Friday, October 29, 1999 — North Shore News - 59 s COS OS SOHOEST ASTECISHSSESEHOHSHHSTIOCHSHHSHSSHEHSTSHSHOTHOHESHSHGOHROHSHSHOAGHOHSSHOHCHOSHOHSOHSHSTOEHSSCOHSSOSESHEHEEHOHESS Seti ONE question people often ask of realtors is “How long does it take to sella house?” The answer they will probably get is “It depends on the market and how the house is priced.” While this is unquestionably true, we do have some data Gom the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board en how long it cypically takes to sell a home. The problem is, while the ‘data are detailed and informative, ‘they a: also somewhat complex and : ne interpretadion to rscand exactly what is going on. “give ita try. he accompanying table shows the median number of days on the market for homes that were sold this year, andi also for those that are cur- rently listed but unsold. ’~ The first nvo columns in the » table are’ pretty straighttorward. ‘Column one shows that for the North Shore -.ctached category, for example, the median number of days on the market for homes that seld ftom the original price was 22. This... doesn’t scan that the Eomes sold at. “the ongis.al asking pri means tiy¥c: ther ad be tion to the original listing price “before they were sold. The'sameé figures for che other ; housing seBoris range from 41 With Original Price Sold days tor North Van attached to 51 days for West Van apart- ments. The much Jowes number for North Van detached honies is reftective of the fact that this market has had pret- ty strong demand all year combined with tight supply. As a result homes have been selling quickly. The other markets have also had healthy demand but with lots of supply. Therefore it has taken longer to sell these homes. The second column gives the median number of days on the mar- ket for listings that were active as of the middle of October and were still at their original asking price. These numbers range from 57 days for North Van attached homes to 107 days for West Van attached homes. The third and fourth columns require a bit more explanation. These are for homes that have had at feast one price change since they were listed and the figures represent the number of days on the market since the price change. This is the way the Real Estate Board keeps the figures and we can’t tell how long these homes were on the. market before the price was changed. However I had’a look at a number of properties that had had price reductions before they sold and the median number of days that they were or the market before the last price change was around 60. Asiive Sold With Price Change Active fg a selling price requ Therefore you could add about 60 days to the figures in columns three and tour to get an estimate of how tong these homes were on the mar- ket. I don’t know if you are still with me on this. If you find these num- bers confusing or frustrating, as I did at first, I would suggest that you just concentrate on the first column. What it tells you is that if you price your house proper then you can probably scll it in about three weeks ifit is a North Van detached home and in six or seven weeks if it falls into one of the other housing cate- gories. The other colunmns really serve as a warning that if you price your home too high it is probably going to be on the market for a while. Another related statistic provided by the Board is that between 60% and 70% of the homes that are sold, sell from the original price. In other words the majonty of people who manage to sell their home do so because they set a realistic price when they first put it on the market. The other 30% or 40% of them don’t, and they have to go through the price reductions and the long waiting period before their house sells. Of course these percentages only apply to those thar manage to sell their homes. There are all the others who list but don’t sell, usually because they refuse to ask a price that buyers will pay. Price isn’t the only variable that sells 2 house but I think most people would agree that it is the most important one and it is also the one that the vendor has the most control over. So if you are planning to sell, make sure you get good information on the prices of -borh active listings and recently sold homes that are similar to vours. Also try to get some intelli- gence on which way the market is heading. Armed with this knowledge, you should be able to set a real- istic price on vour home so that it will sell within a rea- AT A GLANCE eeeovercccaccecccercevenenae ADDRESS: 2157 Hill Driva sonable period of time. — Trent Appelbe is a real estate agent and an economist with Re/Max no apenas eh hate ires real Crest Realty. He can be reached at 988-4797 or by e-mail via bis Web site at . EVEN with the onset of fall, new home construction continue on the North Shore. This. framing crow West Vancouver recently. Pre rr errerir rrr rririiiririrr iri rr LOT SIZE: 64° x 112° FORD CSO OE FET ROLET OTERO OED OROORODISEO EL EOS INTERIOR SIZE: 3750 SQ. FT. convcscoassarenes soeeeseaceveses: NUMBER OF BEDROOMS: 4 CROP e RTO ew CO COm canes eHOecedensi reoemneses NUMBER OF FLOORS: 3 FBO COT ROR TOO OOH EDEL EO OEOHO REDE OREEO OSH E EES ASKING PRICE: $629,000 Pereccecocccoscscconsacenscuecoerivessseaee OPEN HOUSE: Saturday 2 - 4pm ceeevcoreace LISTING AGENT: Barb Wilks, 986-9321 Off. 644-7893 Cell OOP TEODORO CCRC ERO NS OS DOT CESSES CEHeOeULS SPECIAL FEATURES: New sneray efficient room opens to a deck. Upstairs find bedrooms, master textured cove ceilings, crovin mouldings: Cali fornian shutters and blinds. French doors lead toa sunken living &. dining room, oak kitchen with “ Corian counters. & island. Family sunny mulii level generous suite . with - luxurious ensuite and walk-in closet. Basement fevel ideal for and patio. Ready for you to move right init - ontertaining with games room - leading to fabulous concrete pool