Tag Archives: Salt Spring Island Real Estate

June 2019, Salt Spring Island Market Analysis

June. It’s a lovely hiatus month, between two real estate market moments: it straddles early Spring and Summer market patterns.

June also welcomes graduations, weddings, school’s out/summer holidays enthusiasm, and, on the great Pacific Northwest Coast, it can often be a showery weather month.

Gardens are in full array, roses are at their abundant bloom best, farmers markets, vineyard tastings…the opulence of Salt Spring’s rural heritage surrounds us.

Upper Tier & Entry Level Activity

At this hiatus moment, between two real estate sales patterns, it’s evident that entry level priced properties were where the action was in our short (due to weather vagaries between December 20 and end of March) early Spring cycle.

The upper tier priced properties don’t usually begin to see activity until after the Victoria Day Holiday Weekend, in mid-May.

Between mid-May and end of October, our real “season” takes place…and it invites buyers, in all price ranges and seeking all property types, to come forward to view.

Listing Inventory

The listing inventory remains very thin. We are seeing price reductions, but are also seeing that the very few new listings coming onstream are at higher price points than would have been the case in the previous year. Everything on the table at once means we are in a transition market…with an apparent upward momentum. Few listings, coupled with buyer desire, can lead to price increases. This outcome may not be evident until mid to late August.

I do this market update at the beginning of a month. June can have a “pause” in the first two weeks. Perhaps it’s about those family celebrations, but it might also be that late June begins summer travels and so early June is calmer.

At the beginning of June, then, we have 124 residential listings on the market. This does not separate out townhomes or waterfronts…it’s just residential/dwellings listings. There are 79 lots/acreages on the market. There have been 60 “solds to date”.

This is an extremely low listing inventory, particularly in the entry level priced categories. Most sales remain in that entry level price segment.

Of the 124 residential listings, at beginning of June

12 under 500,000
10 were under 700,000
19 were under 800,000
18 were listed below 900,000
7 listings were under 1,000,000
40 listings between 1 & 2,000,000
12 listings between 2 & 3,000,000
5 listings are between 3 & 4,000,000

Of the 79 lots/acreages, without separating out waterfronts, at beginning of June

27 were listed under 300,000
20 listed below 500,000
16 were listed below 600,000
10 were below 1,000,000
6 were listed between 1,020,000 and 2,495,000

Of the 60 “solds to date”

28 were below 600,000
12 sales below 800,000
10 sales were below 1,000,000
10 sales between 1,000,000 and 1,700,000

Patience in the Secondary Home Markets. Invaluable

Patience is a part of all sales in all secondary home markets. A decision to buy is a choice…no one “has to” move to Salt Spring. In deciding about that choice, there are always time lags. Buyers do look in competing areas, “just to be sure”. It can take three visits before a decision is made.

Obstacles Can Play a Role

There are always issues facing all communities: for Salt Spring, the lack of affordable housing/work rental is also a problem. There are three public (and one private) affordable housing/rental options that are funded and permitted and they cannot go ahead because of the water moratorium.

Brought in by the three volunteer board members of NSSWD (North Salt Spring Water District) in 2014/15, this effectively prohibited connections to the water systems. There may be a capture/distribution issue on Salt Spring, but there is not a water shortage issue.

Water is under Improvement Districts at the provincial government level. The government has off-loaded Improvement Districts onto municipalities. Salt Spring is not a municipality…it is part of the Islands Trust. The CRD (Capital Regional District) out of Victoria could assume the NSSWD, but has not done so.

The lack of work rental options led to the Trust bylaw enforcement officer shutting down airb&b/short term vacation rental options (STVR). This was done under the assumption that vacation rental landlords would then rent to regular annual tenants. This is the Trust response to lack of work rentals.

The lack of people wanting to rent to regular tenants has to do with the current provincial government’s change to the B.C. Tenancy Act. The government canceled the Fixed Tenancy option, in Fall, 2017. This is why people do not want to be landlords to regular tenants…unless the owner moves in, one cannot give notice to a tenant.

