Lynn Donn | Homes for Sale in Nanaimo BC

How to sell your Nanaimo home in a buyers’ market

I have reviewed the statistics that have come in from the Vancouver Island real estate Board. In 2011 Nanaimo was experiencing a Buyer’s market in real estate. It appears that trend will continue into 2012; at least for the first quarter.

A buyers’ market is a real estate market that has more homes for sale than there are buyers to buy them.

A buyer’s market is a wonderful thing for buyers because it means that they will have lots of choices when looking for a home. From a sellers perspective a buyers’ market means that you are going to have more competition than you would normally have in a balanced market.

If you have decided to sell your Nanaimo home this winter or spring there are some things you’ll need to do to help your home sell.

How to sell your Nanaimo home in a buyers’ market

1. Get your home pre-inspected – This is a proactive step and will bring to light any issues with the home. It is much better to know in advance if there is anything wrong with your house. This pre inspection may rule out any problems that may arise when the buyers do their own inspection.

2. Get your house in shape before you list – With the additional competition that arises in a buyers’ market it’s important to have your house stand out in the crowd. Get your copy of Tips to help you sell your house for many ideas on getting your home ready to sell

3. Don’t over price your house – Overpricing your home, to allow for a little wiggle room, can back fire in this type of market. If you have priced your home too high, potential buyers won't even look at it.

As a Realtor I assist my clients in determining fair market value for their homes. I do this by comparing homes like theirs that have sold in the past six months or are currently on the market. These comparable homes that are on the market are homes similar to yours. So, it stands to reason that buyers looking for a home like yours will also be looking at these homes. These homes will be your direct competition so it is important to list your home at a similar price.

For additional information on how to sell your Nanaimo home in a buyers market please call me.

The Diver Lake Neighbourhood in Nanaimo

The Diver Lake neighbourhood in Nanaimo is a great, affordable family neighbourhood. It is centrally located and is close to Beban Park and Country Club Shopping Centre. There are a number of great parks and walking trails in the neighbourhood.

Housing is in the mid-range for Nanaimo. The areea has both new homes and more established homes

Please visit my website for a list of homes for sale in the Divers Lake area .

8 Reasons why your property won't sell

I read an excellent blog post today, written by Alan May, Coldwell Banker Realtor® Evanston, Illinois It was titled the 8 reasons your property won’t sell.

I think he covered all the reasons why a house won’t sell so I have re-blogged his post, with his permission.

8 Reasons why your property won't sell

1. Your property won't sell because your photos are "less than impressive". Yep, this is an actual photo from our MLS, just came on brand-new this morning. Apparently the place must be really awful, 'cause the agent didn't even dare step out of her car, to get close to the property so you could see any details.

The vast majority of home buyers begin their search for a home on the internet, so your property had better look fantastic in print. Not just nice, it has to look downright fabulous. Today an internet view is the same as a 'virtual showing'... if your house gets past that, then they might (just might) make an appointment to see it in person... You should really consider that your SECOND showing. Today's online viewers are expecting good quality photos (and lots of them)

2. Your property won't sell because it's overpriced. It's important to be as objective as you possibly can. Look at the home as though you were a "buyer"... if necessary; make an appointment with your Realtor to view other properties that are priced comparably to yours.

If you can't afford to sell it for the price, that you KNOW it should sell for, this may not be the right market for you to sell. Consider taking it off-market.

3. Your property won't sell because it shows badly. This could mean almost anything... from the 60 pound Rottweiler, barking and drooling at the potential buyers from behind the safety of the flimsiest child-gate, to the lingering smell of 30-years of smoking. Maybe the carpeting shows traffic-pattern wear, or your nicotine covered windows allow in slightly less than daylight. All things that aren't visible from the internet, but whoa.... once you get inside the house... they show up.

4. Your property won't sell because you're invisible. Today's buyer comes from the internet, almost exclusively. Have you (or your agent) simply plopped the property on the MLS, and started praying? Are you on all the websites...? (Zoocasa, Craig's List, etc...) all the places that buyers are searching? If not, you need to be, now! Don't try to be a secret, in today's electronic world. You want to be found, and the sooner the better.

If you're not making full use of the internet today, you're out of business before you've started. C'mon people... get on board; the train is leaving the station. (I love a good train metaphor).

