My semi-annual pilgrimage out to Tofino always helps me put things (and life) into perspective. This last weekend was no exception. There was one particular moment as I was gazing out over the relentless ocean, watching the golden sun setting and the waves crashing that it hit me... We live in a mighty fine place!  I know that I know this, but sometimes, usually around this time of year, I forget.  Perhaps it is the 5 months of pounding rain, the seemingly endless stretch of grey dark days, and/or the beat down from the grind.  Whatever it might be, my pessimistic thoughts always seems to come to a crescendo right around this time of year.  Then, magically, we get a few days of sunshine, the temp creeps up, people start smiling, I take my trip out to Tuff City, and I love Vancouver again.

It was when I was deep in my above noted ‘Tofino zone’ that I was thinking... the Vancouver Real Estate market seems to behave very similarly to me.  Around the end of October, things start to slow down, Christmas brings on a little excitement, but then it seems to just coast along slowly losing steam.  It is during this slow and somber downturn that we start hearing things about “the bubble”, “the crash”, “the correction”. Then, as if it took a trip to Tofino and reset itself, things start to turn around and the negative rhetoric turns to “the Vancouver market is an anomaly”, “#1 city in the World”, “Landlocked... prices can only go up”, “inflow of Asian money”, etc.

So, in case you didn’t notice, Spring is upon us and I'm pretty sure I saw a more chipper looking Market on the ferry back with me.