A Special Inside Report from the desk of Ian Heath
When the time came recently to reflect upon our last year of sales, Marilyn and I both smiled. Given the state of the national economy, we have had a surprisingly productive and successful year, exceeding last year’s sales in dollar volume by approximately 15%. We are all reading the real estate “soothsayers” predictions these days regarding the future of property values. Yes, the pundits
proclaim that we are in for a very bumpy ride indeed, because of the global economy. And, yes, prices are under significant pressure. However, Canada, and particularly BC, remains largely economically unscathed when compared to many other western countries. BC is blessed with having only 43% of its exports going to the USA, compared to Alberta’s 87%. Provincial
government policy has successfully paved the way for BC industry to boost exports to the Pacific Rim. The net result is that there are more exports to the Rim than to the USA, creating a more
diverse export economy for BC.
This affects the housing market in many ways, not the least of which is the flow of buyers, especially from other countries. This, in itself, creates a huge potential boost to the market. More exports to a wider group of countries means more people from those countries are visiting BC. And who isn’t amazed and enchanted by our beautiful environment and low population? The moral of the story is that it is vitally important for us all to have business friendly political leadership, insightful people who see the need to encourage exports of our bountiful natural resources to world markets, particularly those world markets which have growing industrial manufacturing economies.
On our part, we are, through our acclaimed web site and diverse supply of exceptional listings, achieving a more global marketing presence and penetration. As a matter of course, we now provide
our sellers with Google Analytics, which is truly a barometer of the level of property interest. Sellers can see the number of people looking at a listed property, and the country, and specific location in which they live. At the time of writing we were, with our delightful clients, Pastor John and his wife Lynn, reviewing our progress. We were intrigued to see people viewing their home from Beijing, Tai’an and Nanning in China. Other countries included the UK, Norway, Germany, Turks and Caicos Islands, Hungary, Indonesia, Singapore, Sierra Leone and the USA. Our market is indeed exposed globally. The more BC and Canada export to these countries, the more awareness and interest will grow for our real estate.
True, the market is slower these days, and buyers more circumspect, but achieving global reach will bring increased desire to purchase properties here. As such, time frames are longer for selling, and price adjustment needs decreased, to attract an interested buyer. It can take up to a year or more for a buyer in China to make the decision to visit and commit to a purchase. We believe that our sales
will continue to boom, albeit for the time being, at keener prices. Marilyn and I would like to sincerely thank our clients for their support in what we believe is one the best real estate marketing programmes in our region. Behind us is a marvelous professional team. We would like to acknowledge and convey our sincere thanks to one and all. Professor Eric Johnson is our copy writer. The photographic team includes John, Heath and Josh. Floor plans are created by Matt, and are now available in 3D. Natalie is our web site manager. Jules provides our creative marketing
support. Courtenay is our licensed assistant.
We wish you all a very Happy Christmas, and a happy and healthy New
Year. Again, sincere thanks for your continued support, and your patience
with a challenging market.
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