Starting to see the Vancouver condo market get stronger by each passing week. We are now in a strong Sellers Market with the active sales to listing ratio well over 30 (over 20 is a sellers market). Inventory is at or near record lows and far more buyers than sellers, thus most quality homes are getting into multiple offers and selling above asking price. I see this market continuing to stay strong thru the Summer with prices continuing to rise in the coming months.

Just finished reading a fantastic new book entitled "The Psychology of Money" by Morgan Housel. I highly recommend that my viewers read this book. It’s a simple easy to understand book on the best way for people to achieve financial success and that’s to simply buy and hold quality assets and avoid the temptation to try and time markets and become a trader.

Realtors represent both buyers and sellers. Most of my business in on the listing and marketing side of the sale. However, I do work with plenty of buyers each year. On the buying side I’m generally going after high quality homes and condos. Viewers often ask me that being a listing specialist I must list and sell challenging or hard to sell homes and everything I sell can’t be the best. Yes they are right.. I sell everything including homes that are less than perfect or hard to sell. It’s what makes my job interesting. Keep in mind there really is not a perfect home. Even a $4 million condo will have a few features the buyer wished were different. Same thing with less than desirable homes - there are always positives that can be acc ...

As expected the strata market in Vancouver including downtown condos has heated up and is now in a strong sellers' market. Of the 3 listings and sales I had last week all 3 went into multiple offers and sold over asking price. 2 of the sales were with subject free offers. Limited inventory and far more buyers than seller, are pushing prices up on a month over month basis. Most of my high quality 1 bedroom sales are now setting new record high selling prices. I see this continuing well into the Spring and Summer 2021.

Time for my annual video on the biggest mistake I continue to see sellers make and that’s selling a home with a tenant living in it. Most seem to be unaware of the $10’s of $Thousands that they are leaving on the table in their final selling price, or the legal risks they are taking. I also talk about the potential reduction in quality rental units available in Vancouver and how this is going to cause rental rates to keep climbing.

A few years ago, I read about a study conducted by Fidelity on its client brokerage accounts. The study tried to identify the best performing investors at the brokerage, by reviewing account returns. They came to a stark discovery – the best investors were either dead or had forgotten to log on to their accounts for a long period of time. It really pounds home the power of buying quality assets, whether that be equities or high quality Vancouver Real estate, and then just sit on your hands and leave it to compound and grow. In this blog I also talk about the high friction costs of buying Real Estate and how they kill your returns if you're actively buying and selling.

So far in 2021 there are far more buyers than there are sellers. Inventory remains low and we are in a strong sellers market for all home types including condos. Most quality detached homes are receiving multiple offers (bidding wars) and I’m now starting to see this move into the condo market. For the week of Jan 18th -24th I had 4 condo sales on the listing side. 3 of the 4 went into multiple offers and all 3 sold over asking price.

I have often discussed the steps or roadmap to financial security. In my opinion it should be buying your principal residence first. Second would be to start maxing out your RRSP and TFSA. The 3rd and final step would be to buy an investment property. As always if you want to guarantee fantastic returns simply buy & hold to minimize your friction or trading costs (taxes, commissions, trading fees).

Because of the Covid restrictions on showing homes and public open houses not allowed, I’m seeing a huge increase in buyers who are not currently working with a Realtor or what we call 'Unrepresented Parties'. Even before you hire a Realtor you need to get pre-approved for the mortgage. This is always the first step. Finally I talk about the friction costs involved in buying and selling Real Estate and the advantages of buying and holding for at least 8-10 years.

I’m glad to see a slew of new investing books that just came out that are going back to a buy & hold approach with investing. Keep your trading and commission fees low and let the 8th Wonder Of The World - compounding, do all the heavy lifting.