Despite continued negative real estate reports in the media, we are starting to see increased interest in the BC waterfront real estate market again. While site traffic remained higher year over year, August-December 2008 were exceptionally slow in terms of the number of inquiries that went through the site; however,  in mid-January we saw a sudden increase in serious inquiries. This month, we are forecasting more unique visitors than we had last February (when the market was still hot). With interest rates at extreme lows (5 year mortgages available for 4.02) and average house prices starting to fall, it is beginning to make sense to jump into the market again.

While interest has picked up and I believe there is some pent up demand, the buyers out there know the market well and many are looking for deals. With forecasts calling for a hunkering down and a year or two more of these tough economic times, buyers who are ready to make the jump into some new real estate want a good price.

If you are a buyer, you can find some well-priced (under assessed value, foreclosures, etc...) waterfront properties in our "Hot Properties" newsletter by signing-up here.

If you are a seller and need to sell, make sure your house shows well and is priced aggressively. Also, you can review review Ozzie Jurock's article 10 Ways to Make Your Home Sell Faster by clicking here.

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As I wrote a few weeks ago, the price drops are starting to show in the BC real  estate statistics. Landcor just realeased it's second quarter Residential Sales Summary and it shows median price changes of between 3.8 to 15.6% across the province. The biggest changes have happened in Northern BC, where prices are down over last quarter anywhere form 1.2 to 15.6%. Other areas of more notable changes include the Okanagan (1.9-8.7%) and the Kootenays (1 to 7%), while Greater Vancouver and Vancouver Island have remained relatively stable despite increasing inventory (no more than 3.8% price changes).

As I have mentioned since the beginning of this slowdown, Albertan interest seems to still be quite strong despite the slow markets in Calgary and Edmonton. I have kept a tally on our site visitors and the percentage of Albertans visiting the site has consistently remained high (20-25% of Canadians visiting the site). Albertans have made a comeback this quarter over last with a 36% increase in purchases. They favoured (in order) the Okanagan, the Kootenays and Vancouver Island and the majority bought (in order) condos, vacant land and detached homes. On the down side, buyers from the US and other Canadian provinces have slowed. 

Current market conditions should soon reflect lower sales prices as sellers who need to sell are taking lower offers and causing some markets to waver.  

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