Four bedroom Bi-Level former showhome with new high efficient furnace, new hot water tank, new central air conditioning. This home must be seen to be appreciated. Listed for only $369,900 For more detail click on the following link: http://www.edmontonhomesforsale.biz/view_listing/Canossa/sys/E3284707
Well we are off to another good week in the Edmonton real estate market, as the market is getting stronger every day.
As of this morning there were 1.669 single family dwellings for sale in Edmonton proper. That is a slight increase from last weeks inventory level of 1,607. I expect the inventory to continue to increase as we get closer to spring time.
In the last 30 days there were 517 single family dwellings sold in Edmonton proper. That also is a slight increase from last weeks level of 478.
To most important and relevant part is our listing to sales ratio… they are dropping. This week’s ratio is 3.23:1 in comparison to last week’s ratio of 3.36:1. So two things here are important. Number one is the fact that the ratio is dropping and showing us a trend. Number two the ratio is below the 4:1 that we need for a stable or neutral market.
So expect valuations to start rising. If you are a first time buyer don’t wait call your realtor now and see what your options might be even if you don’t have your down payment. Also if you are thinking of moving to a bigger or more expensive home again the sooner you make your move the further ahead financially you will be.
Please call me if you have any questions about this, or anything else related to Real Estate. I would love to help you out. (780) 634-8151
Serge Bourgoin founding and managing partner of Team Leading Edge at RE/MAX Elite
Team Leading Edge… Leading the way with extraordinary service
Transitioning from renter to homeowner is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make throughout your lifetime. It can also be a stressful experience if you don’t plan ahead by building a budget and saving prior to embarking upon homeownership.
Budgeting is a core ingredient that helps alleviate the stress associated with money issues that can sometimes arise if you purchase a home without knowing all of the associated costs – including down payment, closing expenses, ongoing maintenance, taxes and utilities.
The trouble is, many first-time homeowners fail to carefully think about their finances, plan a budget or set savings aside. And in this society of instant gratification, money problems can quickly escalate.
The key is to create a realistic budget based on your goals. Track your spending and make your dollars go further by sticking to your budget once it’s in place. Budgeting offers a step-by-step formula for figuring out how to best save your hard-earned money to invest in homeownership.
Start by listing your household income, then your household expenses, and review your spending habits. All of this can be done on a pad of paper or on a computer spreadsheet.
Keeping receipts for everything that you purchase will enable you to accurately keep track of where your money is going each month so that you can review and make necessary changes to your plan on an ongoing basis.
Examine all areas of your life from entertainment to the type of food you buy, where you buy your food and clothes, and how and where you travel. Also look at your spending personality and make necessary adjustments. Are you a saver, a splurger, a spontaneous shopper or a hoarder? Become smarter with your money and avoid impulse buying.
If you find you’re spending a lot of money in one area, such as entertainment for instance, set aside a reasonable amount each month and prepare to stop spending money in this area once your budget has been exhausted.
Budgeting provides you with the opportunity to re-evaluate your needs and wants. Do you really need the magazine subscriptions, the gym membership and all the other things you may spend money on each month? Although everyone needs some “me time” to wind down, could you not get that by taking a walk or reading a good book you borrowed from the library?
If you can set your budget solidly in place before you head out home or mortgage shopping, you will be far more prepared to purchase your first home.
Following are three top tips to help you prepare for the purchase of your first home:
1. Set up a savings account. You can deposit a predetermined amount into this account each pay period that you will not touch unless it’s absolutely necessary. This will enable you to put money aside for a down payment and cover closing costs, as well as address ongoing homeownership expenses such as maintenance, taxes and utilities.
2. Save up for big-ticket items. As you accumulate money in your savings account, you will be able to also save for specific purchases to help furnish your home – avoiding the buy now, pay later mentality, which can have a negative impact on your credit when you’re seeking mortgage financing.
3. Surround yourself with a team of professionals. When you’re getting ready to make your first home purchase, enlist my services as a licensed mortgage professional and find a trusted real estate agent. Experts are invaluable to you as you set out on the road to homeownership because we help first-time buyers through the home purchase and financing processes every day. Experts can answer all of your questions and set your mind at ease. I have access to multiple lenders, and can help you get pre-approved for a mortgage so you know exactly what you can afford to spend on a home before you head out house hunting, while a real estate agent will be able to match your needs with a house you can afford. Both parties will negotiate on your behalf to ensure you get the best bang for your buck. And, best of all, these services are typically free. Experts will also be able to refer you to other reputable professionals you may need for your home purchase, including a real estate lawyer and home appraiser.
