Edmonton Real Estate Blog

About the Project

In July 2008, Council approved the Concept Plan for the South LRT Extension from Century Park to the south city limit. The Concept Plan defined the alignment and station locations for this extension.

Progress on the South LRT project has occurred in stages. Preliminary Engineering from Century Park to Ellerslie Road was completed in 2010. Concept plans for Ellerslie Road to 41 Avenue SW were approved in 2009 and 2010.

The South LRT is part of the Transportation Master Plan’s vision to expand LRT service to all sectors of the City by 2040.

Because land use and transportation are closely linked, LRT growth will be guided by the principle of transit oriented development. Its goal is to create compact neighbourhoods with a mixture of residential, employment, recreational and business opportunities within convenient walking distance of transit.

Future Park and Ride

Preliminary engineering for the Park and Ride at Ellerslie Road and 127 Street is complete. Timelines for completing the detailed design and construction of the Park and Ride at Ellerslie Road are dependent on project approval from City Council.

Land Use Planning

Land use planning is interconnected with the extension of the LRT south of Ellerslie Road. Approval of the NASPs for Heritage Valley Town Centre and Desrochers and confirmation of the LRT alignment, station locations and right-of-way requirements are complete. These will facilitate land use and transportation plans in these rapidly expanding residential areas.

Click here to watch a video on the South LRT Extension Fly-Through and here for all future LRT extensions.

To view & search MLS listed homes visit us at www.EdmontonHomesForSale.biz

Source: http://www.edmonton.ca/transportation/ets/lrt_projects/south-lrt-study.aspx

This is the trend in the USA but we follow them fairly closely.

In the fall of 2012 the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) advised lenders to cease the cashback products for clients to use for downpayment.

However, we have one large provincial lender that was not regulated by this change and is currently promoting this product in the market place.

If you or anyone you know is looking at buying and do not have a downpayment saved up, this may be a great way to enter the housing market earlier than you ancitipated.

Please note, cashback mortgages require the borrower to payback the 5% via a slighlty higher interest rate over the first 5yrs of the mortgage.  Please contact us for more details.

The awards kept coming… I received this one for being one of the top realtors at Re/Max Elite, but I could have never reached this accomplishment without all of my great clients, and past clients that referred their friends to me. So thank you to all my clients for their support.

Team Leading Edge would like to congratulate Serge for receiving the prestigious “Platinum Club” award for 2012

Here is a good way to be reminded that I am getting old. Today RE/MAX presented me this silver plate for 25 years service. I am proud to have been with such a great organization. Looking forward to the next 25 years.

It was a very humbling experience today to be recognized for being one of the top 10 realtors in our office for contributions to the Children’s Miracle Network

The New Year has started strong for the Edmonton real estate market. On a regular basis I am seeing realtors promoting the sale of their new listings within days or even hours. So is this the beginning of another real estate boom in Edmonton? Everyone is commenting on the shortage of inventory. That is always a sign of things to come.

This morning I looked at how many single family homes were for sale in Edmonton proper. The number of homes at 1,776 is significantly lower than what we would normally see, which supports the claim that there is a shortage of inventory.

The other important fact is the number of sales that have occurred in the last 30 days. In Edmonton proper there were 549 single family homes sold. That in itself is a fairly normal number of homes sold for this time of year.

What makes these numbers important is the ratio that they generate for us. We know that in Edmonton to a stable or neutral market we need a listings to sales ratio of 4:1. Meaning there are 4 homes listed for every sale that occurs in the previous 30 days.

With the current market condition with 1,776 listings and 549 sales that would give us a listings to sales ratio of 3.23:1 far below the 4:1 that we need for a balance market. This indicates that we are going to have upward pressure on Edmonton real estate values in the incoming days.

So do expect house prices to start to rise. If you are thinking about buying this year, you may want to move your time table up now before prices rise too much, and while we have low rates like 2.89% for a 5 year term.

Call us today if you have been thinking of buying or need to get pre-approved for a mortgage. 780-634-8151.

Edmonton, February 4, 2013: Year-over-year average prices and sales were up for most types of residential property in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in January. Single Family Dwelling (SFD) average prices were down 1.93% from December but up 7.7% when compared to January 2012. Condominium prices were also down (-3.1%) month-over-month but up 1.7% year-over-year. The all-residential price was up year-over-year at $328,525 (up 2.5%). The average price for an SFD was $399,832. An average condo was priced at $216,139, while a duplex/row house was priced at $328,351 on average. The all-residential average price in the Edmonton CMA was $328,525 as compared to $320,482 in January 2012.

The 2013 year started off with a residential sales increase of 27 (25) units over the previous year. There were an estimated 921 (853 reported) residential sales in the Edmonton CMA and an estimated total of 1,084 (1,005 reported) sales of all types of property. SFD sales were down 1.4% from a year ago at 536 estimated (496 reported) sales. Condo and duplex/row house sales took up the slack with an estimated 286 (265 reported) condo sales (up 30.7%) and duplex/row house estimated sales of 64 (59 reported) units (up 24.9%).

“If there is an impending national housing crash, it is not evident in Edmonton,” said President Darrell Cook. “The number of price reductions is 4% lower than the same month last year.” The number of residential properties in the City of Edmonton that sold at or over list price rose from 9% in January 2012 to 12.6% this year. “This indicates that homes are appropriately priced for the market and that more home sellers are holding firm to their asking price,” said Cook.

The average days-on-market was 74 and the sales-to-listing ratio ended the month at 47%. There are currently 3,743 residential properties in inventory in the Edmonton CMA. This is lower than the five-year average for January (4,324) but still represents a 4.4 month supply at current sales levels.

REALTORS® changed their statistics reporting format this month. Sales and average price figures are given for the Edmonton CMA which includes the City of Edmonton and about 40 surrounding municipalities as defined by Statistics Canada. Then, because sales in the City of Edmonton account for about 75% of all sales, the figures are given for Edmonton only. Finally, communities and counties outside the CMA are not forgotten. The number of sales for each municipality along with average/median prices and total value of sales are provided in the Total Board section. All three reports are attached.

“All real estate is local,” said Cook. “It is important that we provide statistics that are relevant to each specific location. REALTORS® can provide their clients with more granularity or more specific details at the neighbourhood level.”

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Highlights of MLS® System activity

1 Census Metropolitan Area (Edmonton and surrounding municipalities)
2 Single Family Dwelling
3 The total value of sales in a category divided by the number of properties sold
4 The middle figure in a list of all sales prices
5 Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses.
6 Includes residential, rural and commercial sales

source: Realtors Association of Edmonton

Zero down payment mortgages will ends on October 31, 2012. In order to get in before the deadline, buyers need a offer in place by October 31 and must take possession before December 31.

For any buyers who have difficulty saving a down payment, this is a great alternative to renting. Lenders are tightening up and once this ends, I can’t see lenders bringing it back.