Happy Spring Break! Wishing you well with tons of family time or maybe a vacation??

Have a margarita for us as Colin and I are going nowhere and pretty happy about it. Thanks to the early start in activity this year we have been going nonstop since January and expect to be working at this pace until summer. Many analysts concur what we have been experiencing - that the 2011 Real Estate Market will be "front loaded". Something to consider however - moving into what most would consider the spring market - the supply of detached homes in the Sullivan/Panorama area has been very low. Demand for the area is here but only for the homes that have been priced competitively. Any detached listings that have been positioned on the market even a little higher than that last comparable sales have not been selling as buyers have been looking to Cloverdale, Langley or South Surrey for better options.

Conversely, townhome listings are in very high supply for both new and resale. We expect this trend to continue as more new development sites in our area plan to come to market before the current ones have drawn down their supply. Even with a competitive price this saturation has been increasing our sellers days on market – sales are continuing - but at a much slower pace.

This same saturation is being felt in the Clayton and Whalley area condo/townhome market. This high supply is in contrast to the high demand being experienced in the Richmond and Vancouver markets - some of that demand being attributed to the Asian Communities but either way this "market specific" effect really highlights the importance of hiring a Realtor who understands how supply and demand is affecting your local area.

According to Central 1 Credit Unions BC Housing Forecast "upward pressure on pricing will be modest" due to the oversupplied conditions mentioned above. "This pattern will continue into 2012 ... well supplied markets and a dampening of demand in the latter half of 2011 will stunt price growth in 2012 maintaining price gains at just above 1% ... rising 4% in 2013 from higher demand." Central 1 also highlights the recreation and retiree markets in the Okanagan and Kootenays as "weak" moving through 2011 and into 2012.

If you want to talk economics and market conditions moving forward just give us a call at 604-583-2000. If you know of anyone looking to make a move we hope you will consider referring our services and please note we are also intimately familiar with the North Surrey, Delta, Cloverdale, Langley and South Surrey markets.