Underlying Issue

The underlying issue, lack of affordable housing/work rental, gets back to the volunteer driven NSSWD moratorium on connecting to water systems. In our non-municipal form of governance, there is a lack of proactive oversight.

Summer Begins!!!

Meantime, the summer-summer season begins with June…and visitors to Salt Spring generate the economic well being of business enterprises. Check with the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce for more information.

So, lovely June is upon us. Time to dine al fresco on restaurant decks and patios, to enjoy live music venues (Treehouse Cafe, Moby’s, Woodley’s), to meander Ruckle Park trails, to go jump in the lake (St Mary’s, Cusheon, Weston, Stowell) and swim to your heart’s content, to paddle board off Vesuvius, to kayak to Chocolate Beach, to enjoy Saturday and Tuesday Markets, to simply “be”, and to definitely stop and smell those roses.

Seeking a real estate outcome on delectable Salt Spring Island? No matter the market trend in play at any given time, there is usually a way to make things work. Call me! Let’s discuss. Your best interests are my motivation.

March 2019, Salt Spring Island Market Analysis

March 2019, Salt Spring Island Market

The entire Pacific Northwest Coast region experienced a once-every-twenty-years winter season weather pattern, which erased the 2019 projected early market.

A hurricane force wind on December 20th, with resulting power outages and severe forest damage, was replaced by an Arctic Front and snowstorm sequences (no melt between storms, due to cold)…the result of all of this was to cause a cancellation of potential viewers/buyers. Christmas/New Year week and February’s Family Day Holiday Weekend were both affected by weather-induced pauses. The good news: everyone did rebook and March appears to have “busyness” at its heart.

Listings remain very low, in both residential and in undeveloped land options. With renewed buyer interest, coupled with this lack of owner desire to sell, we may see price escalation begin. It may take until late April/early May to see the true tone of this year, since weather issues have created a slow start to the market.

Vancouver Real Estate Market 2019

The Vancouver market is also beginning to reactivate, including in the higher end property segment. Vancouver sellers have been the main buyers on Vancouver Island and on the Gulf Islands, since mid-March, 2016. Hesitations from then to now can be attributed to various provincial government tax measures, specifically created to suppress the Vancouver market, plus El Nino/La Nina weather vagaries.

March to Spring

March sees the beginning of Spring, showcases the allure factors of Salt Spring, and invites market activity…to enjoy a property between late Spring and early Fall (the best weather months in our area), one pretty well has to buy in March/April.

Low Canadian Dollar against the U.S. dollar, low interest rates, lack of inventory that may drive future price increases (would see this, if turns out to be the case, by summer), and a renewed global seeking of a safe haven destination, are all reasons for increased action. The hesitations of 2018 (mostly a reaction to the many provincial government tax burdens in Vancouver) seem to be over.

How can you make this current market work for you?

How can you make this current market work for you? Whether a seller or a buyer, and no matter the market trend, there are always elements that can work to your benefit.

At the very beginning of March:

87 residential listings (not separating out waterfronts, townhomes, farms)
60 undeveloped land listings (lots/acreages)
14 commercial/business listings

10 sales to date, all residential, from 440,000 to 1,700,000.

It is more usual to see a total of 380 to 420 listings on Salt Spring…this lack of current inventory (147 residentially zoned options, including dwellings and undeveloped land), if continues, could lead to price escalation by the summer season.

March is an interesting month. It eases from winter into spring, daylight saving returns, and everywhere the resurgence of growth ignites our natural coastal beauty.

The Best Time to Visit Salt Spring Island

An annual Home and Garden show sponsored by the Salt Spring Chamber of Commerce takes place in mid-March and the beginning of the Saturday Market in the Park “season” is in place by month’s end. Live music continues at Moby’s, at Woodley’s, at the Legion. ArtSpring showcases special events. And the days are enticingly longer…time to rediscover Salt Spring’s hiking/walking trails, beachcombing pleasures, gallery spring openings…time to consider a garden.

