It's definitely different than selling in a city enviroment.
For one thing, I work in what is known as a secondary home or discretionary market. No one "has to"
move to Salt Spring Island or another Southern Gulf Island -- it's all by choice!
In a primary residence (city) area, there might actually be "comparables".
In a discretionary/secondary home marketplace, though, it's full of "custom" homes and even
undeveloped land will be its unique self.
Difficult for an appraiser, then, as there is so much that is specific to each property, with no real equivalent
anywhere else on the Island, plus, with a limited inventory "ever" (there's that Islands Trust, and its cap on
growth), it means the listing inventory is never very large, and so the "solds" statistics aren't very informative.
Time lags are a part of all sales, too. First, the prospective buyer has to hear about this area and
then they make plans to travel here, to view.
The entire Coast is very appealing, and so often the Island gets "interviewed", and then so do
other coastal communities. One has to sell the Island, first, thus, before one can get around to selling
a particular property on it.
Two visits, then, if not three, become the pattern, and since the buyers aren't
"local", the time between trips can be as long as 5 to 7 months!
It can take, then, between one and three years to sell any property on a Gulf Island, including on Salt Spring
Island, and the main reason for this is because the buyer isn't "local", and the decision to purchase is a "choice",
both in the "where" and in the "when".
This time lag feature makes a "days on market" tag on an mls listing irrrelevant.
In my area, there's a weekly local paper, and a monthly real estate supplement. Neither of these
are seen until the buyer arrives on Island, and so they do not offer an advertising vehicle that "brings"
a buyer. No one googles Salt Spring Island, or the Southern Gulf Islands, unless they're encouraged to
do so.
Print ads, then, in targeted venues, where the buyer profile lives, are still important in a
non-local/discretionary marketplace. If you think you saw an ad by me, in your area, you probably did!
I hope you responded, and went onto my principal website (www.liread.com).
We all do "floor duty days", but open houses don't work here, as the buyer isn't local. We're getting our
own radio station, but it's not up and running yet, so there's no t.v. or radio media spots, either. Signage
on a lawn (or up on a tree, if you're going by in a boat, and would see that more easily) is apparent, but,
again, not viewed until the buyer physically arrives on Island.
People don't move around on the Island; they arrive, they're here, then, if they have to leave
(usually only for personal reasons), they list. Then comes the search for the buyer,
who lives somewhere else in the world!
This non-local aspect to the buyer profile means that a realtor has to keep an eye on market
conditions in those buyer areas, as the B.C. market outlook won't have much relevance.
I wouldn't live anywhere else, though! This is an exceptional lifestyle choice!
If you drop into Salt Spring, please ask for me by name -- I'm an Associate Broker, with Sea to Sky Premier
Properties, and I have a personal office in "downtown" Ganges Village (in the Clement, Murphy, Woodward law
office building, at the corner of the main road (Lower Ganges Road) & Rainbow Road. There's parking behind,
off Rainbow Road. My office faces onto the main street, and enjoys a Harbour view. It's adjacent to Stone
Walrus Gallery). A quick call to my cell (250-537-7647) will connect us.
I look forward to meeting you, and to offering my expertise and my superlative market knowledge
and my strong negotiating skills for your benefit, during your search for your special Island gem.
Looking forward to your call!
P.S. Here's one of those "differences":
Selling real estate on Salt Spring Island & the Southern Gulf Islands is not like it would
be in a city or a town marketplace.
I was driving up a roughed in roadway, on a heavily forested acreage, recently, and
there, at the side of the roughed in driveway, were two baby racoons. The clients took
these photos, before we bundled them into my dog's car bed, wrapped in towels that I keep
for wiping off a muddy dog, on rainy days, so that we could deliver them to the Salt
Spring Wildlife Rescue Centre.
That was an interesting visit, too! Looking for a place to give a charitable donation?
Think of the Wildlife Centre -- on Lang's Road, it's not open to the public, and they have
a unique project there. Saving abandoned wildlife is one of them. (Yes, we did check with
the Wildlife Centre before we brought the babies in. Sometimes the mother is just off
foraging for food, but in the case of these racoons, they really were abandoned).
It was an adventure!
liread33@gmail.com
www.liread.com
Li Read — Li Read Real Estate
