Tag Archives: vancouver island

November 2014, Market Analysis

Seasonal Adjustments?

Late Fall is usually the beginning of the “softer season” on Salt Spring & the Gulf Islands & on Vancouver Island. Although our Winter weather is more like a long late Fall or a prolonged early Spring, it is still considered our “off season”. This year, the so-called off season remains busy. Hmmm….

Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island

Tourism drives real estate sales in secondary home/recreational markets, & then all other businesses experience good outcomes. The engine of those positive results is a stellar visitor experience, & the downturn in tourism between 2009 & 2012 did affect real estate outcomes in all coastal discretionary regions.

Slowly, since late summer of 2013, a slow resurgence in visitor arrivals began. Most businesses on Salt Spring, in summer/early Fall, this 2014 year, did see their “season” as the best since 2007. This local business outcome is a clear signal of an improving trend for real estate sales in all recreational areas.

Entry Level Residential Patterns

The pattern of entry level residential sales, that began in Fall 2013, has continued throughout 2014. Inventory in this property segment is thinning. Sales volume has increased substantially. List prices are slowly stabilizing, in that entry level category. The viewing price point considered by the buyer for same is also rising…from a search between 300,000 & 500,000 to one that would include properties up to 700,000. All good news for a strengthening market.

There has been a small increase, this year, in residential sales between 1 & 1.8 million. Some of these are step-in ready newer homes on large view acreages. A few are older homes on pleasing waterfront parcels, able to be enjoyed as summer places for now, & ready to develop as permanent homes later.

Although many of these options had been listed between 2 & 6 years, & had come down significantly in list prices before selling, their eventual sales do point to a renewal of interest in the higher end opportunities…a sign of an authentic recovery for a secondary home marketplace. Yes, offers are lower than sellers might have hoped for, but the fact of interest is a market dynamic that predicts change…& on an uptick momentum.

Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island

Sign of Recovery: Undeveloped Land Sales

Another sign of a recovery: the slow increase in undeveloped land sales. When a buyer will purchase a lot or acreage, in a “by choice” region, to either “hold” or to develop, it shows a growing confidence in the overall economy…& a recognition of where the best deals might be found. Secondary home markets may have seen a 45% drop in value since 2008’s meltdowns. An investor-buyer recognizes this is a premier moment to act in such markets.

In spite of lateness in the year, the property viewings & subsequent sales continue on Salt Spring, on the Gulf Islands, & on Vancouver Island. Yes, the bulk of such sales are still in that entry level residential category, but prices of same are rising.

Our usual Pacific Northwest Coast “season” (May to October) seems to have shifted this year to an August beginning…& it is still continuing.

2014 may be recognized as the true transition year between a severe & prolonged downmarket and a serious hard asset uptick. If so, then our Spring Market (in play by March Break) in 2015 may show higher prices & less inventory.

Recently, tax assessed values were being relied upon by buyers as market value indicators. This may be another area of upcoming change. Previously, in all secondary home regions, market value was always much higher than government tax assessments. This recent timeline in favour of buyers may be slow-dancing to the seller side of the transaction equation. February 2015 should tell the tale.

Change in The Buyer Profile?

One serious change post-downturn (which may have been in place since 2006, in all secondary home/discretionary regions): the buyer profile. Pre-2008 economic meltdowns, that “boomer” demographic was a strong buyer profile on Salt Spring & the Gulf Islands, & on Vancouver Island. An aging population in this segment may lead to a reliance on “millenials”…& their property decisions may be very different from those earlier boomer desires.

Will secondary home marketplaces be as popular? Hmmm…that might be the big unknown, for all discretionary/recreational communities. Changing tastes mean changing visitor outcomes…which directly affect real estate sales in all “by choice” regions. Hmmm, indeed!

Many positive signs, then, as we ease to the final weeks of 2014. Continuing entry level sales activity, growing interest in undeveloped land, a slow renewal of sales in the million plus range, a recognition of excellent values in secondary home markets…plus a renewed safe haven seeking.

All indicators point to better days for tourism & real estate sales in all coastal discretionary areas. The recovery is not even-handed, but it is underway.

September 2014, Market Analysis

How’s the Salt Spring Island Real Estate Market?

