now they’re going to take a loss. So, it’ll be very interesting to see what happens in the next quarter.

Thanks to VREAA for taking the time to transcribe the key points.

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