April through October

Although Salt Spring is seasonless, in the sense that there is always something to discover and to enjoy, it is true that April to October are the famously most delightful months on the great Pacific Northwest Coast. March is the shaking off of winter and the preparation for “real Spring”. Time for all of us to mirror the month and to shake it up a little.

Thinking of real estate this March? Call me. Benefit from my knowledge of inventory and market trends. Your best interests are my motivation.

Market Analysis, December 2018, Salt Spring Island

December 2018, Salt Spring

Here we are, starting into the last month of this haphazard 2018 market year.

The weeks between January 1 and February 20 did promise continuing brisk real estate sales…inventory was diminishing in residential offerings and prices had solidified…undeveloped lots/acreages were catching interest…higher end properties were being shown…and a seller’s market was in play.

Provincial Government Policies

The coalition provincial government brought in a budget (February 20) that specifically targeted Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, and Kelowna…seeking to suppress the buoyant real estate markets in these areas. Several measures were introduced…the speculation (vacancy) tax being a key one.

Between February 20 and March 27, the Southern Gulf Islands/Salt Spring Island were included in the vacancy tax. The government used regional district boundaries to delineate where this tax would be applied. The government agreed that the Islands Trust (formed in 1974) had created a recreational ownership-resort based region and so all Gulf Islands were finally excluded.

Since the slow recovery on Salt Spring (began in mid-March 2016), inventory in place, due to the economic meltdowns of late 2008, had slowly cleared out. Fall 2017 & up to late February 2018 saw consistent sales and in all price ranges. Then the February 20 budget…..

Were the policies effective?

The point of the taxation measures applied to Vancouver was to suppress the real estate market…the theory being that prices would drop and affordability would rise. It might have been a better idea to open up opportunities for construction of affordable rental and purchase units. Sales did shut down in Vancouver, but affordability may not have been addressed.

Salt Spring, like other secondary home markets, is dependent on buyers from elsewhere. The recovery on Salt Spring, after the almost nine-year economic meltdown, was driven by Vancouver people who had sold in Vancouver…and were looking to relocate. The suppression in the Vancouver marketplace, after February 20, caused a corresponding pause in action on Salt Spring, for most of 2018.

Inventory still remains low. During spring/summer there were viewings. Fall saw more sales…not just showings. Sales were mainly below 800,000, and residential, not lots/acreages.

Visiting Salt Spring Island is the Key

Some projections are calling for a bounce back in the Vancouver marketplace by early spring, 2019. This is an unknown. What is known is that Salt Spring and the Gulf Islands are dependent on a buyer from elsewhere.

Before the economic downturn, the main buyers were from Alberta and the U.S. The 2016 beginnings of a recovery on the Islands came out of Vancouver. There may be an upcoming reappearance of Ontario buyers, looking for retirement destinations.

To Preserve & Protect

Although Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands are beneficiaries of the Islands Trust’s mandate of “to preserve and protect”, which controlled growth through strict zoning/density bylaws, the Islands are not unaffected by changes and stresses globally. The Islands are affected also by the current provincial government’s various measures to suppress real estate markets elsewhere in B.C. Pauses in market cycles, no matter the cause, are always a feature…it’s never a straight line up or down.

Lack of inventory, however, seems to imply a buoyancy beneath these many government restrictive measures. Those measures, designed to suppress a real estate market, may be being digested. In the end, consumers set the pace. The guru projection advisors may be right about a resurgence in the Vancouver market, by early 2019. Hmmm….

