The market is in an interesting place at the moment. July and August are traditionally slow in Rupert as families head South for the the sun and thoughts are mainly away from real estate. The hope is that once families return from their summer holidays with the kids that the market will pick up. This is what normally happens.
I am presently working on a new advertising medium that I hope to run in early september. This will replace the considerable advertising that I lost when the Daily News closed down. The hope is that the timing will coincide with the return to school and also any announcements that are made regarding Ports, Pulp Mills and Potash.
The rumour factory has been going full tilt lately and nearly all of it has been positive but until we get an actual announcement or three the market remains fairly static.
This year is much better than last; sales volume is up by 50%; but it needs to be remembered that 2009 was particularly awful.
The number of listings on the market remains high; there are presently 156 residential properties on the market. This means that we are still in a buyer's market. Sales are happening however; in fact the average sale price has risen by 5% on 2009.
My conclusion is that the market is now off life support and is in the convalescence stage of recovery. A natural uplift is expected in September with, we all still hope, a very sudden uplift in activity caused by economic announcements being made.
I remain optimistic that a bright future awaits Prince Rupert.