Red Deer Market Update – Sales in the first two weeks of March have been like the weather – balmy.  And the current pending sales count indicates that total sales for the month could be well over 100 – a great start to the spring market and contrary to the negative news we have been hearing from the provincial government and the media.

We often hear “I’m going to wait for prices to come down”.  That might work for first time buyers, but if you have to sell one property to buy another, there is little logic in that statement.  If prices come down, the value of the property you have to sell is going to go come down in proportion to the one you are buying.The number of active listings is up almost 50% over the first of March last year.  That is very positive if you are a buyer, but not a big advantage if you are seller.  The advantage to buyers is obvious – more choices and the potential for better prices.  When the ratio between supply and demand falls below 25%, the advantage turns to the buyer, something we haven’t seen in the past year.

The real estate market is much like the stock market.  You never know for sure where the top or bottom is.  Warren Buffet, one of the world’s most successful investors buys on the way down and makes his gains on the rebound.  You can’t go far wrong following his example.

ATB’s Survey Shows Continued Consumer Confidence – Nick Ford – Economist – Alberta Treasury Branch – Mar. 5, 2015 The results from ATB Financial’s bi-weekly Ear to the Ground survey show Albertans remain confident and level headed when it comes to the current state of our economy.

Consumer sentiment in February’s second wave of surveying showed that almost half of all respondents (47 per cent) view the current Alberta economy as strong, an increase of two percentage points from the previous polling period. At the other end of the spectrum, 22 per cent of respondents perceive the current economy as weak, a decrease of five percentage points from the last survey.