Things are definitely “better”, real estate wise, in secondary home regions. They are still not “good”. Good, to me, means consistent buoyancy in sales, across the board, no matter the property type or price.

To me, a buyers market means lots of inventory and few buyers. A sellers market is the reverse: lots of buyers and very little inventory. A transition market is a cloudy one.

At this very beginning of September 2014…

At the moment, at this very beginning of September, most sales have continued in that entry-level residential category. Sales volume in same is definitely up, possibly doubled over 2013 stats, and the ceiling in price is risingtwo years ago, most sales were below 400,000…this year, under 600,000. Consistent sales, then, in that entry level residential segment, with increasingly higher prices (possibly as a result of thinning inventory), are good signs. Authentic recoveries do begin in this property/price category.

I look at undeveloped land sales as the key marker of sales activity strength, in a secondary home/discretionary marketplace. It is still quiet in raw land sales.

Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island

 

In a downturn, investor-buyers seek rentable entry level residential opportunities. Such buyers are not necessarily end-users of the properties they buy.

As prices soften dramatically, during a real estate downturn, occasional upper tier priced properties sell…a buyer recognizes the moment of a “good deal”. These are random encounters, though, and not a market pattern.

What’s been missing over the past 5 to 6 years?

What has been missing throughout the past five to six years of flat conditions, in secondary home markets, is what I call the middle person.

Perhaps this is why that middle priced buyer segment (on Salt Spring, this would fall between 700,000 and 1.3 million…which is a pretty wide spread, but which does encompass properties that someone would move into and so might be choosing to live here), a middle range in type and price, and that buyer profile is still missing.

Another flat segment is the purely recreational…a summer/weekender property, a cottage-style dwelling. Perhaps that’s another indicator of the missing middle person buyer. To live elsewhere and to choose a recreational second home purchase does require a level of confidence in the economy.

Undeveloped land sales remain very flat. The buyer in a recreational area right now is not seeking a holding property and is not planning a building project. There are some very well priced and beautifully presented excellent land parcels available…and in all price ranges. In a positive real estate sales environment, we would be seeing strong purchases in this property segment.

Cottage Resort

Cottage Resort

The uptick in the entry level residential category is driving real estate sales in all secondary home/retirement/recreational areas…the bulk of sales on Salt Spring Island have continued to be in this segment.

It seems that our main Gulf Islands sales window has now become a summer/fall market. People inquire throughout the year, but physicality to view has shortened to summer/early fall. Interesting. An outcome of our post-Internet world?

The main difference delivered by that global search engine eye: it gives a buyer enormous choice about the “where” of a purchase decision.

Marketing matters

Areas, including on Salt Spring, are in competition with many other global regions…not just with our immediate neighbours on other Gulf Islands or on Vancouver Island. Hmmm…. Marketing, marketing…how to catch that buyer eye?

On Salt Spring, we are undergoing a “print war”…and in a digital age. The monthly real estate supplement, printed by our weekly newspaper, had gone to seven issues a year. Realtors had complained about expense and fact that listings did not change much in the downturn years. When same realtors asked to go to four (maybe five) issues a year, the local newspaper refused. Thus, a new supplement (four issues a year), in competition with the newspaper’s version (seven issues) was created. They have different distribution venues. Thus, if in business, it’s important (locally) to be in both. The reason behind the newer publication, though, is key: less print issues because realtors perceive business as still slow. In a brisk market, a quarterly supplement would be useless.

So…as we enter into very early September, with a good three months of our sales window still before us, we look for more activity in that “middle territory”, in undeveloped land opportunities, and in upper tier priced residential choices…those are the property segments that show a market resurgence.

Right this moment, we are still firmly in a transition period, where everything is there all at the same time. Up, down, yes, no…a market in transition is not a clearly observable market.

There are many things floating about us, globally. Small wars in many places, continuing economic issues in Euro countries, worry about sluggish recoveries in key countries (read U.S.)…no one is immune from such global concerns and insecurity creates hesitation in a real estate recovery, in a secondary home marketplace. That means on Salt Spring, too. One chooses to buy on Salt Spring Island, on another Gulf Island, on Vancouver Island. No one “has to” purchase in a secondary home/discretionary area.

So…the transition market is still with us. Most sales are still in that entry level residential category.

Renewed interest in safe haven investing might bring sales in all categories, in our slightly “apart” region.