Source: Souchita Rattanarasy of Dominion Lending Centres Optimum (780) 932-2225
Homebuyers want smaller houses and they are willing to strip some of yesterday’s most popular rooms-such as home theatres-from them in order to accommodate changing lifestyles, consumer experts told audiences at the International Builders Show here this week.
“This is a traumatic time in (the United States) and the future isn’t something we’re 100 per cent sure about now either. What’s left? The answer for most home buyers is authenticity,” said Heather McCune, director of marketing for Bassenian Lagoni Architects in Park Ridge, Ill.
Buyers today want cost-effective architecture, plans that focus on spaces and not rooms and homes that are designed ‘green’ from the outset,” she said. The key for homebuilders is “finding the balance between what buyers want and the price point.”
For many buyers, their next house will be smaller than their current one, said Carol Lavender, president of the Lavender Design Group in San Antonio, Texas. Large kitchens that are open to the main family living area, old-fashioned bathrooms with claw foot tubs and small spaces such as wine grottos are design features that will resonate today, she said.
“What we’re hearing is ‘harvest’ as a home theme-the feeling of Thanksgiving. It’s all about family togetherness-casual living, entertaining and flexible spaces,” Lavender said.
Paul Cardis, CEO of AVID Ratings Co., which conducts an annual survey of homebuyer preferences, said there are 10 “must” features in new homes:
1. Large kitchens, with an island. “If you’re going to spend design dollars, spend them where people want them-spend them in the kitchen,” McCune said. Granite countertops are a must for move-up buyers and buyers of custom homes, but for others “they are on the bubble,” Cardis said.
2. Energy-efficient appliances, high-efficiency insulation and high window efficiency. Among the “green” features touted in homes, these are the ones buyers value most, he said. While large windows had been a major draw, energy concerns are giving customers pause on those, he said. The use of recycled or synthetic materials is only borderline desirable.
3. Home office/study. People would much rather have this space rather than, say, a formal dining room. “People are feeling like they can dine out again and so the dining room has become tradable,” Cardis said. And the home theatre may also be headed for the scrap heap, a casualty of the “shift from boom to correction,” Cardis said.
4. Main-floor master suite. This is a must feature for empty-nesters and certain other buyers, and appears to be getting more popular in general, he said. That could help explain why demand for upstairs laundries is declining after several years of popularity gains.
5. Outdoor living room. The popularity of outdoor spaces continues to grow, even in Canada, Cardis said. And the idea of an outdoor room is even more popular than an outdoor cooking area, meaning people are willing to spend more time outside.
6. Ceiling fans.
7. Master suite soaker tubs. Whirlpools are still desirable for many home buyers, Cardis said, but “they clearly went down a notch,” in the latest survey. Oversize showers with seating areas are also moving up in popularity.
8. Stone and brick exteriors. Stucco and vinyl don’t make the cut.
9. Community landscaping, with walking paths and playgrounds. Forget about golf courses, swimming pools and clubhouses. Buyers in large planned developments prefer hiking among lush greenery.
10. Two-car garages. A given at all levels; three-car garages, in which the third bay is more often than not used for additional storage and not automobiles, is desirable in the move-up and custom categories, Cardis said.
Source: Steve Kerch of Marktwatch (Yourhome.ca)
EDMONTON – More houses and condos will be built, more existing homes sold and it will be a little harder to find an apartment to rent next year.
And existing homes and rents are expected to cost more in 2010, a comprehensive new report on Edmonton’s housing market said Monday.
This strong rebound predicted for 2010 comes after housing starts in the Edmonton area hit bottom this year — the third straight year of decline, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday.
Builders are on pace to begin construction on 5,000 homes, 24 per cent fewer than the year before, said the national housing agency’s Fall 2009 Housing Market Outlook for the Edmonton census metropolitan area.
It is the lowest level of activity for the region’s homebuilders since 1997, said the report, and follows a 56-per-cent decline in total housing starts in 2008.
“While single-detached construction has staged a modest recovery since the summer, a continued downturn in the multi-family sector will hold down this year’s numbers,” the report said.
For 2010, the agency expects continued growth in single-family detached homes and a moderate rebound in multiples, boosting total starts by 29 per cent to 6,450 units. While that would be a considerable improvement over this year, it compares with an average of more than 10,600 units started every year from 1999 to 2008.
