March housing starts were down 59% from March ’07 and were down 31% for the first quarter according to a report released by CMHC today. Single family homes are down for the 9th month in a row, representing the lowest level of activity since 1996. Completions meanwhile are actually up 13% from last year – that means more inventory coming on the market now, but less in the future. Completed, unoccupied homes stands at 902 (a record) – although I’d have to disagree with this stat. By unoccupied I think they mean unsold, since there are clearly plenty of new, unoccupied homes listed on the MLS as resale that the builders would consider occupied.
The sale price for a new single family home is up 33% from last year, setting a new record of $501,499, but CMHC cautions that most of these prices were negotiated before construction on the home even began.
As for multi-family starts, they’re down as well – 57% since last March. Units under construction are up 42% from this time last year though, and CMHC expects unoccupied inventory to increase from the current "normal" levels.
"Condo resale inventories were looking very well supplied in March and new units will face stiff competition from these existing units that are in many cases priced below the current cost of new construction."
Meanwhile there are new retail developments popping up all over the city. Retail vacany rates have been steadily decreasing while rental rates are on the rise, so developers have responded to the demand by building all kinds of new space.
Windermere in South West Edmonton will add about 1 million square feet of retail space on about 100 acres featuring Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Canadian Tire making it Edmonton’s second largest outdoor shopping centre, after South Edmonton Common which continues to grow.
The Meadows in South East Edmonton has about 500,000 square feet of retail space planned with another Home Depot and a Superstore.
Existing malls are also expanding (South Gate and Kingsway) and there are also large developments in Spruce Grove, Sherwood Park and Leduc.
Makes me wonder if the commercial guys have learned anything from the residential guys about over-building?
I got the idea for this after reading your blog. Thanks.
http://edmontonsouthsidecondo.wordpress.com/
I hope you all have noticed that the price of average SFH in Edmonton
for the first 29 days of April is over $ 400,000 ( 401,042 )on Bob’s site.
If you wish, it dropped back to the $ 280,000 range, we have one day left to do that.
he-he-he-ha-ha
I am positive that the bubble heads will be ignoring that evidence that there is no RE crash, sales are picking up, sale prices are steady as per Bob Truman’s site and that this present trend since November is not characteristic of a crash.
The prices correction that occured between last May until november is therefore over.
Edmonton RE is vibrant and the economy is awesome.
No bubble here.
So this is the big spring push is it?
Average prices of SFH are up $2,500 from last month? To funny, they fluctuate that much depending on the day.
Inventory is 5297 this April compared to 1655 last April.
Sales are 883 this April compared to 1230 last April.
Average price is $401,000 this April to $438,000 last April
Man I better rush out and buy now or forever get left behind. LOL
Oh, I forgot to mention that those MLS figures are per BT.
We haven’t touched the ocean of ComFree listings.
Seems to be some diparity between Bob’s site and Realty Executives site.
Data Last Updated April 30, 2008, 3:07 pm
Total Properties 13796 – Res 7153 – Condo – 3161 Acreage – 1336
http://tinyurl.com/32l2x5
From BT’s site today…
Alberta’s environmental irresponsibility is going to hurt us
If you think environmental issues aren’t going to affect us in Alberta, the lead story on the CBC, and the front page of the Herald today should give us pause. 500 birds trapped in oil. The Herald story states, “In an advertisement from a coalition of American and Canadian environmental groups, an oilsands mining operation is captured within an image of a maple leaf oozing oil like blood.” People from all over the world are hearing about this.
Don Braid says in his Herald column, “What we have now, almost officially, is a worldwide campaign against Alberta. This is entirely new; other people have always been the villains, not us.We have been a protected, prosperous little backwater that loved talking about being a world player without really knowing how to do it. And our politicians are learning that this is a very tough league.” See full article Dead birds make Tory rival’s job duck soup.
As well, who thinks we can kill our wolf pups without worldwide consequences? Petition against proposed wolf cull. Take a look at the countries where these people are from.
I expect that Alberta is high on Greenpeace’s list(eg. thebanner at Ed’s dinner). The U.S. is questioning if they will buy our”dirty oil.” Have you seen the campaign against the seal hunt? Everyone has. It has been very effective, and that is what’s going to happen to us. I’d like to see Alberta take some responsibility for environmental stewardship while we still have an opportunity. We could become a leader in sustainable energy development. We could promote tourism; “Come to Alberta and view our wild wolves.” Yellowstone has reaped millions in tourist dollars from the re-introduction of wolves. Wolves bring ecological and economic benefits.
Do you think the $25 million that is being spent on advertising abroad to help our image is a good investment? Will it have any effect on worldwide opinion?
Posted: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 7:43 AM by Bob Truman
Comments
dvrvd said:
Couldn’t agree more. It is so depressing seeing our rudderless ship of a province move forward with no real plan. To think, we have the prosperity (and the know-how) to be world leaders in environmentally-sustainable resource extraction, but instead, we are content to push all the problems into the future (and presumably let our children or grandchildren deal with it).
