Edmonton Real Estate Blog

Well the market continues to improve. 

Currently with the Realtors Association of Edmonton there are 10, 388 residential properties listed on MLS.  However there are 2,599 single family dwellings listed in Edmonton proper.  In the last 30 days there has been 600 single family homes sold. That is a slight improvement over last week.

That would give us a listing to sales ratio of 4.33:1, an improvement over last week which would indicate that we are reaching the bottom to valuations.  A ratio below 4:1 would indicate that valuations would start to rise again.

If you are trying to time the market… start looking now.

To view and search all Edmonton and area MLS listed homes visit www.FindMyHouse.ca

Also visit www.FindMyHouse.ca for your chance to enter for a free $5,000 travel certificate.

Housing starts in Edmonton took a huge drop in February, reflecting a trend across the country, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Monday.

In February, there were 213 housing starts in the metropolitan Edmonton area, compared to 692 in the same month in 2008. This represents a drop of 69 per cent.

The drop in multi-family units was even more pronounced. Only 64 were started last month, compared to 449 in February 2008, representing a change of 86 per cent.

“There is still a fairly large number of units under construction in multi-family, in some respects that supply is going to remain quite adequate, going forward,” said Richard Goatcher, a senior market analyst for CMHC in Edmonton.

The decline is the same in nearly every city across the province, Goatcher said.
“Looking at our numbers and comparing them with Calgary, we’re pretty much having a similar year in terms of new housing for the year-to-date,” Goatcher said.

“You know our numbers are are down by two-thirds. Calgary, they’re down by about 72 per cent.”

Grande Prairie was the only Alberta city that bucked the trend. Forty-eight single and multi-family homes were started in February, compared to 31 in February 2008.

Source: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

To view and search all Edmonton and area MLS listed homes visit me at www.FindMyHouse.ca

Also for a chance to enter a free draw for a $5,000 travel certificate visit me at www.FindMyHouse.ca

The January 27th federal budget was chock full of goodies for homeowners and first-time homebuyers. Below are some highlights from the budget that you may find useful.

Home Renovation CreditIf you’ve been thinking about doing some home renovations, a 15% Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC) of up to $1,350 on eligible home renovation expenses undertaken before February 1, 2010 that was proposed in the new budget may help in your decision to invest in improvements to your home.

The credit will apply to expenditures in excess of $1,000, but not more than $10,000, for the 2009 taxation year. Expenditures for work performed, or goods acquired, after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010, will be eligible for the credit. The credit will, however, not be available in respect of expenditures for work performed or goods acquired in that period if the expenditure is made pursuant to an agreement entered into before January 28, 2009. Individuals may claim this credit (including expenditures made in January 2010) in their 2009 income tax returns.

Eligibility for the HRTC will be family-based. For this purpose, a family will generally be considered to consist of an individual, and where applicable, the individual’s spouse or common-law partner, and their children who were under the age of 18 throughout 2009.
Two or more families that share ownership of an eligible dwelling will each be eligible for their own credit. Each family’s credit will be determined by their respective eligible expenditures in excess of $1,000, but not more than $10,000.

Individuals will be able to claim the HRTC on eligible expenditures made in respect of dwellings that are eligible at any time after January 27, 2009 and before February 1, 2010 to be their principal residence or that of one or more of their other family members under the existing tax law.

In general, a housing unit is considered to be eligible to be an individual’s principal residence where it is owned by the individual and ordinarily inhabited by the individual, the individual’s spouse or common-law partner or their children.
In the case of condominiums and co-operative housing corporations, the credit will be available for eligible expenditures incurred to renovate the unit that is eligible to be the individual’s principal residence as well as the individual’s share of the cost of eligible expenditures incurred in respect of common areas.

