It’s the end of April and we are theoretically in our Spring market. I do sound like a broken record because the message is the same, and it has been for some time.
Vancouver and Toronto have seen some large downturns in the market with sales at 10, 15 and 20 year lows. We do feel the impact here on the island as the lower mainland does provide a strong source of buyers and if they are not selling, then they also are not buying. The big banks, the Real Estate associations and other investment guru’s have been predicting a good spring, initially with a 4-6% increase. CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) has recently downgraded their expectations for 2026 to be a flat year – No loss and no growth. https://www.crea.ca/housing-market-stats/canadian-housing-market-stats/ Just through my day to day interactions, I feel that this is probably quite accurate.
I am still surprised at what sells and what doesn’t and it’s a reminder that all the data and statistics in the world does not influence a buyer. People make an emotional decision to buy a home (We LOVE this home and neighbourhood) and then they justify the purchase logistically – Are we making a good buying decision? But it’s always the emotion that drives the offer – the desire to be closer to family, to move for more space or to downsize – it all has a component of “how will we/I live our lives in this new home”.
Buyers are looking at more homes, 20 is not unusual, before they make the decision to make an offer. I understand. Nobody wants to make a mistake, especially on the largest purchase of their life. But, I have seen buyers miss out – several times and quite recently… loving the home but just not sure. It’s not an easy market to buy as inventory is still low and it’s not an easy market to sell as buyers think every home is overpriced.
I’m available and happy to talk you through these times and put a plan in place that gets you where you want to be – whether that is buying, selling or both.
Enjoy this amazing weather!
