Buyers’ market window may be closing

We are in the midst of an amazing moment in real estate history.  Hundreds of people are realizing that now is the time to invest in real estate!  There are three things that you must to know:
 
1. Interest rates are at a historic low!
2. Rental rates are up 5%!  This can mean a positive cash flow on a rental property for an investor!
3. Our homes are selling well below market value!
 
Prices have dropped an amazing 11.5% to 12.9% since January 2008 in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley and we are offering a minimum of 25% off on ALL of our homes.  In many cases prices have been reduced by over $100,000.  This is incredible pricing.
     
Both the BCREA Chief Economist and Fraser Valley Real Estate Board President are reporting that now is the time to buy and that the buyers’ market we have been experiencing is nearing an end. The information above is detailed in a survey released by the BC Real Estate Association (BCREA). Do you need proof beyond 300 deals in just 3 weeks? Click on the links below to download this week's independently published articles from the Vancouver Sun and Real Estate Weekly:

“Cost of home-buying takes a tumble” - Vancouver Sun, Feb 17, 2009
“Buyers’ market window may be closing” - Real Estate Weekly, Feb 20, 2009

"Onni is selling over 300 units a A drop in the number of properties for sale is a signal that the current buyer’s market may be ending, according to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

    For the fourth month in a row, listings through the MLS system dropped in January. This decreased the number of properties available in the Fraser Valley to 8,630, 26 percent higher than January 2008, but 30 percent fewer than the Board’s record high number of active listings in September 2008.

   A total of 389 sales were processed through Fraser Valley’s MLS in January, a decrease of 59 per cent compared to 956 sales in January 2008 and comparable to January sales figures last seen in the early 1980s.

   “Those who don’t have to buy right now aren’t and they’re creating tremendous opportunity for those who are house-hunting,” says Kelvin Neufeld, president of the Board. “The ability right now for Fraser Valley Realtors to negotiate for their buyers is the strongest it’s been in over a decade.”

   Neufeld says if the current imbalance between supply and demand continues to change with the trend moving toward a decrease in homes on the market, buyers will only have this window of opportunity for so long.     “When selection decreases, pricing becomes more competitive,” he says. Residential benchmark prices, the value of a ‘typical’ Fraser Valley detached home as determined by the Board, decreased 9.6 per cent compared to January 2008, the eighth consecutive monthly decline. The benchmark price was $452,145 in January 2009 compared to $500,070 last year.

    The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses decreased by 8.5 per cent in one year, going from $322,888 in January 2008 to $295,339 in January 2009, while the benchmark price of apartments decreased by 12.9 per cent going from $253,198 in January of last year to $220,595 in January 2009."