A flyer delivered to our home, and probably many of your homes too, this past week reinforced again for me two factors, inconsistency and the disservice of the “cookie-cutter” approach. I have often railed against the blurring of local conditions by an aggregation with larger areas (Vancouver wide, Province wide and the worst one Country wide).

 This flyer headlined a Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver press release postulating that this “greater” market “...Moves Towards Balance”. It contained a quote which read “we’re finally seeing an increase in inventory and that is great news for buyers….” (Hold this thought!) There was, sadly, no reference to the fact that the latter part of ‘05 saw some of the lowest inventories in years, so the slightly higher (read 10 to 15% on average) inventory is a baby step in the right direction and NOT by any means strong (or any real) evidence that balance is imminent.

Fast forward to the next article featured in the flyer; under a ‘Ask the Realtor’ heading – the question “Should I take my home off the market during the holidays?” – is a good one. The response, a strong recommendation not to.

 The most “persuasive” argument given (if it were consistent with market facts) was, and I quote “With reduced inventories and motivated buyers, you’ll have more MLS members working for you…”. The inconsistency with the REBGV quote is glaring. What is of far more concern, however, is the “cookie-cutter” nature of this advice. Say demand were down (traditional at this time of the year) and say a certain geographic location, because of reduced daylight, snow etc were perceived as less desirable, surely a case might be made for not continuing to market over this period.

Couple this with the differing “needs” to sell of the individual owners and you get a persuasive argument for a case by case analysis rather than ‘one size fits all’ advice. Talk to a Realtor who obtains all the facts of YOUR situation before you make a decision regarding your most valuable asset.

The recent snow which has blanketed our homes is an early reminder of the Season we are approaching. May it be a warm one with our families and friends close by or affectionately in mind - often the easier part - but don’t forget providing warmth and cheer to strangers. Adeste Fidelis is important but Good King Wenceslas is a great message!