Individuals who earn business or rental income from part of their principal residence will be allowed to claim the credit for the full amount of expenditures made in respect of the personal-use areas of the residence. For expenditures made in respect of common areas or that benefit the housing unit as a whole (such as re-shingling a roof), the administrative practices ordinarily followed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to determine how business or rental income and expenditures are allocated between personal use and income-earning use will apply in establishing the amount qualifying for the credit.

Expenditures will qualify for the HRTC if they are incurred in relation to a renovation or alteration of an eligible dwelling (including land that forms part of the eligible dwelling) provided that the renovation or alteration is of an enduring nature and is integral to the eligible dwelling. Such expenditures would include the cost of labour and professional services, building materials, fixtures, equipment rentals and permits.

Expenditures will not be eligible if the related goods or services are provided by a person not dealing at arm’s length with the individual, unless that person is registered for Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax purposes under the Excise Tax Act. Any eligible expenditure claimed for the HRTC must be supported by receipts.
ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes GrantsThe new budget also proposes an expanded ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program, and Natural Resources Canada is currently working to finalize the details.

The new expanded program includes a $300 million increase over two years for support to property owners looking to make their homes more energy efficient. It is estimated that additional funds will extend the reach of the current program to an additional 200,000 homeowners.

Under the current program, ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes provides home and property owners with grants of up to $5,000 to offset the cost of making energy-efficient improvements. ecoENERGY Retrofit grants apply to a host of measures that reduce energy consumption and provide for a cleaner environment, from increasing insulation to upgrading a furnace.
Only homes that have undergone a residential energy efficiency assessment by an energy advisor certified by Natural Resources Canada will be eligible for grants.

Detached homes, row housing, duplexes, triplexes and mobile homes on permanent foundations and some small apartment buildings of three storeys or less may qualify for ecoENERGY Retrofit – Homes grants.

The ecoENERGY Retrofit grant is based on the type and number of energy improvements that have been made and how much the efficiency of the home has been improved. The grant is based on how effective that upgrade is in saving energy, not on the cost of the upgrade.
The maximum grant one can receive per home or multi-unit residential building is $5,000; whereas the total grant amount available to one individual or entity for eligible properties over the life of the program is $500,000. The average grant is expected to be more than $1,000 and will yield an average 25% reduction in energy use and costs.

RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan IncreaseThe budget proposes a $5,000 increase to the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan, meaning first-time homebuyers can now withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSPs for a down payment – tax- and interest-free.
Tax Credit for First-Time HomebuyersAlso proposed in the new budget is a $750 tax credit for first-time homebuyers to help with closing costs, such as legal fees, disbursements and land transfer taxes.

The tax credit is based on an amount of $5,000 for first-time homebuyers who acquire a qualifying home after January 27, 2009 (ie, the closing is after that date). The credit for a taxation year will be calculated by reference to the lowest personal income tax rate for the year and is claimable for the taxation year in which the home is acquired.

An individual will be considered a first-time homebuyer if neither the individual nor the individual’s spouse or common-law partner owned and lived in another home in the calendar year of the home purchase or in any of the four preceding calendar years.

A qualifying home is one that is currently eligible for the Home Buyers’ Plan that the individual or individual’s spouse or common-law partner intends to occupy as the principal place of residence no later than one year after its acquisition.

Source:

Dominion Lending Centres Optimum
Great Advice, Best Rates and Quick Approvals
Call: 780-452-9101

To view and search all Edmonton and area MLS listed homes visit me at www.FindMyHouse.ca

Also for your chance to enter a free draw for a $5,000 travel certificate visit www.FindMyHouse.ca

National housing starts reached 211,056 units in 2008, a decrease from 228,343 in 2007, according to CMHC’s first quarter Housing Market Outlook, Canada Edition report. Starts are expected to be about 160,250 for 2009 and about 163,350 for 2010. “The new home market is moderating due to a number of key factors,” said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist for CMHC. “The economic downturn will result in a decrease in demand for home ownership leading to a decline in housing starts and existing home sales in 2009. Housing market activity will begin to strengthen as the Canadian economy rebounds in 2010 and the level of housing starts over the forecast period will be more in line with demographic fundamentals.”

