Good Riddance to 2016!
I was reading an article a couple of weeks ago in the Wall Street Journal that said the big party this week was not welcoming in 2017 but bidding good riddance to 2016.
That got me thinking about 2016 here in Central Alberta and how awful 2016 have been for everyone. We have all been touched directly or thru someone we know with regards to the economy and/or personal situations.
In the last few weeks I am seeing more oilfield trucks and equipment on the road and as I speak to people a much more upbeat attitude about life.
My opinion on our real estate market for 2017 is that we are at the bottom of the market for sales and we will continue to run about or a bit above 2016 sales for most of this year. As things balance of and start to improve I believe businesses will start to get their balance sheets in shape, will start to invest in jobs as their current staff reaches maximum workloads, and finally will invest in capital expenditures as they see a longer range improvement to business.
The mortgage qualification changes I also believe will have some drag on our market as they did in the 4th quarter of 2016. I have posted the sales comparison graphs and inventory comparison graphs below showing the differences between 2015 and 2016.
Inventory / Sales 2015
Inventory / Sales 2016
Our inventory should start increasing in February right thru the spring which in my opinion should keep prices in check this year.
Amazon has just reported on December 28, 2016 that 72% of their customers shopped through mobile devices. (From bnn.ca) This should be a wakeup call to all sellers as I believe our business is no different.
- As sellers does your agent have mobile website?
- As sellers does your agent have a digital property marketing plan?
- As sellers does your agent understand Facebook advertising (landing pages) vs just posting to Facebook?
- As sellers you need to ask your agent these 3 important questions:
- What does your social media marketing plan look like?
- What steps will you take to drive traffic to my property online?
- What is your online marketing advertising budget for my property?
- As buyers change the way they search for their next home shouldn’t agents be changing also?
If you have any questions after looking at the above market graphs and you would like to put my 20 + years’ experience along with what I believe to be the most innovative digital marketing plan to work for you please contact me @:
Text/Phone: 403-309-5000
Email: email@jimmcleod.ca
I look forward to discussing how I can help you meet your real estate needs in 2017 and all the best to everyone in the New Year
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