If you’ve been following the Whistler real estate market lately, you’ve probably heard the term “inventory” used extensively.

Inventory may be the buzzword of the moment – but what, exactly, does it mean?

When most people think of inventory, they think of the product that a company has in stock. The same concept applies to inventory in a real estate context: the products are the properties listed for sale in a given market.

T-Shirts and Two Bedrooms

Think of a retail store that sells t-shirts. If inventory is high, that means that there are plenty of t-shirts in stock. If you’re coming in to get a blue t-shirt in XL, odds are pretty good that they will have plenty of these shirts in stock.

Similarly, when inventory levels are high in real estate, this means that there are plenty of properties listed for sale. If a buyer wants a two-bedroom ski-in ski-out condo, there could be several different units for sale in a variety of buildings.

When inventory levels are regular, the supply of t-shirts is still pretty good. There will probably be one or two blue XL t-shirts for sale. Sometimes, you might have to go up or down one size if you really want the blue t-shirt, or you may have to pick up an XL t-shirt in green if they’ve run low on blue. You might occasionally have to wait for a new shipment to come in next week if you want to get exactly what you came for.

In real estate, the buyer looking for the two-bedroom condo may only have units in a couple of different buildings to choose from when inventory levels are normal. The buyer might have to look at one bedroom plus dens, or may have to check out a non-ski-in ski-out location.

When inventory levels are really low, that means that there aren’t very many t-shirts on the shelves. You probably won’t find a blue XL t-shirt in stock – there might only be small and XS t-shirts in red, purple, and pink. If a sales clerk happens to find a blue XL t-shirt in the back room, you may have to fight over it with all the other blue XL t-shirt wearers.

Low inventory levels in real estate means that pickings may be equally slim. You might want a two bedroom ski-in ski-out condo, but you’ll either have to compromise with a studio or a town home – or whatever is on the market. You can choose to wait until a two bedroom ski-in ski-out condo comes on the market – but just like that last blue t-shirt, you won’t be the only one trying to get your hands on it.

What’s Happening Today

Inventory in today’s Whistler real estate market is very low. It’s the lowest it’s been in at least a decade. This means that buyers might not get exactly what they’re looking for. It also means that sellers who do have what buyers are looking for are bound to get a lot of attention.

Given that there are so many different types of buyers in Whistler – full-time local families, part-time weekenders, long-distance investors, etc. – all kinds of properties are currently hotly demanded, and supply is low across the board.

In other words, if you own just about any type of Whistler property, this is a great time to get the top value for your property. Want to learn more? Please get in touch with me and we can add your property to Whistler’s dwindling inventory!

Posted by Denise Brown on
REAL ESTATE 101: UNDERSTANDING INVENTORY REAL%20ESTATE%20101%3A%20UNDERSTANDING%20INVENTORY Email Send a link to post via Email

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