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Hi,

As our province begins to reopen and people are finding their way in this new normal, we are seeing business start to ramp up again. We are incredibly grateful to be out and about doing what we love. Although this new way of business might look a little bit different, we are still smiling under our masks! 

A lot of the people who had expressed to us that they were waiting to see what this pandemic would bring before listing are starting to get their homes on the market, and we are seeing a promising amount of traffic through the homes with favorable offers coming in. 

If you are concerned about having traffic through your home or walking through a strangers home, here are some of our new procedures we have put into place to keep everyone safe:
  • We can provide masks for all parties while viewing a potential home and ask that any Buyers Agents bringing clients through your home do the same
  • Any viewings will require that only the Agent touch surfaces (open doors, light switches, cabinets ect.) and use a disinfectant wipe to clean all touched surfaces upon exit.
  • Hand Sanitizer can be provided if required
  •  We will limit the amount of people during any showings to only those that need to be present on first showings, if further interest still, second showings can be booked for any additional family members.
  • We offer virtual showings and open houses! We can either live stream to social media and do a video walk through for everyone or we can facetime and walk through for a one on one showing.
  • We ask clients to do a drive by of the home whenever possible to ensure they like the area and "first impression" of the home. 

For an idea of the effect COVID-19 has had on our showing traffic for the month of May we have a comparison of the showings request for all of our Vancouver Island Board area:
 
  • In May 2019 there were 21,353 showing requests while May 2020 seen almost a 50% decrease in traffic at 11,699 showing requests.
  • The showings seem to pick up as the month went on, the first week in May 2020 seen 1939 showing requests and the last week of May had 3270.

Now lets get into the full market stats for the Nanaimo area:

Total Unit Sales
  • There were 137 total units sold this May in the Nanaimo area, which is down only 31% from this time last year.
  • There were 950 active listings this May, compared with 999 this period last year, so the inventory hasn't been affected too much.
  • There were 322 new properties listed in May this year which is a 31% decrease from the 468 listed last May.
  • The average days to sell is sitting at 32 days, which is up from the 29 days we were at last May.
*Note, these totals include ALL Real Estate divisions including IC&I*
 

Single Family Homes
  • The average sale price of a Single Family home in May has gone down 2%, its currently sitting at $578,514
  • May saw 310 active Single Family Home listings while this time last year had 382.
  • Average days to sell this May was 26 days, which up slightly from the 24 days we were sitting at last May. 
  • There were 70 sales reported for May this year in this category which is down almost 50% from the 136 last May.
 
Apartment Style Condos
  • Condo prices are virtually unchanged with the average sale price for May 2020 sitting at $291,620, only a $20 difference from last May's average price.
  • May of this year saw 154 active condo listings which is up substantially from the 87 we had this time last year. 
  • Days on market is sitting at 46 days for May of 2020 which is up substantially from the 21 days average for last May.  
  • There were 23 reported sales for May of this year in this category, comparable to the 29 reported sales last May.
 
Vacant Lots
  • The average sale price of a vacant lot is up 9% from this time last year. It’s currently sitting at $295,000.
  • This time last year there were 130 active lot listings, there is slightly less choice this year with that number sitting at 100.
  • The average days to sell a Lot for this time last year was 32 days. This May that number is down to 32 days.
  • There was only 1 reported sale for May of this year in this category.

 
Average Sale Info by Neighbourhoods
  • The highest average sale price was $720,000 in the Lower Lantzville area
  • The lowest average sale price is $397,333 in the Old City area.
  • North Nanaimo saw the most sales again, in May with 13 sales.
  • Brechin Hill was the only neighborhood that did not have any reported sales for May 2020.

As always, if you want to know what this means for you or there is something we can help you out with please call us at any time! We always love to hear from you!

We look forward to talking soon
...
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By now we are all aware of the severity of COVID-19 and most of the details surrounding it so we won't get too far into that but what we do find people are still asking us is what this all means for the Real Estate market here in Nanaimo. During our last RLP video conference meeting one of our speakers said something that resonated with me. When asked about the future of the market when we get back to work he simply said "I am not going to try and predict the future because people smarter than I am, are going to get it wrong". Now the reason that stuck with me is that no matter how much experience you have in this industry, no one has ever gone through this before or seen what is on the other side. 

What I do want to look at is some information and stats about what has happened over the past month and let you make your own decisions. 
  • Our Royal LePage Website has gotten over 90,000 impressions in the past month. To me, that means people are still looking and preparing for when...
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January Market Stats

Nanaimo Area


Total Unit Sales

  • There were 124 total units sold this January in the Nanaimo area, which is down 5% from this time last year.
  • There were 767 active listings this January, compared with 760 this period last year.
  • There were 270 new properties listed in January this year which is a 8% drop from the 294 listed last January.
  • The average days to sell is sitting at 41 days, which is down significantly from the 54 days we were at last January.

*Note, these totals include ALL Real Estate divisions including IC&I*


Single Family Homes

  • The average sale price of a Single Family home in January 2020 has gone up 11%, its currently sitting at 603,720
  • January 2020 saw 215 active Single Family Home listings while this time last year had 266.
  • Average days to sell this January was 46 days, which isn’t a huge change from the 43 days we were sitting at last January.
  • There were 43 sales reported for January this year in this category. 


Apartment Style Condos...

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Effectively Pricing a Home
What factors contribute to pricing a home?

The main factor in pricing a home is the state of the current market. Now this can change from month to month which is why it is so important to get a Real Estate Professional in to give you the most up to date advice!

The next major thing to consider is the location. Are you in a sought after neighbourhood? Is there any good schools nearby? Are the homes on your street all single family homes, new builds, older homes or maybe multi family units? Tell us what brought you to this particular neighbourhood so we can use that to draw in the next buyer!

Then we look at the home itself. When was it built? Have you done any updates? How big is the home? What amenities does it have? How big is the lot?

Pricing a home is the single most important part of getting it sold. If a home is over priced it can end up sitting on the market too long and deter people from even looking, where as a sharply priced home can attract multiple offers and potentially sell for...
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Is Strata Life for You?

To Strata or not to Strata… Have you ever wondered if it’s the right fit for you?

Buying a home can be a confusing process, with so many options to choose from, its hard to know what is going to be a good fit for you. One of the first things you will need to decide on is whether you are looking for a freehold or strata property. There are a few key points to consider when making this choice.

  1. How much control do you want? Strata’s are run by a Board of Directors and governed by a long list of Bylaws. These bylaws control the use of the property (among other things) including inside your own home like pets, rentals, smoking and what is allowed on your exterior walls and windows.
  2. Maintenance: The common areas (lawns, hallways, safety systems etc.) of Strata properties are maintained by contractors and generally do not require much upkeep from the owners.
  3. Easily budgeted for: Each Strata will have monthly strata fees for each unit to pay. This is a set amount that will usually...
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David Hitchcock

Dave (250) 755-9629

davidhitchcock@royallepage.ca

4200 Island Hwy N

Nanaimo, BC, CA

V9T 1W6

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