The Case of the Yellow House

A year and a half ago, my ex-husband and I went our separate ways and I ended up moving into a home we had originally intended to flip. It’s a 1960’s bungalow on a big corner lot. Once I knew I was moving into it, I personalized it to my taste and to be honest, this home now feels like the happiest place I’ve ever been. I bought my first home when I was 34 with my then husband and it was not a little home. I picked out all the things I wanted through the builder and moved into something brand new and requiring little maintenance. The landscaping was a big undertaking and I wasn’t involved with it very much. As a result, I didn’t have a lot of practical skills. Ten years later, in this older home, I’m learning to try new things and I’m ok with getting it wrong sometimes too. The house needs a new fence, more thoughtful landscaping, and some work on the garage. I’d like to extend the deck in the front, change out the railings, dig up some old stone and re-lay something newer. All of this takes time and I am finding some real appreciation for the slow unfolding of things.

 

Growing up, I remember my parents buying the home I grew up in and spending years adding a touch here and there. I feel like I did the reverse. I started out with the big house and now, have found a home that I can play with. I can test my creativity, do what I want, put holes in the wall and paint a house that blurts YALLO to all. Home is truly the place where you feel the happiest, calmest, freest version of yourself. It can come in all shapes and sizes, and sometimes, it arrives later than you expect.

 

Moving on to the real estate market, things are still a little unpredictable. It’s hard to know what’s next and to be honest, I feel like this is real estate101 for you. People are the most confident when they feel they can predict outcomes (duh). If homes are regularly selling for over the asking price, that adds confidence in the market. People assume prices will continue to rise and they feel pressure to purchase before things get out of their reach, pricewise. The logic is that if inventory is low, prices will continue to climb. Alternatively, if homes are consistently sitting on the market, it makes people worry about how bad things can get. They get leery about purchasing because they figure things will only get worse. 

 

We are not in the middle of a trend right now. In fact, I’d argue that our market is harder to predict that the quality of a roadside diner’s fare. You could end up eating the best burger of your life, or the worst. The trick is to pay attention to the clues. Is the parking lot full? How clean are the bathrooms? How big is the menu? Likewise in real estate, what’s the inventory like for a specific product? What do the news headlines want us to believe? What is happening with new home sales? My prediction is that we’ll see things pick up now that the election is behind us. Carney will play nice with Trump and this will ease recession anxiety. The Bank of Canada will reduce the interest rate as a way to boost morale. We won’t see speculators investing in Alberta, so our market will remain steady. A well priced property will sell. No fire sales needed. Looking for a good burger? I can help.