Existing home sales, as measured by the MLS®, are expected to decline 14.6% during 2009 to 370,500 units. In 2010 the level of MLS® sales is expected to increase by 9.3% to 405,000 units. The average MLS® price is also expected to decrease over the course of 2009. Average prices nationally are forecast to be $287,900 for 2009, a decline of 5.2%, while 2010 will see little change from 2009 average prices.

As Canada’s national housing agency, CMHC draws on more than 60 years of experience to help Canadians access a variety of quality, environmentally sustainable, and affordable homes — homes that will continue to create vibrant and healthy communities and cities across the country.

Source: Realtors Assc. of Edmonton

To view and and search all MLS homes in the Edmonton area visit me at www.FindMyHouse.ca

Also visit www.FindMyHouse.ca for a chance to enter to win a $5,000 travel certificate.

Could the tide be turning for real estate?

It’s probably premature to make that call, but you can’t ignore the encouraging signs – especially when they come in multiples.

First, we saw a surprising 6.5 percent jump in home sales for December. Now we’ve just gotten the latest Pending Home Sales Index, and it’s up 6.3 percent, thanks to double digit gains of 13 percent in the Midwest and the South.

The index is based on signed contracts for home sales that haven’t gone to closing, but that are scheduled to settle in the coming two or three months.

The National Association of Realtors collects the data from Multiple Listing Services around the country, and most economists accept the index as a reliable gauge of where we’re headed in housing activity.

Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, attributed the upward movement to “buyers responding to lower home prices and interest rates” that have improved the affordability equation to its most favorable level in 39 years.

Sales in the coming months might also be powered by something no index can measure: Congress is likely to improve last year’s $7,500 home buyer tax credit by turning it into a non-repayable incentive for new sales this year – all as part of the stimulus package on Capitol Hill.
Though it’s impossible to predict how many more home sales a true credit might stimulate – one that doesn’t have to be paid back to the government like the 2008 version – industry estimates range anywhere from several hundred thousand upward, provided the expiration date runs through this coming December.

On other economic fronts last week, reports of tens of thousands of industry layoffs definitely won’t help housing, but new numbers on inventories of unsold homes just might be a plus. Total homes for sale on the market nationwide dropped nearly 18 percent last month to the lowest level since May of 2007.

Mortgage rates inched up slightly last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, with thirty year fixed rate loans averaging 5.3 percent compared to 5.2 percent the week before. That’s up a notch, but it’s still close to 40-year historic lows.

As we’ve said before on this program: Keep your eyes open for the little statistical improvements in the market that often get ignored by the media: Once they start mounting up, month after month, you’ll know we’re in turnaround mode.

We’re not there yet, but we’re headed in a promising direction.
Source: Kenneth R. Harney, Realty Times

To view and search all Edmonton and area MLS listed homes visit me at www.FindMyHouse.ca

Also visit www.FindMyHouse.ca to enter the free draw for a $5,000 travel certificate.

As of today Feb. 13, 2009 there are 2,514 single family homes listed in Edmonton proper. That is not much different than we have been for the last couple of months.

However what has changed is an increase in sales in the last 30 with 476 sales. That gives up a listing/sales ratio of 5.28:1 which is the lowest ratio since the market started it’s nose dive in valuations back in mid-2007.

And that is getting very close to the 4:1 that we require for the market to stabilize. Considering that last month we were at over 10:1 this is great news and could be indicating that we are close to the market hitting the bottom.

So if you have been thinking of waiting to buy that next home you might want to start looking now.

To view and search all Edmonton and area MLS listed homes visit me at http://www.findmyhouse.ca/

Also visit http://www.findmyhouse.ca/ to enter the free draw for a $5,000 travel gift certficate.

