Something we know for sure: the 2022 real estate market is very different from the 2021 pattern.
Buyers have not lost interest in a Salt Spring or Gulf Islands property purchase.
The desire to experience the rural lifestyle, to be “apart” from city issues, to be self-sufficient, all remain as the base lines of such interest.
Salt Spring Island
Buyers are hesitating on the way to making a decision. The bidding frenzy (for five months) seen in 2021 has long gone.
Fear is the archtypal inhibitor.
Rising interest rates, inflation impacts, supply chain woes, wars and rumours of wars, currency worries…these all create a safe haven seeking. Yet action can stall.
When to hold? When to act? Are prices going down? If I wait, will a seller be more inclined to listen to my offer? Is it a buyer’s market now? Uncertainty brings a treading water pattern.
Note: classic sellers market means few listings and many buyers. Classic buyers market means lots of listings and few buyers.
Listing inventory is rising very slightly. At the moment, there are still few available listings as soon as one separates out by property type and price point. There is not a large spill-out of property opportunities. Inventory is best described as still “thin”.
Some owners are removing listings from the market; they are wanting to hold their Salt Spring and Gulf Islands assets. In inflationary times, real estate keeps pace.
Salt Spring Island
Others, remaining as sellers, will counter at full price or close to it when an offer does come in. If their property has no competing parcel, then more than one buyer may come forward. This means the buyer still has to come towards the seller.
None of this sounds like a big market correction or a segue into a full buyers market. In a buyer considering an outcome, there are bound to be pauses. A flat line pause is not a downward spiral. So…in August (and summer is a slower season as people are on holiday) 2022, it can perhaps be described as a thoughtful market.
Thoughtful is good. It allows time for a buyer to do due diligence, to have subject conditions on an offer, to be satisfied on the purchase. It also allows time for the seller to consider right pricing. A seller once again needs to prep to sell at optimum.
Price is the only thing a seller is in control of. A buyer decides the where and the when of a purchase. It is always a two step dance between a seller and a buyer.
We may have to wait until the end of October to see the outcome of the 2022 summer season market. The entire year to date has seen a 6 to 8 week delay in many instances (weather, gardens, markets). 2022 is slower than 2021…perhaps it’s more like 2019 (pre-pandemic)…but it may not be the expected “correction”. Important to keep an eye on things, perhaps weekly. Change is just a part of the 21st Century surround sound…shift is with us.
More information on the current Salt Spring and Gulf Islands real estate market? Look forward to connecting with you.
