REAL ESTATE UPDATE FOR SALT SPRING ISLAND - JUNE 2019

HOW'S THE "MARKET" ON SALT SPRING ISLAND?

I often get asked, "What is the Real Estate Market doing?" and I struggle with an explanation that can be made in a minute or two....but I will try.

Real Estate on Salt Spring is seasonal, given lots of people move here for the warm, dry weather and the nearby oceans and beaches so Spring till about Thanksgiving is our busy time.  That said, our sales were slow to start due to a Christmas storm and then a heavy snowfall...Salt Springers have to admit, even though we have the mildest climate in Canada, sometimes it does snow!   Those 2 events seemed to cause Sellers and Buyers to put their plans on hold for an extra month or two.

After a slow start, the Market got very busy and that was exacerbated by a shortage of listings, especially in the high-demand part of the Market, under approximately $600,000.  Nice homes under that price were greatly in demand and we sometimes had multiple offers...usually rare on Salt Spring.

The mid-range pricing (about $600,000 to $900,000) was fairly busy as there was low inventory but now seems to be into a "balanced market".

Above $900,000 seems to be a "Buyer's Market" with a fair amount of inventory.

However, we have motivated off-island Buyers, often with lots of money, having sold their expensive Vancouver or Victoria homes, so if they find the "perfect house" they will often move very quickly to purchase.  The "perfect house" is often one that shows very well, including beautiful gardens, recent new paint and "staging" where appropriate.

Lastly, given we are a small market, our sales can fluctuate a fair bit and in some weeks sales are slow and in others, quite busy.  

Check my Blog again in a few weeks for an update...things can change fairly quickly on Salt Spring.

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