So…at beginning of December, there were approximately 296 sales on Salt Spring, which can be broken down as follows:

Some Sales Data

11 sales between 138,000 & 195,000
14 sales between 207,000 & 290,000
11 sales between 320,000 & 398,000
22 sales between 405,000 & 492,500
28 sales between 500,000 & 595,000
24 sales between 600,000 & 686,000
25 sales between 705,000 & 795,000
18 sales between 800,000 & 898,000
13 sales between 900,000 & 999,000
25 sales between 1,005,000 & 1,950,000
4 sales between 2,025,000 & 2,850,000

The above numbers relate to the sale figures…they do not show the tracking down of pricings, on the way to that sale figure. For example, a property selling at 730,000 was listed at 774,000. One listed at 2.8 sold for 2.383. Price reductions at the point of an offer can be quite common on listings over 800,000.

Over half the current listings (approximately 106 residential listings, between 309,900 & 4.8, and approximately 57 lots/acreages between 159,000 & 2.495) are priced over a million, if in the residential category. (In a “normal market”, listings might run between 380,000 & 425,000, in total). Listings are not plentiful right now…particularly if below 800,000.

If the water moratorium (put in place by 3 volunteers on the North Salt Spring Water District board) could be resolved, then 255 units (approved and funded), re affordable housing/work rental, could be built.

Those business enterprises that cannot find housing for proposed staff are also recognizing that vacation rentals are required. The visitors staying at airb&b are the buyers of their local products. Both types of rentals are needed in a secondary home/discretionary area, reliant on a tourist based economy.

Last Fall, the current provincial government canceled the fixed tenancy option on a lease, under B.C.’s Tenancy Act. In areas such as Salt Spring, this might be a reason for the reluctance to engage in a regular rental process.

The provincial government is in charge of Improvement Districts (water is under this jurisdiction). The government has transferred Improvement Districts to municipalities. Salt Spring is not a municipality. The CRD (Capital Regional District) would have to assume the Salt Spring water districts…or the unfortunate moratorium will not be resolved. There is no water shortage on Salt Spring. The issue is one of capture & distribution. The 255 ready to build affordable housing/work rental units await the outcome.

The changes to the Real Estate Services Act of B.C., enacted on June 15, 2018, are in place. Questions? Call me.

Celebrate!!!

December is a traditional time of celebrations. On Salt Spring there are many craft fairs (Beaver Point and Fulford Hall craft fairs, WinterCraft at Mahon Hall, pop-up events), plus ArtSpring presents seasonal music and theatre to enjoy. Volunteers create the Shop Local events clustered under the Christmas on Salt Spring label. Santa arrives twice: once by floatplane and later via a Carol Ship. The Village sparkles with Light Up. Lots to see and to enjoy.

Be re-inspired by your personal traditions…take time to remember others…take advantage of the fallow field moment of calm. That’s where the creativity lives.

Market Analysis, November 2018, Salt Spring Island

November 2018, Salt Spring

The Fall Real Estate Sales Season

The Fall real estate sales season separates into two parts: late summer/early Fall (end of August to mid-October) and late Fall (mid-October to early December).

Salt Spring is really a “seasonless” market…buyers turn up throughout the year, and sales from later in a calendar year can take place right into very early January of the following year.

Although tourism is most evident in late Spring/Summer months, and a successful visitor experience usually leads to a real estate purchase in our discretionary marketplace, the two don’t always occur at the same time.

It often takes two visits, if not three, for an interested potential buyer to decide to make an offer. There can be substantial time lags between visits…it can take one to two years to have a successful sales transaction, even in a buoyant real estate trend.

Where Do the Buyers Come From?

Buyers are not local. They look in other areas, too. It’s perhaps about “being sure” about the “where”.

Whether they live a ferry trip away or are a substantial flight distant, the buyer usually leaves some time between visits (a few weeks to several months). Their own lives come first and it just takes the time it takes to have a result in any secondary home/discretionary marketplace.

That said, we enter November 2018 with a continuing “thin” inventory of available listings.

Prices stabilized in Fall, 2017.

The provincial government’s February 20, 2018 budget included taxation measures to cool the Vancouver market.

