David's thoughts on anything real estate related

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What's hot What's Not -- East Vancouver -- Single Family for May 2014

Still on fire - 8 Days on Market - very much favouring sellers - Avg $915k and 183 / 443 homes sold. Avg price down from March $940K avg.
What's Hot (21% or more for a sales ratio)
-Fraser -very hot --100% sales ratio -- 25 / 25 sold
-Grandvie - very strong - 50% sales ratio also 9 / 18 sold
-Main - 54% sales ratio - 12 / 22
- $700K - $800K - 100% sales ratio smokin 29 / 29 sold
- $800K - $900 - 51 / 75 sold or 68% sales ratio
- $1M - $1.25M - 47 / 97 sold or 48% sales ratio
What's not hot (14% or less for a sales ratio)
- high end luxury market really cooled since Feb
- $1.5M - $1.75M 12% sales ratio with 4 / 34 sold
- Killarney 11 / 50 sold - 22% sales ratio - still sellers

Has a real estate agent met with you to sell your home and told you the he has buyers looking to purchase your home?  This could be the oldest line in the book and one that should immediately ring alarm bells in your head.  

The truth is, all real estate agents have buyers. But what is he really saying? Is he saying that he has a buyer ready to bring an offer to you today without putting your home on the market?  It’s possible, but that wouldn’t serve you, because you should want to expose your home to the largest market possible.

The truth is this doesn’t serve the realtor either because he wants the listing to expose his services to the largest possible market also.

Let’s just say the listing agent (the agent marketing your home) does convince you to let him put your home on the market and he ends up bringing you a buyer. Chances are, this buyer wandered into his open house unrepresented.

At this point, it is still not ideal to have him sell the home to his own buyer. Why?

Because it could be a conflict of interest.  When you stop to think about it, could this real estate agent truly represent both the buyer and seller when the buyer wants to buy the property for as little as possible and the seller want to sell for a top price? The agent then becomes a mediator, trying to act as impartial as possible.  It can be done, but in short, buyers and sellers should have their own independent representation.

The questions to ask a realtor, is not whether or not he has buyers, but what is he going to do to market your home?  Is he going to have a floor plan of the home drawn up to attract buyers trying to decide which open houses to visit? Will he use a professional photographer to capture not only the eyes but the hearts of potential buyers? Will he produce virtual tours shown on the internet so that buyers come mentally prepared to buy when they visit?  What is his or her background and track record?  Does he have a website and if so how many people visit the website every day?

The next time a realtor tells you he has a buyer interested in your home, interview another agent.  Don’t fall for the oldest line in the book.    

Download your own statistics package specific to your community and price point.

What's hot What's Not -- Vancouver Westside -- Single Family for May 2014

We have transitioned from sell to balanced  - Avg $2.281M and 160 / 850 homes sold. Avg price down from Feb $2.375M avg.
What's Hot (21% or more for a sales ratio)
-Mackenzie Height -very hot --41% sales ratio -- 9 / 22 sold
-Kitsilano - very strong - 30% also 14 / 46 sold
-Cambie - 31% - 16 / 52 sold
- $1.25M - $1.5M - 45% sales ratio smoking hot 13 / 29 sold
- $1.5M - $1.75M - 26 / 56 sold or 46% sales ratio
- $1.75M - $2.00M - 26 / 82 sold or 32% sales ratio
What's not hot (14% or less for a sales ratio)
- high end luxury market really cooled since Feb
- $3.5M - $4M 7% with 7 / 93 sold
- $5M+ 11 / 111 sold or 11% Sales ratio
- University 2 / 29 sold or 7% sales ratio
- Shaughnessy - 2 / 87 sold or 2.3% sales ratio
- SW Marine - 3 / 40 sold or 7.5% sales ratio