Page 8 - Real Estate Now Sept-Oct 2022

“Once you look at your actual mortgage payment, people are starting to go, ‘You know what? I still need to live my
life. I don’t want to be house poor,” explained Morrison. “As interest rates increase, it’s stopping people from spending
more and more money on houses because houses are far more expensive than a condo.”

Seasonality is another element at play. In a normal real estate cycle, the summertime leads to a slower market as
people go on vacation and travel. Families tend to plan their home purchases around the school year, prompting
them to buy in the spring and move during the summer when school is out. In 2022, this pattern has been amplified
by the effects of the pandemic as households take advantage of a more normal summer after two years of COVID-19
restrictions.
Another contributing factor, Yao explains, is that many families already made their move during the last 18 months
while demand for more space was high—the need for extra living space has been fulfilled over the last year and a
half by the majority of buyers.
“I think there’s a lot of factors that kind of created a perfect storm for sellers,” said Yao.

How can home sellers navigate the
current market?
With the market different from where it was a year ago,
home sellers may need to adjust their expectations.
With fewer offers and showings to go around,
strategies that worked to sell a home in 2021 may no
longer be the right fit.

“It may take a little longer. You may have to concede to
some of the buyer’s needs and wants, and negotiate,”
said Yao. “A year ago if you were trying to sell, you didn’t
need to try and negotiate; there were 20 offers for you
to choose from. Right now, negotiation becomes key
and bringing in offers becomes key. They won’t just
fall in your lap anymore.”

The key marketing rules of selling a home still apply: taking good photos, improving your property’s curb appeal, and
making the best first impression of to buyers with good staging. Mazaheri explains in a cooler market, marketing is
crucial for generating a buzz about the property that will draw in purchasers and their offers.

Chamberlain says you typically need to sell your home three times—online, during a drive by of the property, and
during the showing. While you can’t control the surroundings of your home, it’s important to be upfront with your
marketing, even if there are things about the home the seller may feel will be a turnoff for buyers.

“Whenever you’re moving from a seller’s market where it feels like anything will sell, to a buyer’s market where there’s
more competition, the more truthful you are in your marketing and being realistic in the expectations of what the
buyer is going to see when they see the property, that’s definitely going to help you actually sell your property,” said
Chamberlain.

Sellers also need to be prepared for change during the process. Morrison explains they may experience fewer
showings and offers these days, and should be prepared to drop their price if needed.

“You might say to them, ‘OK, you know what? Sure, today we’ll list your place for $1.1 million, but if we don’t have any
activity off of showings in the next 10 days to two weeks, we’re going to need to reconsider the price and go down
to $1 million,’” said Morrison. ■

8 | REAL ESTATE NOW | denise@BCislandhomes.ca