5. Your property won't sell because your listing is tired and stale on the market. Okay... yes, you overpriced your home initially when you first came on the market a year and a half ago. But since then you have reduced your price almost monthly, constantly chasing the market down. Now, finally you're truly priced where you believe you should be, but your listing (not your house) has become tired and stale.

Everyone who is looking for your type of property (i.e.: 3br/1.1 bath) in your area has already seen the listing online, or in person and they remember that there was "something" about it that they didn't like... but what they don't remember is... what they didn't like.... was the price. Time to take the listing off market. Let it cool off (3-6 months), and bring it back on fresh in the spring. Yeah, you'll have 6 mos. worth of holding-costs... but you'll more than make up for it in your purchase price.

Btw... Resist the temptation to bring the house back on at a higher price, than when you left the market. Just "don't do it"!

6. Your property won't sell because your house won't appraise. The house looks great... you've finally gotten someone to bring you a bid on your slightly over-priced, but beautiful pied-a-terre. But the bank appraiser says it's worth $20,000 less than your buyer has agreed to pay.

Heavy sigh... bite the bullet.... negotiate with them. If you have to drop the price $20,000 to make it work.... "make it work"... chances are, anybody else trying to buy your house will run into the same problem. If you're not willing to negotiate the difference, you may find yourself with no buyer, and accepting a lower offer somewhere down the line. Appraisals carry a great deal of weight these days.

7. Your property won't sell because it's unavailable to show. You have a baby, and a 1-year old. And they need their naps. So you've told your Realtor in no-uncertain-terms, that you'll only allow showings between 9:00a.m - Noon, and then again from 2:30-5:30 p.m. And no showings on Saturday or Sundays. "After all", you've told him "we still live here.. It’s our home!” Well guess what? They can't buy it, if they can't see it. As good as your online photos are, they're no substitute for an in-person visit.

"If they really want to see it, they'll reschedule", you're already answering as you read this. Nonsense! What they'll do is they'll just move on to the next property in line (there are dozens like yours available) and maybe they'll buy that one instead. Once you put your property on the market it stops being your "home", and has become your "product". And you want your product to be seen by as large a buying audience as possible.

8. Your property won't sell because you have the heat and power turned off. Okay... maybe it's an REO, or maybe you're no longer living in the home. But viewers need to be able to feel comfortable when they've viewing your home. You want them to spend time in the home and get a sense of the place. You don't want them standing in the darkened foyer shivering, breathing on their hands to keep their knuckles from freezing in position. If they can see their own breath, the house is too cold. It's just not an invitation to spend time in the home. Have the power on, and leave the heat running, at least high enough to keep viewers from shivering. It doesn't have to feel like a tropical paradise, but it shouldn't feel like the North Pole, either. Ain't nobody going to buy that igloo.

For additional information on how to get your house sold in the Nanaimo Real Esate market please give me a call.

Real Estate in Nanaimo - Absorption rates for December 2011

The Nanaimo real estate statistics for December 2011 have been calculated. One of the key indicators on how the Nanaimo real estate market is doing is the absorption rates.

My numbers came from the latest real estate stats published by VIREB (Vancouver Island Real Estate Board). Based on the information they have supplied I have calculated the absorption rates for real estate here in Nanaimo.

By tracking these numbers monthly it helps me understand better what type of real estate market Nanaimo is experiencing. In addition these absorption rates assist me in advising my clients on realistic expectations on the length of time it will take to sell their home.

The definition of absorption rates is the number of weeks it takes to sell the current real estate inventory in Nanaimo at the present rate of sales.

The December 2011 absorption rate is slightly higher than it was last month. In other words it is taking slightly longer to absorb (or sale) the entire inventory currently on the market.

The absorption rate of single family homes in Nanaimo in December 2011 compared with December 2010

December 2011 – 31.55 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of December.

December 2010 – 27.23 weeks to sell the inventory that was currently on hand at the end of December

From the numbers above you will see that homes in December 2011 were selling at a slower pace than they were at the same time the year before. A declining figure indicates that the inventory is decreasing as more homes are being sold than are coming onto the market. In turn a rising absorption rate indicates that there are more homes coming on the market than there are buyers looking to buy. The numbers above would indicate that we experienced a slower market in December than the same time last year.

For additional information on absorption rates and other stats on the state of the Nanaimo real estate market please give me a call.