There was a good article written by Barbara Yaffe in the Vancouver Sun, outlining one of the reasons behind the current shortage in home listings.
She writes “Observers agree that the fear of selling one’s home and not being able to find another property is part of the story behind a low inventory of real estate listings, both in Vancouver and Toronto. The situation is handicapping buyers and sending prices skyward.”
And, later in the article, “if they want to buy something else in their neighbourhood, they are likely to face that scourge of the real estate industry, the bidding war.”
This is a situation that LynnValleyLife-sponsoring realtors Jim Lanctot and Kelly Gardiner are well familiar with.
“We have recognized that this is a major problem in our neighbourhood, so we’ve come up with an approach that supports both buyers and sellers and is based on our very deep list of local contacts,” said Jim in a recent interview.
Jim and Kelly have a current list of people who are outgrowing their homes or looking for a change. “We call these people the ‘We would move if we could’ group,” he says.
When they find a match between one of those homeowners and a potential purchaser hoping to buy in Lynn Valley, they write a contract that includes a subject to alleviate the very fears Yaffe discusses in her article.
“The contract says that if they can’t find a suitable home at the right price, they don’t need to sell their home to the Buyer, but if they can find a home the Buyer will purchase the home for the already agreed-upon price.”
After signing the contract, both groups actively look for suitable homes. If the Buyers find a different home before the “I would move if I could” party, they can provide notice and cancel the contract, allowing them to continue the traditional method of buying.
There’s a great deal at stake when buying or selling one’s home at any time, and in a market like this one fear can be a very active factor in the equation. Jim and Kelly are glad to see that their approach is giving peace of mind to all the participants in the process, so that their clients can spend their emotional energies on the pleasant aspects of new home ownership – like finally having a front door or bike locker of one’s own, painting the kitchen a long-pined-for colour, or meeting the new neighbours!
Please contact Lynn Valley Oakwyn Realty agents Jim or Kelly if you’d like to learn more about selling or buying property in Lynn Valley, and ask those “what if…?” questions specific to your own situation. Or just pop into the LynnValleyLife office at 3171 Mountain Highway on your next trip by. They’re happy to help!