A later sales window means we still need to see the statistics for all of September/October/early November before making a definitive call on 2014’s sales pattern.

So…it is “better”…it’s not yet “good”.

Markets, whether up or down, have beginnings/middles/ends. I do think we are at the end of a six year downturn. That means transition market patterns, in the short-term.

Difficult to clearly read the tea leaves of change. It may be that those projecting buoyant conditions by early Spring 2015 will be correct. Perhaps 2014 will be looked back at as the muddled recovery year. Hmmm…. Where is that crystal ball? Let’s hold that “better” scenario for now.

 

August, July 2014, Market Analysis

The main real estate sales window on the Pacific Northwest Coast seems to have evolved into a Summer/Fall market.

This may be the case on Vancouver Island, on the Sunshine Coast, as well as on the Gulf Islands.

Secondary home/discretionary markets have a different pattern from primary residence/city markets. “By choice” regions have been slow to recover from this past six year downturn.

At this very beginning of July, the uptick does appear to be underway, although it’s not an even-handed recovery & most sales to date still remain in the entry-level residential category.

It’s essential for a seller (& their realtor) to showcase listings throughout the year, in order to attract that mainly non-local buyer profile…but the physicality timeline for this non-local potential buyer to visit an area/view properties will mainly occur in July/August/September/October….perhaps into early November, depending on Fall weather pattern.

Along with this later arrival time, to view property opportunities, we are also seeing more “interviewing of areas” first.

With the “boomer” retirement wave just starting, & a strong desire from many Canadians from other provinces to choose a coastal retirement location, it makes sense that they might vacation here a good year or two before actually moving to a specific location.

Thus, Salt Spring & the Gulf Islands & Vancouver Island are in competition with each other…the potential purchaser has to “buy” the specific locale, first, before seriously looking at a property to purchase. Why here? Why not there? Serious questions!

The Internet search engines do allow a global discovery/audience. All that potential choice of destination, though, can make decision-making slower…if one can go anywhere for a retirement or a recreational choice, then that very broad choice parameter might lead to hesitation in decision…one wants “to be sure”.

Hmmm….

Regardless of market trend, it can take one to three years to sell a specific property in any particular secondary home area. Time is always a component in the choice dance. Buyers set markets, not sellers or realtors. It’s only very recently that buyers are once again looking at the secondary home/recreational marketplaces.

The good news? Slowly slowly that secondary home/recreational marketplace is on the uptick, after that 6 year downturn. While mainly busy in residential sales of properties below 700,000, in the Gulf Islands/on Vancouver Island, the “real season” is just beginning…by October, sales should be occurring in all property segments.

For Salt Spring Island, the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island? Slow but sure recovery…& eventually activity will be seen in all price points/property types.

Our market sales window has truncated down to July/August/September/October.Offers may come in later, but chances are that the viewing took place in those four intense months.

If a realtor is actively presenting a property, year-long, then a seller needs to have faith that they will deliver a buyer in the physicality timeline. The sale process is a slow one, for many reasons, in all secondary home markets.

In lieu of a monthly market update, this 2014 recovery year, I plan to let July/August take place…by mid-September, the shift should be clear, with provable statistics. Will report back in with verifiable statistics then, as opposed to reasoned projections right now. Important to let the beginning weeks of our “real market” take place. The rhythm/speed of our recovery is not yet totally clear.

Meantime, any questions, please contact me. I offer weekly driveby lists of all listed properties (not just board related options), plus weekly “solds to date” reports of all sales (not just board related options). The full information is thus always possible with me.

In September, I will report back with the total “actuality”, to that point. Meantime, it’s Summer, in the supremely beautiful Pacific Northwest Coast…enjoy!

Looking for your special piece of paradise? Your best interests are my motivation.

Whether buying or selling, please contact me for excellent service & all information. Knowledge is key.

Thank you!

July 2014, Market Analysis

The main real estate sales window on the Pacific Northwest Coast seems to have evolved into a Summer/Fall market.

This may be the case on Vancouver Island, on the Sunshine Coast, as well as on the Gulf Islands.

Secondary home/discretionary markets have a different pattern from primary residence/city markets. “By choice” regions have been slow to recover from this past six year downturn.