These measures were also expanded to include Victoria, Nanaimo, and Kelowna.

Since mid-2016, Salt Spring has been chiefly dependent on Vancouver buyers. As a recipient marketplace, Salt Spring is affected by events in the areas where the buyers come from.

Anecdotally, it seems that people take around five months to get over anger at something and then to just get on with things. The lack of solid action between February 20 and September 15 has now been replaced with some increased activity. Hmmm….

The last two months of a year and the first two of the following year can be seen as a cohesive timeline.

A Market Trend for properties below 900,000

The market trend right now is showing most action in properties below 900,000. Over half the current listings are over one million. Will we see substantial price reductions at the point of an offer, in order for a transaction to proceed to completion? Will prices begin to suppress, to reflect those marked reductions now evident in Vancouver? Are we starting back into buyer’s market territory? Hmmm….

Although there is a lovely sense of apartness to the Salt Spring lifestyle, no location is exempt from global issues. Currency concerns, tariff wars, prohibitive tax measures, etc…outcomes in countries around the world also end by impacting SSI. There’s that butterfly concept again.

Uncertainty is not good for any market. We began 2018 with a strong seller’s market underway. We are ending 2018 with the impacts of the coalition provincial government measures to suppress that Vancouver “hot market”. These measures, short term, have been successful.

At the same time, there does seem to be renewed interest out of Ontario (other provinces like to retire to coastal communities). Toronto does not have the tax suppression measures seen in Vancouver. That may augur well, going forward into 2019.

Albertans & US Buyers?

We are still not seeing Albertans or U.S. buyers. Before the economic meltdowns of late 2008, these two buyer profiles were 50% of our buyers. They were also seasonal. The Vancouver buyers want to live on Salt Spring. This may be why they take longer to choose the “where”. Salt Spring has competition from nearby Vancouver Island communities…why choose here? Why not there? Hmmm….

Late Fall-into-Winter season, a softer time for tourism, is also an opportunity. The fallow field moment allows for some creative thinking, to keep that Salt Spring allure in play. The outcomes of the “real” 21st Century are around us all…Salt Spring is not exempt from the profound technological changes that are now the surround sound of our lives. Yes…block chain technology is our present.

Initially, the Islands Trust, created by the provincial government in 1974, had the purpose of preserving the environmental beauties of the Gulf Islands, for the benefit of all B.C. residents…the Trust capped growth and effectively created a park-like ambiance. Now, in our always-on, always-connected world, perhaps the real value of visiting and of living on Salt Spring Island is the ability to enjoy an experiential lifestyle…and not a mere searchable environment.

The Gift of Reality

The gift of reality…real reality, not virtual, not augmented…perhaps that’s the point of 1974 meeting up with 2018?

Markets are always a wave of up and down. Over time, an investment in real estate, in an area where growth is strongly controlled, where a community blueprint pays homage to 1974 concerns about over-growth, will become an enclave area…it will rise in value. Important, then, to always be thinking five years out.

At this moment in time, listings remain low, buyer interest is very present, and the allure of Salt Spring as a destination is high. Projections for early 2019, in areas that deliver buyers to Salt Spring, are about a bounce back in real estate dynamics. Hmmm….

Meantime, November unrolls before us: craft fairs (WinterCraft), Village galleries showcasing their artists, studio tours, continuing Farmers markets, theatre and dance and choral presentations at ArtSpring, hiking/walking trails beckon, and kayaking adventures and sailing races delight year-round.

There’s always lots to see and to do, on special Salt Spring Island.

Enjoy the softer season!

Market Analysis, October 2018, Salt Spring Island

October 2018, Salt Spring

Ganges Harbour

We are now well into Fall…all the Harvest events, Farmers Markets, farmgate stands are busy inviting us to enjoy this fruition time.

Early Fall is a mix of rainy days, sunny days with almost summer warmth in afternoons, darker mornings and evenings as the days shorten…plus crisp evenings perfect for star watching. And yes, that is Orion, the Hunter constellation, creeping up the sky…the herald of Winter.

