The greatest home-selling tip!

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If you asked a professional home stager if you could do just one thing to help your home sell, they would likely respond with one word: neutralize. The one thing you want is for potential buyers to see your home as if it were theirs. But unfortunately, personal preferences often get in the way: a bathroom is hot pink, a bedroom is black and red, and another has striped wallpaper. 

So put away the velvet Elvis paintings, posters, pet and personal items. Yes, you love them, but try to make it their place. The more you create a blank canvas, the easier it will be for your buyers to paint themselves in your home! For more tips on selling your house contact me here.

Posted by: Warren

The one thing that home buyers won’t compromise on!

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Many home buyers are willing to compromise on certain characteristics. They’ll give in on price (21%), the condition of the home (19%), the size of the home (18%), and even the distance of the home to their place of work (13%). 

But according to the National Association of REALTORS®, the two characteristics home buyers are least willing to compromise on are the quality of schools and distance from schools. Just 4% of recent buyers compromised on the distance to schools, and a mere 2% compromised on the quality of schools. 

Twice as many recent buyers were willing to compromise on both the quality of the neighborhood and the distance of their home from family and friends.

Posted by: Warren

November Cowichan Valley Market Update!

After our record-setting 2016/2017 our long-term seller's market is transitioning to a more balanced one partly due to new government policies (including the mortgage stress test and interest rate increases) and other various economic changes. However, despite lowered demand, the benchmark prices of homes has steadily increased (with November being an exception) over the past year due to low inventories and an influx of retirees from throughout Canada.

Price: Single-Family Benchmark $473 600 (-0.4%)

November prices for single-family homes saw a slight decrease in price from October's $475 700 (-0.4%) and up (12%) from November 2017's price of $421 600.

Sales: 64 Single-Family Residential Unit Sales (+1.6%)

November saw 64 sales of single-family homes; Up (1.6%) from 63 sales in October and down (-17%) from 77 sales in November 2017.

Inventory: 155 Single-Family Active Listings (-21%)

November saw an inventory decrease (-21%) to 155 active listings from 197 in October and 169 last November (-8.3%).

Average Days to Sell: 38 (-7 days)

It took an average of 38 days to sell your home in November; 7 Days shorter than October's 45 days and 1 day longer than November 2017's 37 days.

Posted by: Warren

All statistics courtesy of Vancouver Island Real Estate Board