At this very beginning of July, the uptick does appear to be underway, although it’s not an even-handed recovery & most sales to date still remain in the entry-level residential category.

It’s essential for a seller (& their realtor) to showcase listings throughout the year, in order to attract that mainly non-local buyer profile…but the physicality timeline for this non-local potential buyer to visit an area/view properties will mainly occur in July/August/September/October….perhaps into early November, depending on Fall weather pattern.

Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island


Along with this later arrival time, to view property opportunities, we are also seeing more “interviewing of areas” first.

With the “boomer” retirement wave just starting, & a strong desire from many Canadians from other provinces to choose a coastal retirement location, it makes sense that they might vacation here a good year or two before actually moving to a specific location.

Thus, Salt Spring & the Gulf Islands & Vancouver Island are in competition with each other…the potential purchaser has to “buy” the specific locale, first, before seriously looking at a property to purchase. Why here? Why not there? Serious questions!

The Internet search engines do allow a global discovery/audience. All that potential choice of destination, though, can make decision-making slower…if one can go anywhere for a retirement or a recreational choice, then that very broad choice parameter might lead to hesitation in decision…one wants “to be sure”.

Hmmm….

Regardless of market trend, it can take one to three years to sell a specific property in any particular secondary home area. Time is always a component in the choice dance. Buyers set markets, not sellers or realtors. It’s only very recently that buyers are once again looking at the secondary home/recreational marketplaces.

The good news? Slowly slowly that secondary home/recreational marketplace is on the uptick, after that 6 year downturn. While mainly busy in residential sales of properties below 700,000, in the Gulf Islands/on Vancouver Island, the “real season” is just beginning…by October, sales should be occurring in all property segments.

Li Read Group

Li Read Group


For Salt Spring Island, the Gulf Islands, Vancouver Island? Slow but sure recovery…& eventually activity will be seen in all price points/property types.

Our market sales window has truncated down to July/August/September/October.Offers may come in later, but chances are that the viewing took place in those four intense months.

If a realtor is actively presenting a property, year-long, then a seller needs to have faith that they will deliver a buyer in the physicality timeline. The sale process is a slow one, for many reasons, in all secondary home markets.

In lieu of a monthly market update, this 2014 recovery year, I plan to let July/August take place…by mid-September, the shift should be clear, with provable statistics. Will report back in with verifiable statistics then, as opposed to reasoned projections right now. Important to let the beginning weeks of our “real market” take place. The rhythm/speed of our recovery is not yet totally clear.

Meantime, any questions, please contact me. I offer weekly driveby lists of all listed properties (not just board related options), plus weekly “solds to date” reports of all sales (not just board related options). The full information is thus always possible with me.

In September, I will report back with the total “actuality”, to that point. Meantime, it’s Summer, in the supremely beautiful Pacific Northwest Coast…enjoy!

Looking for your special piece of paradise? Your best interests are my motivation.

Whether buying or selling, please contact me for excellent service & all information. Knowledge is key.

April 2014, Market Analysis

Here we are at the beginning of April, with Spring totally visible, & with a very encouraging consistent buoyancy finally appearing in the local secondary home real estate market. At last!

Our very seasonal Gulf Islands real estate sales market now takes place between March Break & Thanksgiving Weekend. March Break was the busiest I’ve seen it in almost six years. A very good sign.

A good foretelling …

March Break usually foretells the rhythm of the summer season. Yes, it’s still mainly active in entry level residential, but the action is steady & is clearing out a lot of inventory.

At this early moment in the sales cycle, the business always takes place in that entry level residential category. In the main, single family home properties listed between 300,000 & 600,000 catch the most attention…3 bed/2 bath, with rental options. Recreational cottage properties, even waterfronts, remain quiet. These buyers usually arrive later in the season…perhaps tied to the boating season.

As we continue along our market cycle, however, I think we will find sales volume occurring in all property prices & types, including in some undeveloped land opportunities.

I’ve always thought that raw land sales mark the turn into a true sellers market. Buyers are again willing to hold land as an investment, or to develop it? Then we’ve turned a corner into sellers market territory.

I think 2014 will be the year of total recovery in the secondary home marketplace, but it may take until late October to fully understand the dynamics…right now, we’re just at the beginning of the shift into better times.

