Real estate agents are pleading for property to sell with just 70 detached homes currently available in town. Despite a major property value jump of about 15 per cent in 2007, many homeowners have opted to sit on their property rather than sell.
Without a greater supply of houses on the market, growing demand could mean another surge in property values, said Royal LePage realtor Jack Fowler. Last week, Fowler ran an advertisement in The Chief stating, "Help! I have sold all my listings and need more!"He said he is currently working with several buyers who appear to be priced out of the local market with a budget just under $600,000.
Many other local realtors are in the same position, said Pat Place, managing broker for Remax. She noted that realtors who have hung onto listings are facing significant drops in numbers from about 18 listings to less than 10 at a time.Turnover seems to be lodged, in part, because residents are not being drawn to other communities, said Place.
"I'm not really seeing many people right now who are listing who want to leave town," she said, noting that as more multi-family developments are completed, more homeowners may consider downsizing to condominiums.Place said the real estate demand is more than just a passing phase.
"The Olympics might play a small part in it, but overall the people who are buying here of buying for the lifestyle."In her office, she has watched the realtors' listing crunch carry on for about five months.
Looking back five years ago, she said there were about three times more listings on the market.Although single family homes appear to be an increasingly rare commodity, Place said she has not noticed a greater number of people trying to sell on their own.
"We always have those for sale by owners. People go, 'Wow, there's a market out there and I'll just stick my sign out.'"They have to be prepared to either leave the community or rent a place if that's what they're doing," she said.
Fowler said buyers will ultimately decide if it property values take another leap. By researching the housing prices across B.C. before making a purchase, people may be better prepared to navigate a hot market.
"Buyers aren't stupid, everyone has access to Internet information."
