Edmonton Real Estate Blog

Wow is all I can say about last week.  I was really busy all week listing, showing and selling homes.  However the statistics would be a little different then what I experienced last week.

One of the things that I did notice last week was the number of homes that were taken off the market where their listing contracts had expired.  Even with the new listings coming to the market I noticed that the amount of listings available is down with 2, 095 single family dwellings available for sale in Edmonton proper.

In the last 30 days there were 678 single family dwellings sold in Edmonton proper.  Also a drop from the previous few weeks.  With the listings and sales we are experiencing that would give us a listing to sales ratio of 3.1:1 which to me indicates that the market values are starting to stabilize.

The next few weeks are going to be critical to determine is we area going to remain stable or if we are going to see a decline in house valuations.  It is apparent to see that the local and global economies are still not recovering to the levels and that is making people concerned and hesitant in moving forward with large purchases such as home.

Edmonton, September 2, 2009: Residential sales through the Edmonton and Area Multiple Listing Service® in August were lower than the number posted in July but higher than sales the previous August. There were a total of 1,673 sales last month as compared to 2,277 in July (a monthly record) and 1,541 in August 2008.

“Although sales numbers cooled a bit after record sales in June and July, we are still experiencing the strength of the market in Edmonton,” said Charlie Ponde, president of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. “Our members continue to report high buyer interest. Although sales in the fall are slower than the spring, buyers are looking for a home and sellers can reach them through the MLS® System.”

Prices for Single Family Dwellings climbed steadily all year and peaked in July at $372,741. The average* SFD sold for $366,788 in August, down 1.6 percent from the previous month. The current price is just $2,400 lower than average prices in August 2008.

Condominium prices were also down in August; dropping less than one percent to $242,035 on average in August from $244,265 in July. By comparison, the average price for a condo in August 2008 was $251,048. The average price has come down because of the increased amount of lower priced product that has entered the market rather than the value of a particular property being marked down.

Duplex and row house properties sold on average for $294,007 and the combined Average Residential Price was $318,321 in August; down 3.3% from $329,207 in August 2008.

“Our market is operating normally,” said Ponde. “There is a balance between buyers’ and sellers’ expectations and, while prices fluctuate seasonally, there are no major price swings. The strong inventory and activity levels result in moderation and stability.”

The average days-on-market was 48 in August; up two days from July. At the end of August there were 6,445 residential properties active on the MLS® System.

Highlights of MLS® System activity

¹. Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses.
². Single Family Dwelling
³. The middle figure in a list of all sales prices

* Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual prices, which may vary

Sept. 01, 2009

Well the month of August was pretty similar to what we saw in the month of July.    As of this morning there were 2,069 single family dwellings listed with the Edmonton Realtors Association on MLS.   In the previous 30 days there were 712 single family dwellings that sold. That would give us a listing to sales ratio of 2.9:1 a slight increase from last month, but still well below the 4:1 listing to sales ratio we need for a balanced or neutral market. 

I am not concerned with the slight increase in the ratio as I mentioned it is still below the neutral point and we have to take into consideration that it was August which is typically a slower month as people try the get the last of the summer holiday fun in, and then start to get prepared to get the kids ready for school.

I am expecting to see the sales start to increase in the month of September and October as we get into our normal fall market. Home valuations like most things are dictated by the law of supply and demand.  And at this time the lower ratio indicates a fairly high demand.

I expect the balance of the year to continue to be strong, but I do expect that 2010 will be even stronger, and valuations to continue to increase.

So what does that mean to you?  Well if you are a first time buyer you are going to want to get into the market as soon as possible.   If you are looking at selling your current home to move to a bigger or more expensive home you are going to want to do it as soon as possible.  However, if you are downsizing, or moving to a lesser expensive home then you want to wait for market valuations to continue to rise before you make your move.

Please feel free to give me a call anytime on my cell 780-995-6520 should you ever be curious on the value of your home and would like a free no-obligation comparative market analysis of your home.

Morning everybody,

I want to apologize for the delay in getting this statistics out this week.  We are doing some changes and upgrading to both the website and the blog.

As of this morning there are 2,192 single family homes listed on MLS in Edmonton proper.  That number has remain fairly consistent over the last few weeks.  The number of sales in the past 30 days were 788 a slight increase over last week.  That give us a listing to sales ratio of 2.78:1 still lower than the 4:1 we need for a balanced ratio that we need for a neutral market.  So I expect that we should see valuations continue to rise slightly over the short term, or until we see that ratio get closer to the 4:1.

Source: Realtors Association of Edmonton

Wow what a busy long weekend this was.  Normally long weekends are slow as people are out of town enjoying their days off.  Well this long weekend I still managed to get 3 of my listings go deal pending.  This is indicative to me that there are many people out there looking at homes and today’s stats seem to back that up.

As of this morning there were 2,071 active single family homes listed in Edmonton proper.  That is a slight drop over last week.  We also had 905 homes sell in the last 30 days.  That would give us a listing to sales ratio of 2.29:1 which is slightly lower than last week, and indicates that we are going to see continued upward pressure on valuations.

With valuations of homes increasing if you are thinking of buying or thinking about making a move up to a more expensive home don’t wait any longer.  Save some money and do it now.

Well it looks like the heat, Capital-Ex, and the Rexall Indy had very little impact on the real estate market here in Edmonton.

As of this morning there were 2,156 active Single Family homes on the market in Edmonton proper, which is very similar to what we saw the previous week.  In the last 30 days there were 911 sales, which again is very similar to the numbers we saw last week.  This would give us a listing to sales ration of 2.37:1 which again is similar to last week’s number.

Even though the market seems to be stabilizing at these numbers that ratio is still below the 4:1 that we need for a balanced or neutral market and does indicate that we are going to see increases in valuations.

Like I have been saying for some time now, don’t hold off on buying your next home as it will cost you more money.

Source: Lee Politano, Mortgage Specialist (780) 264-1749    TD Bank Financial Group

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

>>To view the full report click here<<

Source: Lee Politano, Mortgage Specialist (780) 264-1749    TD Bank Financial Group

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

• Minutes of the FOMC reveal that the Fed has upgraded its economic growth forecasts. The central bank now expects a contraction of -1.5% to -1.0% in 2009 and growth of 2.1% to 3.3 in 2010%.
• U.S. retail sales recorded a better-than-expected +0.6% in June, led by auto and gasoline sales.
• Housing starts in the U.S. jumped up to 582,000 in June, marking the second straight month of gains.
• U.S. headline CPI advanced 0.7% in June, but remain down 1.4% Y/Y; core inflation was up 0.2% on the month and 1.7% above year-ago levels.
• Federal deficit hit $1.1 trillion during the first nine months of the fiscal year beginning in October.
• Canadian manufacturing sector continues to reel from outside pressures as the downward spiral in manufacturing shipments continued with a 6.0% decline in May
• The domestic economy looks set to recover as both auto and home sales improve.

>>To view the full report click here<<

Well I am glad to be back from taking a 4 day long weekend, and we are back working and here to give you the update on the Edmonton Real Estate Market.

As of this morning there were 2,215 single family dwellings listed in Edmonton proper.  That number has been remaining fairly stable as of late which is a nice sign to see.  In the last 30 days there has been 938 sales of single family dwellings.  Again this has been a fairly stable number.

With those listings and sales that would give us a listing to sales ratio of 2.36:1, which would be a slight increase over last week.  However, this is still well below the 4:1 ratio that we need in Edmonton for a stable or neutral market.  This would indicate that we should continue to see an increase in valuations.

Now is definitely the time to buy before prices continue to go up.