Down markets have beginnings/middles/ends…transition markets also have beginnings/middles/ends…I think we’re at the end of the beginning of a transition between a down & an up market.

In a transition, everything is there at same time: price reductions, price stability, price increases…buyer insecurity & reluctance, buyer rush to secure a safe haven investment…downward worries, upward enthusiasm. It’s all swirling around at the same time.

Nothing remains down or up; a market is a wave pattern…the slide up the wave does seem to be underway, at last, in all secondary home/discretionary areas, & globally so. Two years ago, one couldn’t give away recreational retreat properties in Greece or Spain or Portugal. Now, these markets are hopping!

The Pacific Northwest Coast (including Vancouver Island, Salt Spring Island & the other Gulf Islands) has always been the tail of the dog: last to go down & last to go up. Finally the uptick experienced in other discretionary regions has arrived here.

As this season progresses, then, we can expect to see consistent sales volume. As inventory decreases, with little new coming onstream to replace it, we will see price stability. This will segue into price increases as that good old economic axiom kicks in: the law of supply & demand drives real estate markets.

It may be that a seeking of a safe haven is the motivating force behind the interest in the Gulf Islands. The buyer profile may have changed, but the desire to own beauty, privacy, with proximity to major centres, combined with an easy apartness & a cap on growth (Islands Trust), all ensures that the Islands will always find their special & appreciative buyer.

There are many societal changes afoot, mostly as a result of the internet’s broad brush scrubbing through. The real estate industry has changed & continues to do so.

The treading water inaction in real estate sales, though, in the secondary home/rural marketplace, over the past five to six years, is over.

It will be very interesting to arrive at early November & look back at the pattern of this clearly shift year. We have just started our season & the good news is that March Break was busy! Let’s see what April & Easter Break bring….

The uptick is not uniform in occurrence, every property & area sells in its own time, but eventually all sellers will have the opportunity to sell. Buyer desire is back.

Should a seller sell? Might it make better sense to hold an Island investment, if possible? Hmmm…that’s definitely a sellers market quandary!

Buyers interested in a Salt Spring & Gulf Islands purchase are seeking the opportunity to enjoy that yesteryear lifestyle, with all the conveniences of “now”. The Trust’s zoning/bylaws to control growth, in place since 1974, mean limited inventory over time. That seems to spell protected investment.

In change, lies opportunity.

More information on current market trend & how you can benefit from it? Call me!

Your best interests are my motivation.

February 2014, Market Analysis

February, 2014. Salt Spring Island Real Estate

We live in such an interesting time! Change is its mantra.

Some early February “thoughts”:

Salt Spring Island

Salt Spring Island


Although the eraser of the Internet began to disturb existing business models around 1996, it initially seemed “business as usual”, with some small modifications, might prevail.

In those beginning moments of not really well understood change, we were all trying to get former successful options to fit into new venues. Suddenly, for example, everyone had a website…as if that was “it”.

It’s normal, though, in the early days of a serious societal shift, that the old and the new intermingle…perhaps for 20 years or so? Then the hybrid moment is over…I think that’s where we are now.

The profound nature of the shift into consumer driven outcomes, combined with continuing & dramatic technological inventions, have totally reconfigured our lives.

5 Issues Facing Salt Spring Island & The Future of The Gulf Islands

Locally, in our just slightly apart Gulf Island region, we have some serious issues facing us, in 2014:

1 Salt Spring Island is going to choose, in the November civic elections, whether to continue with the Islands Trust & CRD governance model or whether to go forward with a Gulf Islands Municipal structure.

The Trust document, in place since 1974, with its strict land use zoning/bylaws, would remain in place in a Gulf Islands municipal model.

The CRD (Capital Regional District) function would be replaced by an elected local mayor & council (the two trustees would be designated from the locally elected council).

All taxes raised on Salt Spring would remain on Salt Spring. Current grants from CRD would disappear. The other Gulf Islands would no longer benefit from monies raised on Salt Spring, a change that is bound to have implications for less populated Gulf Islands.

There will be many public meetings on this issue, during the run-up to the November elections…be informed!

The “preserve & protect” mandate, from 1974’s Trust inception, did preserve the park-like status of the Gulf Islands.

Evolving over time from summer places to retirement choices to year-round communities relying on tourism, the Islands were all seriously affected by the severe economic downturns between 2008 & 2012.