The Fall Market in real estate on Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands can be busy. Buyers may have come in late Spring/Summer to “look”, but they often wait till Fall to offer.

People looking at properties on Salt Spring, right now, are seeking permanent homes…they are not, in the main, looking for recreational options.

That’s actually a change. In previous years (up to the economic meltdowns of late 2008), we saw many Albertans & U.S. buyers on Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands. These were recreational buyers…this was not their primary residence.

Post-recovery (mid 2016), the main buyer profile became a Vancouver buyer…who had sold in their venue for large dollars. They were seeking a destination to move to…they were not recreational buyers.

So….in seeking that “forever” destination, Salt Spring garnered competition: Sooke/Metchosin, South Cowichan, Courtenay/Comox…hmm…why your area? Why not theirs? Good question!

Islands Trust

On Salt Spring, which is a part of the provincial government mandated Islands Trust (in place since 1974), one understands that development is “capped”. What you buy is what you get. There will not be myriad new subdivisions opening up. A cap on growth also delivers (over time) an increase in valuations: low supply & generally high buyer demand does, in the end, result in price escalation.

Salt Spring offers a hospital, great ferry connections (three ferries with year-round schedules: one to Vancouver, one to Victoria, & one to mid-Vancouver Island), year-round regular sked floatplane services (to Vancouver Airport, to downtown Vancouver, to Seattle, to Maple Bay on Vancouver Island), 3 elementary, a Middle School, a state of the art Senior School, plus indoor pool, plus Arts Centre (ArtSpring), plus alternative health opportunities, plus a strong artistic/cultural base, and…the list goes on. Salt Spring is an eclectic and vibrant Island, with a year round lifestyle.

The real estate market on a Gulf Island, including on Salt Spring Island, is always dependent on outcomes in the areas that generate the buyers. Since mid-2016, that has been a Vancouver buyer.

The current provincial government has purposefully been making taxation decisions that will suppress a real estate market. Their intention was to cool the market in Vancouver, and also in Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna. Their measures have worked…sales have softened in Vancouver. As a recipient market, dependent on non-local buyers, Salt Spring may feel the effect of this suppression. It may take longer to achieve a sale and prices may reduce.

Kinder, Gentler Lifestyle

That said, there is a huge desire for Vancouver residents to leave the city and Salt Spring is one of the locations they consider. Perhaps the Vancouver potentials will simply end up accepting the prohibitive tax measures in their area, and decide to just get on with things. That strong desire to live a kinder, gentler lifestyle may continue to uphold the Salt Spring and Gulf Islands markets.

At this moment in time, early October, listing inventory remains thin and buyer desire remains high. Over half of the Salt Spring listings are priced over one million. A very thin residential inventory available below 900,000. Hmmm…. To remain in the entry level pricing category, a buyer might be best served by purchasing undeveloped land and building a cottage or studio. It is a struggle to find a residential property, below 750,000, that does not need serious renovation work.

Meantime, in this era of consistent and constant change, it is a gift to visit Salt Spring and the Gulf Islands…to experience a lifestyle rooted in 1974 (the year the Islands Trust was created, by the provincial government). If one can also consider living here, one immediately understands that all the necessities of a 21st Century experience are available…though wrapped in the charm of 1974. Fall is a superb season to discover the Gulf Islands.

Market Analysis, September 2018, Salt Spring Island

September 2018, Salt Spring

The beginning of September…still technically summer, yet somehow accepted as early Fall. All those back to school memories, perhaps, signalling a season change?

The Fall Market in Gulf Islands real estate can be busy…September/October/November do see a lot of sales going through. Perhaps buyers looked earlier, but they often wait till early and late Fall to “act”.

