Our team on real estate trends for 2021: Unconditional Offers

So far, 2021 has brought with it a lot of the craziness from 2020, and real estate is no exception. 2021 came in hot, with the Real Estate Association of BC reporting a record-breaking sales growth in January. Here on Vancouver Island, we saw a very low inventory on the market and a considerable increase in home sales.

Now that we are going into the second quarter of 2021, let’s take a look at what we can expect for the rest of the year from the real estate market in Victoria and Vancouver Island. For this post, we talked to our team lead Anaïs O'Neill and here is what she had to say:

I’ve been selling real estate at a high level for over five years, and here’s my top prediction for this year: Unconditional Offers

“Unconditional Offers are going to be the ones that win in the competition this spring.”

If you’re buying in this market, doing the due diligence upfront will give you an edge over other buyers. This has been one of the keys to my buyer’s success over the last 45 days. 

In the before times (before covid, before this crazy market), you’d write an offer and do an inspection/complete your financing after the sellers accepted the offer. In this market - if you want to lock down great opportunities - reverse that order. You’ve got to do the due diligence done upfront to stand a chance. That means inspecting the home before you submit your offer. And forget about pre-approvals! They’re not as valuable now as they were before. Fully confirmed, all documents into the broker, approvals are what it takes to win these days. It’s the only way to know if you can go unconditional come offer day without risking your deposit.

Sellers, this hot market doesn’t let you completely off the hook. It’s a seller’s market but doesn’t leave money on the table by leaving things to chance or in the hands of nervous, stressed-out buyers. I see it happening a lot despite the multiple offers. 

Some buyers have lost out on three or more offers, and at $600 a pop, they may decide it’s not worth getting any more homes pre-inspected. Make it as easy as possible for as many buyers as possible to write unconditional offers. Doing things like pre-inspections and having receipts/invoices for recent repairs and upgrades in realtor docs and at home during showings will ensure that more buyers will feel comfortable writing unconditional offers on your home.  

Go to our sellers’ page to see our exclusive home prep services to ensure that you’re doing everything you can to get as many unconditional offers as possible! Reach Anais directly if you have any questions, and I hope this tip makes you money on your home journey.

No doubt 2021 will be another year for the books, and if buying or selling a home is part of that for you, we hope we can be part of that journey with you. No matter what is happening in the market, you can always rely on the Kiteke team of Vancouver Island real estate experts to guide you through.