Younger families found it difficult as jobs erased (no construction if no real estate sales if no tourism…& around the wheel goes).

Aging retirees were rethinking country living…downtown city life, in a condo, with no need for a car, & close to medical options, suddenly had allure, as the aging process continued.

Demographic shifting was underway, & happening at the same time as all other changes.

If Salt Spring does vote for a Gulf Islands municipal structure, will that allow for creativity in decision making? Will it be possible to re-energize the community? Big questions! Certainly, the status quo does not seem possible in any venue, including in governance models.

Your voice is important. It’s your Island! Take part in the discussions.

2 The B.C. Ferries decision to cut service on some routes (coastal ferries, not interior ones), & to raise fares significantly, & to cut the seniors free fare for pedestrians or driver, on non-weekend days, will affect all Gulf Islands & Vancouver Island.

Tourism drives business on Vancouver Island, on the Gulf Islands, & on the Sunshine Coast…the very coastal communities that will be affected by Ferries decisions.

A tourist visits, falls in love with an area, buys a property through a realtor, & then every other business enterprise follows in activity: contractors, excavator operators, building inspectors, designers, plumbers, electricians, well drillers, soft furnishing providers, landscapers, gardening services, cleaners, restaurants, marine facilities, golf courses, service clubs, fitness gyms, hospitality options…you name it, if it’s an item or a service being provided to a consumer, then the process in any secondary home region initially had its start with tourism. No different on our coastal region!

On the coast, Ferries had (until recently) been considered as part of the B.C. Highways system. They were not meant to be cruise ships. After the economic collapses of late 2008, the tourism industry also suffered a downturn. One can see that lower ridership for 4 to 5 years, due to reduced tourist activity in the severe downturn, would result in shortfalls at B.C. Ferries. 2013 saw a renewal in tourism in most coastal communities. Perhaps the natural swings of market conditions should be allowed to re-create growth?

The Chambers, for all the coastal communities, are getting together to lobby the provincial government to hold off on proposed changes to Ferries scheduling & fares for 2014…& to have workable solutions in place by 2015. All parties recognize the need for change.

Although affected less adversely, as it has 3 ferries & 3 different routes, Salt Spring is joining with all coastal communities (Vancouver Island & Sunshine Coast, plus Haida Gwaii & northern coast, & all other Gulf Islands) in working for a pro-community & pro-tourism outcome. Stay tuned…get involved!

3 The local weekly newspaper on Salt Spring has been printing a real estate supplement, in some form or another, for my entire career (since 1989!). A couple of years ago, some realtors lobbied the paper to drop the monthly presence to seven issues. This reflected the lack of sales activity during the downturn & the continuing high costs of print advertising. Now, the same realtors would like it reduced to 4 (possibly 5) issues. This is certainly all a result of the suppression in real estate sales between 2008 & 2013.

Real estate is totally about the rhythm of “now”. It’s definitely driven by immediate & current information. A supplement that right now (7 issues) remains in place from mid-November to end of February, & then again from end of February to end of May, is already meaningless. To go to 4 or 5 issues is the description of a tourist brochure, not a real estate catalogue.

If the Driftwood paper has relied on realtor ads, to date, as the largest advertising segment, what outcome will result if there is a further reduction in numbers of supplements?

Certainly, we all accept that almost 100% of real estate searches start on the Internet…however, it can take a good 2 years before such casual searching solidifies into a decision to buy. Is print, at the community level, still helpful in creating a local presence?

In a discretionary area, it can take much longer than a 2 year timeline to choose a specific community…a lot of window-shopping & region interviewing goes on before that specific decision is made (often decided in 4 weeks, after that slow 2 to 5 year identifying search).

If the real estate print supplement disappears, no longer a current marketing medium, then what will happen to the weekly community paper? Will jobs be lost…staff perhaps leaving the island…another example of changed business models and the need to be where the consumer is? Outcomes, outcomes….

4 Many storefronts throughout Vancouver Island & Gulf Islands & Sunshine Coast have disappeared from their retail locations. Absence at streetside or in a mall does not necessarily mean a business has gone under…it might mean the owner chose to go online as soon as the lease on the physical space was over. What does this portend for real estate investment in commercial plazas? Small shopping centres? Rental income from storefront tenants may no longer be a landlord’s guaranteed investment outcome?