Some Statistics …

As we start into September, on Salt Spring there are approximately:

126 residential offerings CURRENTLY LISTED:

60 below 1 million (309,900 to 995,000)
66 over 1 million (1,020,000 to 4.8 million)

There are approximately 90 lots/acreages CURRENTLY LISTED:

79 of them between 159,000 and 995,000
11 of them between 1,020,000 and 2,495,000

There have been approximately 145 SALES TO DATE

124 of these sales ranged between 155,000 and 999,000 (with most of such sales coming in below 800,000)
There were approximately 21 sales between 1,005,000 and 2.85 (with most between 1,005,000 and 1.95.
Only two sales over two million (2.15 and 2.85)

Most sales above one million were waterfront properties. (The “solds to date” include residential and undeveloped land options).

Over half of Salt Spring’s residential zoned listings are priced over one million, while (to date) most sales are below 900,000.

Time to sell or buy? Are we in a balanced market?

The current coalition provincial government’s February 20th budget brought in several tax measures that were meant to cool “hot” real estate markets. Vancouver, Victoria, Nanaimo, Kelowna were specifically targeted by these measures.

For many Vancouver Island communities and Gulf Islands, including on Salt Spring, the main buyer profile for past 18 or so months has been a seller who had previously sold in Vancouver and was then seeking a new home location. The measures to halt Vancouver’s market have worked…and abruptly so. That primary residence market has softened markedly and Salt Spring’s recipient market has also softened in response.

Government intrusion, then, mainly targeting Vancouver, has also affected our local Salt Spring and Gulf Islands market.

Real estate boards like to call this kind of a slow down in action a “balanced market”.

A buyer’s market is characterized by many listings and few buyers. A seller’s market is about few listings and many buyers. This often leads to price stability, and then can lead to price escalation.

Is a balanced market somewhere in between, or is this just “realtor speak” to put a positive spin on a changing market? Too soon to say.

The late summer/fall market can be a busy sales window on the Gulf Islands. It has been this way for several years. If new listings don’t pop onto the market, and buyers consistently want to be here, then we will see many more sales as we go through to year end…low inventory, coupled with buyer desire, maintain a seller’s market.

I do this market report at the beginning of each month, and do updates via my regular blogs.

At this exact moment in time, the very beginning of September, it seems that there is a hesitancy afoot. It may be a momentary reaction to the B.C. government’s move to soften real estate markets…by late October, we will see if there have been further repercussions.

Sellers and buyers are disturbed, in Vancouver, about the measures to halt that market’s rhythm. Non-local buyers are reluctant to encounter the speculation (vacancy) tax, the offshore purchase tax (now 20%), and the extra schools tax for properties assessed over 3 million. The vacancy tax and schools tax apply to local owners, too. (Luckily, Salt Spring and all Gulf Islands were exempted from the speculation (vacancy) tax, on March 26th).

That pausing in the Vancouver primary residence marketplace has outcomes on Vancouver Island and on the Gulf Islands. Salt Spring is not immune to market forces in other areas.

Alberta and the U.S. buyers (once 50% of Salt Spring’s buyer profile, before the economic meltdown of 2008) have not reappeared. Vancouver remains the principal engine of activity in all coastal communities.

Harvest Time

This September/October will tell the tale of the 2018 market. We begin this new month, at this lovely harvest time of year, with thin inventory in all property categories/price points. Buyers are still around, but mainly seeking residential properties below 900,000. Will we see continuing clear out of inventory, perhaps at a slower pace, or will activity plateau due to the government intervention to suppress “hot” markets?

Hmmm…stay tuned.

Meantime, here we are, folding into the poet John Keat’s evocative description of Fall…“season of mists and mellow fruitfulness”. Many things are there to delight us on Salt Spring Island: Fall Fair, Farmers Markets, studio tours and gallery openings, Sip & Savour, harvest dinners in our great restaurants, craft fairs, Apple Fest, Canadian Thanksgiving…and there is much to be thankful for on this special Island. More info? Call me!

Li Read - Blog