On Monday we were saturated in the newspapers and on TV by forecasts of a 10% decline in real estate values which would then be followed by a stagnant real estate market for the next few years. This delivered from the mouths of bank economists. When I listened closely to how all this had happened – rising interest rates, impact of HST, and sales moving forward from second half of the year into the first – I suddenly realized that this bank economist was talking about my 2010 Market Forecast which we released in January and now it is August! He went on to say that the market had now peaked. Our Market Report stated that the market had peaked back in April and now it is August.

Baby boomers are now trying to sell their properties and they are too late. They also missed the upturn in the market in early 2009. That’s because they rely on the old media. And the old media, fed by the banks, relies on statistics that are always several months behind. On the other hand, younger people, (Generation X and Y) don’t get their information from this old media. When I asked some of my young agents if they had read the papers or magazines this week, they just looked at me as if I was crazy. They get all their information through the Internet and social media such as blogs. Young people jumped into the real estate market way before baby boomers in 2009 and those that wanted to sell did so this spring.

As a side note, buried in all this newspaper gloom was a note that said 91% of Canadians think real estate is a good investment. That’s not what banks want to hear or want the public to believe. Banks have done a good job of convincing baby boomers to keep their investments with them. Younger people believe in real estate, so too do non-residents. That’s another reason why new condo projects continue to sell out – much to the consternation of banks.

And oh yes, I am a baby boomer too who is trying to not act my age!!