How are you coping with the rising cost of food, gas and housing? In Coquitlam, buyers are pulling out of major home purchases unless they can strike a deal.
Over the past few months, Coquitlam real estate agent Daniel Yang had an almost surefire way to get the best selling price for his clients’ homes.
He was at the bottom of the market, accompanied dozens of people to open houses and helped his client sell the condo or single-family home at the best price after several offers.
“Some real estate agents don’t like it. What I’m doing is within the scope of what’s allowed,” Yang commented.
This strategy worked well for several months during the COVID-19 pandemic and last spring, including a memorable sale of $500,000 more when buyers lined the streets for a home listed for less than $1 million. dollars in Coquitlam.
Now it doesn’t work at all.
Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine – an early indicator of potential danger – Yang is a notorious good source when it comes to the vagaries of the Coquitlam real estate market.
He says buyers pulled out of the winter buying spree in March, shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine and interest rates and gas prices started to rise.
Buyers are now more cautious, according to Yang, and are reducing their offers. Instead of offering more than the listing price, they offer less, sometimes even much less.
Slowdown in the Coquitlam real estate market
Two homes he listed in east Coquitlam show how much the market has changed in just a few weeks.
Documents show that a home that had previously been a grow operation sold for nearly $23,000 in mid-March for $2.01 million, while another on the same street listed in May did not. did not generate substantial offers.
The second house had a view and a remodeled kitchen on a much larger lot, plus two rental suites generating $3,000 a month.
However, it was difficult to obtain an offer as high as that of the old cultivation house.
Yang said he tried his strategy by listing the property for $1.688 million. There were a few offers, but none came close to the $2.29 million the homeowner expected after asking that the listed price be increased to reflect the home’s comparative value.
The house has since been taken off the market, Yang said.
“She decided that, you know, she would wait and probably keep it for a few more years and wait for the market to come back.”
Although the downturn in the real estate market is not affecting luxury properties, such as a nearly $9 million listing in Anmore, some are advising people not to buy or sell unless they have to, as further interest rate hikes are expected.
Yang said the market downturn prompted him to take a break this summer.
But he will still advise clients, as needed, as he keeps an eye on real estate market conditions in Coquitlam and the Lower Mainland.
“I’m in the river every day,” Yang said, “I feel the change.”
