We’ve been extremely busy over the past little while at our little company….Not only did we recently move days after I had surgery but one of our agents went on a family reunion tour of Norway. Ufta. Another one just decided to head out and celebrate her wedding anniversary which leaves me a little in the lurch. Thankfully Sara’s just back from visiting her mom and dad in Ontario to help out before I become a complete basket case. Just in the nick of time! Oh well its not like its going to cause any hair loss.
Some thoughts on what is going on with Edmonton real estate:
- While its too early to call June sales should be slightly up or the same as last month, and the month before that, and the month before that. We’ll see what July’s like but if early indications are correct it should be just the same as the past 3 months.
- A recent supreme court case regarding an agenty’s duty during an open house makes me wonder if sellers are going to start requesting that their REALTOR has General Liability coverage? While Errors and omissions insurance is mandatory, GL is not. I wouldn’t recommend an inspector who’s not covered by worker’s compesation or have E&O, I think it will get to the point that it’s a must.
- On another note we recently attended a meeting for our franchise. It is fairly large in the U.S. with over 118,000 agents and over 142,000 world wide. A Sr. exec from the master franchise spoke about the issues that Real Estate companies are facing with the states. It’s interesting to hear the inside scoop from their perspective. In a nutshell there are a number of markets in serious trouble and a number of them are doing very well. We just are hearing more about the markets that aren’t doing well. Their expectation is for a turn around sometime in 2009, whatever that means. It does remind me of the September "Prices plunge" article in the Journal when the average price slipped 1% but in December when the average went up 1.4% that article was buried in page 4 of the business section
- I also here alot of talk that now isn’t a good time to buy a home – so is it better to buy when inventory is low and competition for properties is extreme? Granted many have said that right now is not a good time to buy because of high inventory and the potential for falling prices which may indeed be a valid arguement. So when is a good time to buy? It totally depends on the buyer and their circumstances of course. If you are buying though you may have to gag chicken little.
The best time for you to buy is when the sellers are most willing to take action in reducing thier prices. Unless of course they know something you don’t.