Why it is the BEST time in history for you to consider selling your condominium or townhome

You aren’t immune from the news. The market is busy for certain types of homes, and it is busy in a way that may be in your best interest.

See, about a year or so ago, buying a detached home was tough. Multiple offers everywhere, people were buying homes like they thought no detached home would ever be built again.

And then, it all stopped.

Call it the foreign buyers tax, call it whatever you want, but the detached home market was actually slowing down BEFORE the foreign buyers tax.

Why is this?

Because the prices stopped making sense to people.

A couple with 2 great jobs could no longer afford the dream of buying a big house with a big backyard in a nice little cul-de-sac. When the average price of a home exceeds $875,000, that can be a problem. It is what it is. 

Fast forward to today. Detached home prices have flat-lined as of recent, and are even down in value from this time 6 months ago according to the most recent release of the Home Price Index in the Fraser Valley.

This is great news for you. 

Why you ask?

You live in a townhome or condo and the timing is perfect. With sales slowing on detached homes, you stand an excellent chance to sell your unit at top dollar and have an option to make intelligent decisions on the purchasing side.

Let me show you, the stats are in.

To date, townhomes (generally) have slowed in growth in terms of value. We are no longer seeing the massive gains in price month over month like we were just a few short months ago. Sound familiar to the detached housing market? This is very similar to how the detached market played out in the spring of 2016. 

EX. Townhomes in our area increased 25% in the last year (that’s a lot). In the last 3 months however, they are only up 4%. The bulk of the increase was months ago in the 25% YTD increase.

Have we seen an end to the run of townhomes? Can a working couple still afford $600,000 to live in the burbs? Most can’t. You would need to have great credit, no debt and an approximate combined income of $110,000 - $120,000 to qualify for that type of mortgage. That’s a lot of money for most couples, considering the average family income in 2014 was $76,000 (according to StatsCAN). 

Now, think of condos. 

We have seen condos skyrocket, with growth that reminds me of the growth of the market right before the financial crash of 2007. Now, I am not suggesting that the market is going to crash by any means, but let me expand what happened to those people who purchased those condos (and those that tried to sell) after such a massive growth period. 

Nothing. 

Nothing in terms of a stale, dead, eventless market. 

Try telling people that their home is worth $25,000 less that it was at a peak. Or try telling them that after selling their home, and the fees associated with doing so, they would actually owe money. People stopped moving. There was times when there was over an 18 month supply for condominiums in our market place.

Condos got tough to sell. Very tough. And your plan, is to get more space, right?

So what does this all mean for you?

1. Your equity has grown in your condo or townhome, and in most cases quite a bit
2. The opportunity to move up, to a more expensive home, is here. The timing is right
3. When (not if) the market changes, what your holding onto will be difficult to sell

If you have considered selling your home but have held off, now may be the time to strongly consider it again.

We have strategies for our clients to make sure that they ALWAYS have a place to call home after they sell, to help them be more competitive in the marketplace when purchasing and to keep them in full control at all times.

We also have industry leading results when we sell our homes. Comparing to what the average home sold for in 2016, our clients enjoyed, on average, over 5% more for the asking price of their homes. That means, for every $100,000 of value in their home, our clients gained an extra $5000.

So how do we do it?

We will show you what we call ‘a tale of the two units.’ We have multiple case studies where our listings have consistently outperformed other identical listings and would love to show you the studies.

You can click this link to schedule a conversation or give us a call, we would love to show you. :)

Until next time,

Darin

Did you hold off purchasing a home for whatever reason?

• Saving some more money for a down payment?
• Waiting for a raise at work?
• Exiting a rental agreement?

The average detached home in the Fraser Valley (Abbotsford all the way to North Delta) in the last calendar month, year over year, went up over 17.3% from March 2016 to March 2017.

Check out the infographic below.

The biggest question potential purchasers want to ask themselves is, "Is waiting really the best option?"

If you are saving for a down payment, can you save more in a year than the property's price is raising? Likely not...

The numbers are staggering and intimidating, yet the best thing you can do is know what is possible in your current situation. Have you talked to a bank or mortgage professional about financing? Have you spoke with your Realtor regarding a purchase? If not, now may be a good time to get pointed in the right direction.

Until next time,

Darin