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Good afternoon Bob and thanks for joining us.
You're very welcome.
So Bob I understand that you are the managing broker for RE/MAX ProGroup with two offices
in Tsawwassen and Ladner.
That's correct.
So you've got full market coverage. So how many Realtors do you have? We have thirty-two
Realtors working out of both our offices and the year end statistics for 2013 and we RE/MAX
ProGroup accounts for 47% of all the transactions so double.
So we're here to talk about what's happened in 2013. What you saw were some of the big
surprises. So maybe if you could share some of that information with us.
Yeah 2013 was a continuation of the last part of 2012 where we had an actual correction
downwards of pricing. It's a cycle we go through the market every 5 to 7 years. The biggest
surprise in 2013 was the almost nonexistence of the spring market. Traditionally spring
time is a busier time. We found in 2013 data that there were more transactions in summer
June, July and August. Rather than the traditional February, March, April period. So there was
a shift there a little bit. A number of homes that were sold in our South Delta market by
all real estate companies in this segment is almost the same. It was down about 2.8%
from 2012 to 2013. So the volumes were there, the prices were stable, but different months
were busier than they traditionally have been.
Wow so little less time off in the summer time. Now with that mind, with the market
being a little bit down from 2012. How do you see sales forecasting in 2014.
We anticipate volumes to be higher in 2014. Well first of all, we've had almost 4 weeks
of activity and I can tell you the first 4 weeks of 2014 has been outstandingly busy.
For the first time in a long time we'd had homes that have had competing offers on it.
Which may be popular in other parts of the Lower Mainland. But it's pretty rare here.
Lots of inventory coming on, lots of buyers coming in through the tunnel. So we're anticipating
sales to be up as far as number of transactions. I don't know if that will translate to higher
pricing. But I think volumes are going to be good.
So it sounds like there are some good opportunities for both buyers and sellers. And prices will
be competitive.
Yeah I think that the end of the 2012 and continued 2013 was the correction downwards
if you will. I think we've already bottomed out on that. And I think we're starting to
see the increase in not only the volumes. The pricing is coming up a little bit depending
on sites. Condos are different from single family homes. The other thing that will happen
in sales out here, which is not something we often see in the Ladner/Tsawwassen market
is the exist of new construction and new projects. So we have four entities that are really going
to dramatically effect the business we do out here. We have our Tsawwassen Gold Springs
project which is at the Tsawwassen Golf Club. There are a combination of single family homes
on the Golf Course and condos surrounding that development. In addition to that we have
Tsawwassen Shores. Which is the First Nations project. They are building almost 3000 units
down there. And that is just a huge influx of property here. Our southlands farmland
has been controversial for almost 10 years. It's finally approved. Corporation of Delta
has finally approved 900 units there. We probably won't see those coming on for 2 to 4 years
or so. And then the announcement that they're going to be a bridge replacing the tunnel.
I think that is going to make access to this South Delta market a lot better and we're
already seeing an influx of people coming down here to have a look at what's out here.
Fantastic. And so with these new communities popping up and the new developments that are
now starting to launch. What types of products are you seeing that are hot and what communities
might be the hot areas.
Well demographics have to be taken into account. And the babyboomers like us or me are aging.
And that means mobility is an issue and stairs are an issue. So the demand for sprawling
ranchers or townhomes or homes that have master bedroom on the main floor is very important.
We're seeing trends where we have people moving out of big family homes that are 3500 sqft.
Downsizing to a 2000 sqft. rancher and the cost of that small rancher home is more expensive
than the Tudor style because of the severe demand for that type of product. There's not
enough of them, there's not enough land to develop them in. So generally our product
here is older in nature. So people are looking for that sprawling rancher setting which they
really like and there's not enough of them so those prices are going right through the
roof. Which is good.
Well that's quite interesting. It's a bit different from what we've seen where they
are looking something with a basement suite or something for their children to expand
into.
Yeah I would say 60 - 65% development of the Ladner/Tsawwassen centers were probably 40-50yrs
ago. And the architectural styles homes from that era are the typical two level box style
home. Which can be converted to a suite opportunity on the main level with the primary living
space upstairs. We still have young families looking to get in on the single family housing
market moving up from a condo or a townhouse. They want that piece of dirt that's the most
affordable for them to get in because they have a mortgage helper which allows them to
carry the debt load that they have and then pay that debt back faster too. You get stability
in mortgage rates. Somebody said to be the other day it's cheap to get in debt. Well
that's okay. But there's opportunities to lock those lower rates in for longer periods
of time. The other thing we're seeing too is that we're starting to see different cultures
in our market. A lot more Asians and East Indians coming out to South Delta. And I think
that the value that we have here are pretty good. They're seeing that it's a safe place
to live and to invest in. They see it as a competitive pricing opportunity. They like
the ruralness or small town feelings of the villages of Ladner and Tsawwassen. So they're
excited about that. It brings up an important point about they should be using the expertise
a local real estate agent can offer. I don't go out and sell homes to Port Coquitlam because
I don't know what's going on there. And it's really important for people who are thinking
of looking at certain towns or areas that they deal and facilitate themselves with a
local real estate agent professional that can help them with what's happening with the
developments and what the opportunities are. Gee it's a nice house, there's a shopping
mall next door, And the only way you're going to know that is to deal with a local real
estate agent.