Things are changing and the Buyers are slowly getting the upper hand. A you can see from the attached graph, most of the properties are taking more than 5 months to sell.

The graph represents the months it takes to sell a home or a condo ion various areas of Greater Vancouver.
Five months being a balanced market and anything above that means that the inventory levels have increased and more competition is on the market.

Bad news for the sellers? Not really. Properties will always sell, even in a tough market, just not above the market values.

Even at the lowest point of the past short real estate recession locally, there were properties that sold. Currently we are at the highest value levels we have ever seen around here. If have had your home for a few years, you will make a nice profit, and if you are moving to another property in the area, being a move up, or move down, you will get a good deal also.

For the Sellers it means that they have to be more realistic as to where they price their properties and do whatever they have to to maximize the best return on the sale.

They Buyers will not probably make multiple offers, because there is a good selection. They will take their time.
The Sellers will have to keep their homes in pristine conditions with good curb appeal and provide complete information about their home.

Good idea  is to have an inspection done by a certified and now, required to be licensed in BC, home inspections specialist, before the home is put up for sale. The report may indicate some easy fixes to the home that may otherwise rise Buyers suspicions and delay their decisions. Small investment that may pay off with a better return and avoid  inspection traps, you should know about.

If you are looking to Buy or to Sell real estate in Vancouver area, give me a call. My consultations are FREE. The benefits to You, may be worth a lot of money.
Call Jeff Stark at 604-290-7890 or email me at jeff@jeffreystark.net

For a list with pictures of Burnaby 2 bed/2bath condos in a price range between $250k and $500k visit:
http://www.burnabybestbuys.com

I have been in this industry for some 19 years and have seen several up and downs.

But i do rememeber thata each time on the way down, and particularly when the market is close to the bottom of the curve, buyers start coming out in numbers, looking at properties.
They are looking but not buying. Waiting for that magical sign that will tell them that the market is at the bottom and it's time to buy.
And every time, without fail, the story is the same. The bottom comes, and the sellers, who have been suffering trough it all for some time, know
Prices firm up and the sellers become more difficult to deal with. They know that the tide will be turning in their favor.
Last couple of weeks I am getting a lot of calls on my listings and buyers taking advantage of my VIP Buyer services to look for properties.

So, does that mean we are close to the bottom? I wish I knew. But in reviewing some of the realestate news from the US, (we need them to get going), and just some positive knews in all sectors, I am getting that feeling that the bottom of the curve isn't too far away.

All it will take is some good positive news in our papers, like the one following in today's newspaper. You know, there isn't a magic person that turns on the lights to get us out of the dark. It's the perception and a feeling that we all get.

Just look what has happen in theUS with Obama. Did he do anything yet? No. Just promise of change. Are there any measurable results? Not yet.
But is there a good positive feeling that things will get better? Yes.    See. It's just a perception.

I was reminded of the above scenario today, because of the article on page 32 of the Vancouver Province, written by Province Staff Reporter, Paul Luke.

Rebound will be like coiled spring

When North America's stock markets rebound, they will snap back with a vengeance, a top investment adviser predicts. "It's going to be like a coiled spring," said Brent Smith, chief investment officer of Franklin Templeton Managed Investment Solutions.

"You're going to see some significant, significant rallies in the equity markets.
"You're going to see some pretty significant rallies in the corporate debt markets."

read on....

If you are shopping for a condo, than you may be interested in what is avaiable.

Here is a quick review of the listings for a typical 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo, in some of the Lower Mainland communities

Burnaby total of 445 listings

Low five:

High five:

Vancouver West - Downtown, total of 226  listings

Low five:

Top five:

Richmond toal of 458 listings

Low five:

Top five:

 In spite of all the bad news around, life still goes on. There are sellers that need to sell and buyers that need to buy.
As we can see from the above, there are good deals around and great buying opportunities.
In this kind of the market, the best deals can be made if you are moving up.

If you are thinkung of moving up, let us show you how you can save a lot of money now.
Call me anytime. Jeff Stark at 604-506-8481 

The following article from the Vancouver Sun, Friday Edition, December 5th, 2008

In recent months, economists have had the unenviable task of trying to calculate the direction the housing market is likely to take, factoring in things like unemployment rates, population and immigration figures, economic growth, mortgage rates, and that most nebulous of criteria, consumer confidence.

They agree that the decrease in housing sales and prices bears little relation to the economic indicators in British Columbia. What has changed is public perception of our financial security, triggered by the troubled global financial markets.

As realtors, people are asking us to help make sense of the housing market.

Sellers are asking if the market value of their home is decreasing. Buyers want to know if they should wait for further price reductions. Homeowners not in the market to buy or sell want to understand the impact on their equity, which may affect decisions like plans for renovations.

Investors are asking about short-term impact -- is it a good time to buy, renovate, and re-sell for a profit? And long-term impact -- is quality real estate now available at lower prices? First-time buyers want to know how much they need for a down payment, whether they can afford the monthly mortgage payment, and if they can get financing in these uncertain times. There are no easy answers. Around the Lower Mainland's kitchen tables, realtors are helping people assess their individual situations.

read more....

A review of the recent sales and listings in the Lower Mainland areas, shows a slow down in the time it takes to sell an average condo property.
The time to seel depends on the number of current listings, versus the number of sales, averaged monthly for the last 6 months.

This absorption rate does not translate directly into what the prices are doing, but obviously if there are large number of listings, and sellers that must sell, the prices will be affected.

Buyers can take a little longer to find their ideal home, and for anyone looking to move up into a larger home, this is the ideal time to do it.

Check out the changes from our previous report on September 23rd.

If you are looking to Buy or to Sell real estate in Vancouver area, give me a call. My consultations are FREE. The benefits to You, may be worth a lot of money.

Jeff Stark, 604-506-8481