The next first time buyer seminar dates are:
Wednesday Feb. 18th from 7-9pm
Saturday Feb. 21 10am-noon

There will be 4 instructors: A lawyer, a mortgage broker, a home inspector, and a real estate agent.

To register just click on the following link to register:
http://www.findmyhouse.ca/view_custom.php?cpc_id=5735

Serge Bourgoin
Re/Max Real Estate
Edmonton, AB
780-488-4000

To view and search all Edmonton and area MLS listed homes visit www.FindMyHouse.ca

The number of properties sold via the MLS® in Canada edged down further in December 2008 to reach the lowest level for the month since December 2000, according to CREA.
Seasonally adjusted residential MLS® sales activity numbered 27,357 units in December 2008, a decline of 1.8% compared to the previous month. However, seasonally adjusted activity was up in more than half of Canadian housing markets. Activity declines in Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton more than offset a rebound in the number of transactions in Vancouver, resulting in a small monthly decline in national sales activity.
The small month-over-month decline in national MLS® seasonally adjusted sales activity in December followed double digit declines in September (-14.9%) and October (-12.1%). Activity plummeted 22.2% in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 86,879 units, with seasonally adjusted quarterly declines in activity in all provinces. The sharp drop in fourth quarter activity accounted for over half of the decline in transactions since the peak in 2007.
Year-over-year declines in the MLS® average home price were reported in about half of local markets in December. Lower activity and average prices compared to one year ago remain most pronounced in Canada’s more expensive housing markets. This continues to weigh on the national MLS® residential average price.
The MLS® national average price of homes in December 2008 declined by 11% from where it stood a year ago. The major market price trend was similar to the national trend, down by 9.9% year over year in December 2008.
“Moderating home prices in Canada should not be confused with the downturn in the U.S. housing market,” says CREA President Calvin Lindberg. “But any local real estate market is not immune to global economic challenges, and that is what we face today. Low prices are not the concern as much as the perception of doom and gloom. Buyers are waiting to see if the real estate market has hit bottom, and that is a very complex thing to try and calculate. Most of us will only be affected by the market correction psychologically, because the majority of Canadians will not buy or sell property in the coming year.”
Seasonally adjusted new MLS® residential listings numbered 72,931 units in December, down 3% from levels recorded in November. New listings are trending lower. In December, they stood 8.1% below the peak reached in May 2008.
Resale housing market balance is represented by sales as a percentage of new listings. The rise in the number of new listings in the first half of last year along with declining sales activity, particularly in the fourth quarter, resulted in an increasingly balanced resale housing market over the course of 2008.
Sales as a percentage of new listings in the fourth quarter of 2008 fell to the lowest level since the mid 1990s. New listings are trending down from the peak reached in the second quarter of 2008. If this trend continues, the balance of supply and demand will stabilize in 2009.
“Average prices will remain under downward pressure during the Canadian economic recession,” said CREA Chief Economist Gregory Klump. “Shaky financial market confidence is pulling down business and consumer confidence. The consensus economic forecast predicts the economy will rebound in the second half of 2009, so housing market trends should strengthen next year.”

Source:Realtors Association of Edmonton

To view and search all Edmonton and area MLS listed homes visit www.FindMyHouse.ca

Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) — The Bank of Canada said the economy this quarter will plunge instead of stalling, while anticipating a “faster” recovery than in earlier recessions as access to credit and exports rebound.
The central bank slashed its economic growth forecast for the first quarter, saying output will shrink at a 4.8 percent annualized pace after predicting in October that it would be unchanged. Gross domestic product will shrink at a 1 percent pace in the second quarter before expanding through 2010.
“The projected return to balance of the Canadian economy is faster than either of the recoveries following the 1981-82 and 1990-92 recessions,” the Ottawa-based central bank said today in an update to its October Monetary Policy Report. “Canadian credit conditions remain better than those in other major countries” and “exports are also expected to recover next year,” the bank said.
Governor Mark Carney two days ago cut borrowing costs by half a point to 1 percent, the lowest since the central bank was founded in 1934, and said he would “carefully” assess how much more stimulus may be needed. The world’s eighth-largest economy is shrinking because of slower foreign orders for goods such as cars and commodities such as crude oil, combined with the global credit crisis which has made banks reluctant to lend.
Currency Falls
The Canadian dollar weakened 0.7 percent to C$1.2637 per U.S. dollar at 11:53 a.m. in Toronto, from C$1.2551 yesterday.
The economy will contract 1.2 percent this year, marking Canada’s first recession since 1992, and then grow 3.8 percent in 2010, the central bank said. That’s almost double the 2 percent expansion predicted by economists in a Bloomberg News survey.
“We would love the Bank of Canada’s growth projections to turn out correctly, and maybe they will, but fear they are too optimistic on 2010,” Derek Holt, an economist with Scotia Capital Inc., wrote today in a note to clients. The bank may be “erring on the side of a relatively sanguine view of Canadian credit markets,” he said.
Exports will shave 2.6 percentage points off of economic growth this year, then add 2.1 percentage points in 2010, aided by a weaker currency and a rebound in U.S. demand, the bank said.
Even amid the financial crisis that has crippled access to credit in the world’s biggest economies, lending to businesses in Canada “grew at a solid pace” through November and household credit “has slowed only moderately,” the central bank said. The cost of borrowing for commercial lenders has fallen by 1 percentage point since October, the bank said, citing reductions in its own benchmark interest rate.
Gaining ‘Traction’
Also, actions taken by Canada and other countries to shore up credit markets and economies “are starting to gain traction,” the central bank said.
The report repeated that the Bank of Canada will assess “to what extent further monetary stimulus will be required” to meet its chief goal of keeping inflation at 2 percent.
Inflation will decline by 0.6 percent in the second quarter and 1 percent in the third and won’t return to the bank’s target until the first half of 2011, the bank said.
Consumer prices haven’t dropped for two or more consecutive quarters since 1953, according to Statistics Canada.
The Bank of Canada didn’t refer to its projection as a bout of deflation, saying risks to its inflation forecast are “roughly balanced.”
Further Tools
Deflation can freeze spending by business and consumers if they hold off on purchases in anticipation of ever-lower prices. Reversing deflation can be harder than inflation because central banks can only cut interest rates so low to encourage demand.
There was also no reference in the report to whether the central bank may eventually use policy tools other than interest-rate cuts to boost credit markets in Canada.
Carney, 43, said after his Oct. 23 forecast paper that Canada doesn’t need to consider buying direct stakes in banks as in the U.S. and some European countries, where governments are trying to catch up to Canadian lenders’ level of capitalization. In December, he said after a speech that it was “premature” to discuss such moves.
Still, Bank of Canada officials and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have said the country’s banks, rated the soundest last year by the World Economic Forum, have scope to expand lending.
The next rate decision is scheduled for March 3.
The 1 percent policy rate that the Bank of Canada set two days ago is lower than a previous record of 1.12 percent in 1958 when the rate was based on treasury-bill yields.
To contact the reporter on this story: Greg Quinn in Ottawa at gquinn1@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: January 22, 2009 11:57 EST

To view and search all MLS listed homes in the Edmonton area visit me at www.FindMyHouse.ca

As of this morning there are 2,395 single family dwellings listed in Edmonton proper. In the last 30 days there were also 249 sales of single family dwellings in Edmonton proper.

With those numbers that gives me a listing to sales ration of 9.62:1. That is over double the 4:1 needed for a neutral market. To me that indicates that we are going to see continued downward pressure on valuations.

So if you are thinking of selling this year the sooner you put your home on the market the better the chance of getting the most money possible.

If you are thinking of selling please feel free to give me a call anytime @ 780-995-6520 and ask for a free market analysis of the value of your home.