76 - friday, Augusi 29, 1986 - North Shore News Real Estate atch housing market rat ANYONE familiar with economics can tell you that rising prices usually mean that demand is greater than supply. A fall in prices means the opposite. Supply exceeds demands. But not necessarily in real estate. {n 1985, for example, we had strong markets, yet prices moved up only about five per cent. And when the supply of houses for sale is greater than demand, house prices don’t necessarily fall. What happens is that most sellers refuse to take a price less than what they paid for their house. More houses sit on the market and the vol- ume of real estate sales drops quite dramatically. A far better barometer of rea] estate activity is to ex- amine the sale-to-listing tatio, along with various stock versus flow models, the average homeowner need only be concerned with the trend. Regardless of how it is calculated, there is a number that represents a ‘buyer's’ market, a ‘seller's’ market and a ‘normal’ market. NEWS photo Tom Burley CONSTRUCTION WORKER Bill Neff nails down the sub-roof on a custom-built home in Deep Cove. With a plentitude of similar seaside views, the Deep Cove area is one of the North Shore's prime real estate locations. VIEW LOT ALMOST WATERFRONT — 4180-B Rose Crescent West Van — $219,000. ~ Driveway ready for . paving - COMING SOON! — Sinclair Avenue, West Van — 45 Acre — 4 bdrm, den, family rm — $299,000 In the past, a sales-to- listing ratio of 1/3 indicated a normal market, and anything over 40 per cent was considered a seller’s market. That's where we are in most markets today. So whether you are a buyer or a seller, ask your sales person about the sales- to-listing ratio in your mar- ket. Then find out whether Mortgage THE “VENDOR Take Back"’ is the most popular method used by homeowners to combat high interest rates when selling their home. But bs tar the casiest method for a bomeow ner to provide attractive financing is (nrough @ mortgage dis count. A mortgage discount ts simply a prepayment by the owner or seiler of a certain amount of interest on the mortyage. The result is to reduce the effective interest rate, and hence the monthly mortgage payment to the buyer. The chance to buy a simi- lar house with a lower mon- thly mortgage payment nat- urally improves the chances of a sale when there are fewer buyers or when buyers can not afford the higher in- terest rates in today's mar- ket. Some builders are already $249,000 QS this is normal or not. And finally, find out what it was three months ago and a year ago. The more information you possess, the better off you are in the market. And believe it or not, sales people would rather work with more knowledgeable buyers and sellers. News Canada matters doing this by offering new homes with financing three tu four per cent below cur- rent mortgage rates. And homeowners with a house tor sale must follow, if they want to compete, Abo peopic who own their frome outright or with a smoall first omortgaee may oh @ Qew mor discount. it spline a ven Noriydye. sing example demonstrates SHUGHON, One house Ine a $50,000 niorigage at 14 per cent and a menthiy mortgage pay- ment of $887 AO similar house with a $20,000 mor- tgage at Ji per cent has payments of S481, Paying down the mortgage may well be the cheaper op- tion, So just ask an experi- enced real estate salesperson to make the calculations. News Canada Phe fol - 1357 Jefferson — New, 3 bdrm ~ Family rm MOVE UP TO AMBLESIDE $256,000 — 1373 Jeerson ~ 4 bdrm - 2 fireplaces sey