The main problem, I think, is that it is “out of sight, out of mind” for the majority of Albertans. If you had some of those huge oil sands tailing ponds next to highway 1 towards Banff, people would probably think twice about all this “progress”.
From BT’s site…
Alberta’s environmental irresponsibility is going to hurt us
If you think environmental issues aren’t going to affect us in Alberta, the lead story on the CBC, and the front page of the Herald today should give us pause. 500 birds trapped in oil. The Herald story states, “In an advertisement from a coalition of American and Canadian environmental groups, an oilsands mining operation is captured within an image of a maple leaf oozing oil like blood.” People from all over the world are hearing about this.
Don Braid says in his Herald column, “What we have now, almost officially, is a worldwide campaign against Alberta. This is entirely new; other people have always been the villains, not us.We have been a protected, prosperous little backwater that loved talking about being a world player without really knowing how to do it. And our politicians are learning that this is a very tough league.” See full article Dead birds make Tory rival’s job duck soup.
As well, who thinks we can kill our wolf pups without worldwide consequences? Petition against proposed wolf cull. Take a look at the countries where these people are from.
I expect that Alberta is high on Greenpeace’s list(eg. thebanner at Ed’s dinner). The U.S. is questioning if they will buy our”dirty oil.” Have you seen the campaign against the seal hunt? Everyone has. It has been very effective, and that is what’s going to happen to us. I’d like to see Alberta take some responsibility for environmental stewardship while we still have an opportunity. We could become a leader in sustainable energy development. We could promote tourism; “Come to Alberta and view our wild wolves.” Yellowstone has reaped millions in tourist dollars from the re-introduction of wolves. Wolves bring ecological and economic benefits.
Do you think the $25 million that is being spent on advertising abroad to help our image is a good investment? Will it have any effect on worldwide opinion?
Posted: Wednesday, April 30, 2008 7:43 AM by Bob Truman
Comments
dvrvd said:
Couldn’t agree more. It is so depressing seeing our rudderless ship of a province move forward with no real plan. To think, we have the prosperity (and the know-how) to be world leaders in environmentally-sustainable resource extraction, but instead, we are content to push all the problems into the future (and presumably let our children or grandchildren deal with it).
The main problem, I think, is that it is “out of sight, out of mind” for the majority of Albertans. If you had some of those huge oil sands tailing ponds next to highway 1 towards Banff, people would probably think twice about all this “progress”.
Sorry Sheldon, didn’t mean to make the last post twice.
***Comment removed. Blatant advertising. See code of conduct.
***Comment removed. Anti-competitive. See competition bureau.
***Comment removed. Blatant advertising. See code of conduct.
While it is your blog to do as you see fit, I don’t see discussion about a rival real estate group as blatant advertising. One of the comments was even negative.
I support the code of conduct if its intent is postive discourse. However, if the code of conduct is used to eliminate any honest discussion about alternatives to Coldwell Banker selling your home then there will be little reason to read.
Maybe from the back-end you can tell that was blatant advertising. You couldn’t from the front.
***Thanks for your comment woody. First of all the comment is the same as many that have been planted to discuss a certain company. This type of comment would be deleted regardless of the company.
We can be held accountable for comments about other licensed companies. Its not worth our time to deal with those issues.
Regarding the other comment. There are strict rules and prohibitions from the competition bureau againt hinting or suggesting a competitor might be boycotted. Last fine handed out in Alberta in regards to competition issues was if memory serves me correctly close to $100,000. I definitely don’t want to deal with those issues so if that conversation or thread comes up then its closed as far as I’m concerned.
Sheldon
SFH prices are up $10,648 (2.72%) since January. We are on track for an 8% increase this year. Average SFH price should be $423k by year end. Brent, it’s time to get off the fence!!!
RB,
I make that much hitting the enter key on my lap top sitting in my sweats pants and t-shirt.
And I don’t have to put up $400,000 grand to make the 10 grand either. Gotta love day trading!
Brent, it does not matter if a 1,000 house is for sale or 10,000… or 800 is sold or 1,200 is sold,
the price is still $400,000.
And that’s only in Alberta!
Arggggg…a 1,200 Barrel Oil spill up in Slave Lake today
Apparently the 1,200 barrels was spilled into the Ottauwau river which feeds the Lesser Slave River.
This won’t bode well for Alberta’s image…especially on the heels of the Oilsands kiling 500 migratory birds in the last couple of days.
I don’t know what the damage will be up there in Slave Lake, but I do know that there are many fish that live in those rivers and it is always sad to see this kind of destruction.
The oilfield up there where this spill happened has pipelines that have been there since the place was built in the early 60′s.
