‘It’s a different world’

Parsons Realty stays relevant during turbulent times

Through changes and market fluctuations, Parsons Realty and Construction has remained a staple in Corner Brook for going on 25 years.

The company is owned by Robin Parsons of Corner Brook and services Corner Brook and the surrounding Bay of Islands and Humber Valley regions.

Parsons, attended Mount Allison University in New Brunswick, completing a degree in marketing in 1995.

Subsequently he returned home to Corner Brook, where he weighed up his options and got into real estate the following year.

After working for Suttons for a couple of years, he completed his broker’s exam and started his own company in 1999.

He hasn’t looked back since. “I’m enjoying the work,” he told The West Coast Wire.

In the intervening years, Parsons has sought to broaden his business acumen.

He entered into the limousine service industry for a time, before selling. He ran a used bookstore which he closed once eReaders became popular.

While real estate is the one thing he has stuck with, in 2003 he got the idea to expand his business.

He recalls his brother was looking to build a house at that time and he got the idea to enter into construction.

In doing so, he was able to build a house for his brother.

Parsons has remained in the construction business ever since but there have been more difficulties in that industry in recent times.

When he started, he recalls there were 70 to 80 homes being built in Corner Brook a year.

In the past five years, he claims there are under 10 homes being built each year.

“Everyone I got into business with, they’re no longer building houses,” he said. “There’s no business in it.”

With residential housing construction fading away, Parsons Realty and Construction focused more commercial.

But commercial construction eventually faded as well, another casualty of economic decline in Corner Brook.

Parsons Realty and Construction is, thus, back to relying predominantly on real estate.

The real estate market, he says, is prone to fluctuations.

From one year to the next, it can be a buyer’s market or a seller’s market.

For instance, Parsons explains that last year, there were 265 listings on the market with 85 of them vacant.

In other words, about onethird of the listings were vacant and, with little demand, it resulted in a strong buyer’s market.

This year, the situation has undergone a total reversal.

The vacant inventory from last year eventually got bought up and now, with any new listing, Parsons says, within days they’re getting offers.

“This is the busiest I’ve seen it in five years, because the inventory has gone low,” he said.

In fact, Parsons adds they’re spending more time looking for listings than buyers at this point.

One of the issues he is confronting is a hesitancy of residents to put their homes on the market in the midst of a pandemic.

“People don’t want strangers in their house during COVID,” he said.

Parsons feels this is understandable given the situation.

“That’s all you can do,” he said. “It’s a different world, no doubt.”

To learn more about Parsons Realty and Construction, readers can visit parsonsreality.ca

The business is located at 308 Curling Street in Corner Brook.