For 2009, a new single-detached home in Edmonton will be an average of $535,000, up 4.5 per cent over 2008.
Still, the CMHC predicts the average price will soften in 2010 by 2.8 per cent to$520,000 because of a “lagged effect” of when homes are priced and when they are completed.
On the other hand, the agency forecasts pressure for higher negotiated selling prices in 2010 from builders who had cut their margins over the past year to clear inventory. “With better economic times ahead, land and labour costs as well as material prices such as lumber and concrete are expected to increase.”
In the resale market, the CMHC predicts residential Multiple Listing Service sales will increase this year by eight per cent to 18,750 units. Last year was the slowest for Realtors since 2003, with saw sales falling 15 per cent to 17,369 homes.
“Provided the economy and interest rates perform as expected, CMHC looks for the upward trend to remain in place during 2010,” the agency said. Total MLS sales are forecast to rise another 9.3 per cent to 20,500 homes in 2010, which would approach the level in 2007, which was the second-best year on record.
The average residential MLS price will end 2009 close to $322,000, down 3.3 per cent from the 2008 average.
A balanced market in 2010 is expected to translate into modest price gains all year, with the average resale price rising 3.4 per cent to about $333,000, CMHC said.
Home-ownership costs will likely rise in 2010 as mortgage rates are at rock bottom and prices set to increase, the agency added.
In rentals, apartment vacancy rates across Greater Edmonton will continue to trend up this year. “But landlords should see a turnaround in 2010, provided economic conditions improve,” the report said.
The vacancy rate for October was an estimated four per cent, compared to 2.4 per cent a year earlier. It was the highest fall vacancy rate since 2005.
Factors in dampening demand for rental apartments were rising unemployment, more demand for home ownership and a steady influx of condominium units.
The agency sees the rental vacancy rate falling to 3.5 per cent amid fewer new apartments and strengthening demand.
CMHC expects its fall survey to show rents largely unchanged from October 2008. “With vacancy rates starting to subside in 2010, property owners will be looking to raise rents to offset rising operating costs, in particular utilities and property taxes,” the report said.
A typical two-bedroom apartment will rent for nearly $1,070 by October 2010, up about $35 a month on average compared with October 2009.
By Bill Mah, edmontonjournal.com
OTTAWA – Canadian home sales jumped 73 per cent in November from a year earlier as the real estate market continued to recover from the economic downturn.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday that 36,383 residential properties were sold last month, with Ontario and Quebec setting sales records for November.
“The current strength of housing demand stands in sharp contrast to weak activity recorded one year ago,” CREA said in its report, adding that activity was just 4/10 of a per cent below the highest level for the month recorded in November 2007.
“National home sales activity last month shows how strongly the housing market has rebounded since the beginning of the year,” said CREA president Dale Ripplinger. “As we predicted last April, the rebound in resale housing activity led the overall Canadian economy out of recession.”
The national residential average price was $337,231 in November, up 19 per cent from a year earlier.
Financial Post
People walk past new homes that are for sale in Oakville, Ont. New house prices went up for the fourth straight month in October but are still down from last year, Statistics Canada said Friday.
New house prices higher in October
Statistics Canada says housing prices were on the rise in October.
The agency’s New Housing Price Index rose 0.3 per cent in October, its fourth straight monthly increase. The index rose by 0.5 per cent in September.
Prices increased the most in Quebec City, where they were up 1.1 per cent, followed by Vancouver, at 0.7 per cent. Hamilton, Sudbury and Thunder Bay, Ont., all registered 0.5 per cent increases.
Prices went up in Quebec City in part due to a scarcity of land and increased building costs, the agency noted.
Two cities recorded monthly decreases in new housing prices – Charlottetown, with a 0.7 per cent drop, and Edmonton, at 0.3. In both cities, prices were lower because builders slashed prices to remain competitive, the agency said.
Year over year, the index was down 2.1 per cent in October following a 2.7 per cent decline in September. The largest decreases continue to be in the west, Statistics Canada said.
New Home, Previously Owned or Build Your Own?
When thinking about the kind of home you want, the first thing you should consider is whether you want a previously owned home (often called a resale) or a new home. Here are some characteristics that may help you decide:
New Home
Resale Home
Building Your Own Home
Some people prefer the challenge and flexibility of building their own home. On one hand, you make all the decisions about size, design, location, quality of material, level of energy-efficiency and so on. However, you should expect to invest lots of time and energy.
Article written by: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
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