Real Estate Market Update: Beer, Boots, Beards, Tattoos, And “Keep It Weird”

My wife and I just recently returned from a wonderful vacation in Hood River, Portland, and Manzanita, Oregon. While in Hood River and Manzanita, I kitesurfed—both were amazing spots for kiting—and then we spent two days in Portland.

Throughout our stay in the beautiful state of Oregon, we encountered beer, boots, beards, tattoos, and the “keep it weird” slogans.

With well over 225 breweries in the state, it was not hard to find a watering hole to enjoy a nice cold one. Many of the local patrons and servers were sporting beards, boots, and tattoos. In addition, everyone was so friendly, especially in Hood River where the town is all about windsurfing, kitesurfing, paddle boarding, wine tasting, and cycling.

One thing that particularly stood out as we vacationed was the “keep it weird” slogan that was plastered all over Portland. The people of Portland have fully embraced their “weirdness” and they love the fact that they are peculiar folk. While having another cold glass of craft beer, my wife and I asked the bearded bartender what Portland was known for. He immediately responded with the following statement: “Booze and food.” Well, we already knew it was booze, but what about the food? So naturally, off we went in search for some food. We did find good food and lots of amazing places to dine, as well as too many food trucks to count. A landmark in Portland for foodies is VooDoo Donuts. We bought into the VooDoo Donuts hype and waited 45 minutes in a crazy long line. We ended up buying a dozen of the insanely well-decorated and coveted baked goods. In the end, VooDoo Donuts was not worth the wait or the money, but I do wish I was the one cashing out that cash register every night!

Booze and food is what our bartender thought that Portland was best known for, but I disagree. From a real estate investor perspective, I was in awe of the transportation system. Portland has five major transportation systems that all function as one. They have a light rail (MAX Light Rail) that connects the metro and downtown, a commuter train (WES Commuter Rail) bringing commuters in from as far as 40 km away, a bus service as most cities have, an impressive streetcar system that loops throughout the downtown, and finally, the Tilikum Crossing, otherwise known as “Bridge of the People,” which is a crossing that is dedicated to only transit, bike, and foot traffic. The result of their transportation system(s) was that were virtually no cars in the downtown core.  Many of the streets were free of vehicles and we could literally jaywalk at random. “Keep it weird” is Portland’s slogan, but I think it should be “beer, boots, beards, tattoos, jaywalking, and keep it weird.”

“Keep it weird” could be the slogan for the summer for the Fraser Valley real estate market. Horgan and his NDP crew are getting their wish; they, along with financing rules and rates, have influenced the market into a summer slowdown. The weird piece is this: throughout my 26 years of being a realtor, when the market has slowed down, it often had an initial negative effect on the strata properties. However, the single-family market is feeling the slowdown the most with many of the areas in balanced to buyers’ market while the strata properties throughout the Fraser Valley are in a balanced to sellers’ market. Weird… or is it?

The challenge for buyers to be approved in the higher price points is more challenging than ever which is pushing many of the buyers into the lower price points and strata properties creating lower inventory and sellers’ market.

Astute investors seek and search out opportunities of buying and this may be the time to find a good deal as the summer market and Horgan’s NDP crew influence the market negatively for the next couple of months. I believe there will certainly be some deals to be found throughout the summer months as some sellers that have overcommitted in the market place need to sell. In fact, there may even be a few desperate sellers that are willing to significantly adjust their expectations to make a deal.

So Fraser Valley, are you ready to adopt Portland’s slogan of “keep it weird” this summer and invest in this crazy market? If so, call me to find out more details or to find a great summer deal.

Randy Dyck
Personal Real Estate Corporation
604-807-4366 or randy@eximus.com

STR (Sell Through Rate) Formula = Sales ÷ Active Listings + Failed Listings + Sales