5 We’re hearing a lot about 3-D printers right now. Manufacturing, storage facilities, shipping of products, handling of same…these are business segments that will all change & possibly disappear.

Good outcomes are being reported: a design for a prosthetic limb for a child wounded by an unexploded bomb in an African field is emailed & a 3-D on site printer creates the item for the specific need. Along with this humanitarian outcome, there are other aspects to the demise of manufacturing & supply opportunities.

If those who lose the old jobs have no other option, does that mean the age of jobs is truly over?

It’s being projected that within two years most people will have affordable access to this 3-D technology.

So many more things are being invented, constantly, daily, all capturing the real gift of the Internet…the ability of a consumer to achieve an individual need, in a cost effective way, without the need for a middle segment handler.

This innovation is a good sign, I believe, and this spirit of discovery could benefit any region. Change can come from anywhere, post-Internet. You might have the answer….

Hmmm…what does all this shifting mean for real estate sales? Particularly in the secondary home/discretionary regions?

I think the perception that Ferries are too expensive may harm business success in all coastal communities. I do think tourism is the igniting engine of a discretionary region’s community growth.

Perception can be taken as reality in this instant Internet age. A bad impression of Ferries travel may be difficult to recover from. Get involved with the coastal ferries communities initiatives.

An aging population on the Gulf Islands, with the lack of opportunities for younger families, means a potentially less vibrant lifestyle on the Islands.

The final outcome of the 1974 Trust document, without any change to the mandate, may end up being the creation of enclave areas, where seasonal global owners either bring their own with them or are serviced by off-island centres. That means a ferry connection or perhaps even a bridge.

Hmmm…in preserving the park & ignoring people outcomes, over the many years between 1974 & now, is this the law of unintended consequences at work?

On Salt Spring, pay attention to the public meeting debates pre-civic election: stay the same or do a Gulf Islands municipal structure of government? Choice, choice, choice….

Real estate sales numbers and values of properties are directly impacted by outcomes. Why move to Salt Spring? (or Galiano, Mayne, Pender, Thetis, Gabriola, Denman, Hornby, Quadra, Cortes?…or even to Tofino/Uclulet, to Parksville/Qualicum, to Courtenay/Comox, to the Cowichan Valley?). An important question.

Right now action? Join the local Chamber, if you’re on Salt Spring. If you offer an item or a service for sale, then you’re in business.

At the moment, the Chamber is the only voice on the Island to be able, legitimately, to lobby the provincial government, on behalf of the community’s business interests.

Advocacy, information, support, education…important options offered by your Chamber, a non-profit, working for your best interests. Get involved!

A thoughtful & caring population can figure out solutions to issues that are suddenly everywhere…it’s about fitting into the true script of the 21st Century. Technology is just the expediter of a mind’s solution. The first step? Get involved.

2014 may be the year of recovery in the secondary home/discretionary regions, and globally so. It’s not an even-handed recovery pattern…faster in some areas & slower in others.

For real estate seekers, I think the interviewing an area moment will precede any purchase. Each area is in competition with another. Why you? Why here? Why not there? Important to have an answer! Sellers need to visualize the buyer point of view more intensely than ever.

A community’s health is dependent on the intangible of the desire to live there. Hmmm….

In change lies opportunity. Let’s not forget that!

Salt Spring Island & the Southern Gulf Islands offer beauty, a temperate climate, the ability to be self-sustaining, with a thoughtful & environmentally aware resident population. The Islands are in the heart of the best protected boating waters in the world. They are close to major centres & yet offer that safe haven “apartness”…definitely a recipe for an enjoyable & year-round lifestyle.

Property prices have reduced, over the 5 year downturn, between 29% & 45%, depending on your start date for the flattening of action. A soft uptick in sales volume in 2012/13, in the entry-level residential segment, has meant a diminished inventory. A rise in consumer confidence has created renewed buyer interest in a second home/recreational purchase.

If 2014 is the year of the discretionary real estate market recovery, then right now is the optimum time to finally be a buyer. Low asking prices, low interest rates, good inventory choices, & motivated sellers. I call that the tail-end of the buyers market of the past 5 to 6 years.