I suspect this sort of thing will continue in our province as our oil/gas transport infrastructure continues to age.
Sara,
Your said “Makes me wonder if the commercial guys have learned anything from the residential guys about over-building?” I agree.
I think that may very well be the next overshoot that we will see. I too wonder if building an additional 1.7 Million sq. feet of mall space is such a good idea with the economic conditions looking a bit unfavorable and consumers tightening their purse strings.
With food prices and fuel prices increasing, I have altered my personal budget in response. I know I am not alone either.
The US cannot boycott our oil. Other buyers are lining up and already in the provice: Dutch, French, Chinese, Noreigans, etc. The US needs Canada and not the other way any more. As for the environment issue, this is minor things can happen any where. I do not mean to disrespect the environment but I would rather see 500 dead ducks than 5 hungry kids because their parents are unemployed or 5 youth turn criminals because their parents cannot send them to school. The environmalists propaganda is misleading, think of humans, humans come first before ducks and fish.
Mike,
I am no environmentalist, trust me. But our argument might be, lets say scary. So if we as humans kill the some animals and fish, so that we can have jobs, that is ok. Think about that for a second, seriously. If we continue destroying our ecosystem for the sake of good paying jobs, humans will all go hungry. If we continue to destroy our wildlife, our rivers, and lakes, animals continue to go instinct, what are the future ramifications for all humankind. When we kill one type of organism or animal it affects the next on the food chain, and eventually guess what it affects us.
If Alberta pumped a small portion into green alternative solutions to energy, we could provide economic and environmental stability for future generations. Alberta has the ability with our bright minds, and financial resources to be a leader in Canada and the World and we don’t. Why is that? It is open to discussion, I have to many opinions on that question.
500 dead birds is kinda a big deal, because it a microcosm of the what is wrong with our large oil companies and government. It shows how big oil fails to protect our wildlife, when they have bulging revenues. What are they going to get for it, a fine that any oil exec can pay out of their back pocket.
The damage that is being done up there is insane. Sadly enough this story gets about the same amount of press as the aboriginals down stream of Fort Mac who are dealing with rare forms of cancer.
Maybe you feel the story affect you very little, because you fail to see the indirect consequences. Oilsands development comes at a cost, and we enjoy the rewards of it. One day we will pay, dearly. Many Albertans enjoy jobs in the oil sector, and the rest of us profit from the spin off. Ironically we call it the “Golden Goose.”
I don’t have figures on me but I would venture that the Alberta Oilsands companies spend more money on their environmental programs every year than the Alberta government. This is one incident that occurred. It is unfortunate but it happened. These companies aren’t up here raping and pillaging like you guys are tending to think. Sure they have these big ponds that have oil in them, but you know what. 10 years from now those ponds will simply be rollings hills with trees and grass planted over them. Basically they just removed the oil. It is a service really, cleaning up our subgrade(LOL).
Hey!
We are thinking of buying a house in the next year. I have heard alot of bads things about Com-free. Would it be wise to go with an agent or go through Com-free any ideas?
tks
***we have a whole section on buyer tips. Check that out. Do your research. Meet a couple of REALTORS and see what they can offer you. Understand what you are getting into and know your limitations. How well do you understand construction, market value, negotiating and do you have time to do all the research and set up appointments on your own? Do you know what disclosures a seller should make to you? Do they know? Are you a first time buyer? Is it the right time for you to buy? Why are you buying?
Please don’t answer these online. Please do your research so you don’t up like many unawarites who make serious mistakes on one of their largest investments. Why not use an agent to buy a comfree property? Many of my clients have done this. We have a lot of fun negotiating with people who really don’t have a clue what their doing. That advantage could be worth a ton of money to you.
In any case do your homework.
Sheldon
Why do Oil Companies spend money on the environment? And do you honestly believe they spend enough?
How come it’s OK to discuss Comfree but not another real estate brokerage, who is a competitor to Coldwell Banker and other traditional brokers, which offers an attractive commission structure?
Question for Sara and Sheldon: Would you guys show your clients a property listed with this “controversial competitor”?
***Ken,
Comfree is not regulated. They are unlicensed. They are not a brokerage. Their customer care people are can not give advice, exercise judgement and discretion. They are a marketing company plain and simple. So I can definitely comment and point out when I think they use misleading stats. Just like they comment on the real estate industry in their materials.
The other company you speak of is a licensed brokerage and therefore different rules apply. In addition issues related to competition and prohibitions relating to competition practises are very clear and I’m not putting my business or neck on the line so a few people can discuss a matter they can easily discuss elsewhere.
This is in no way intented to be an apology. Just a clarification. I can tell you if someone wanted to post and brag about another competitor of mine it would be removed unless its done without names and company. Maybe one day I’ll sit down with a team of lawyers (not likely) and figure out what can and can’t be said about my licensed competitors. What I am able to do is point out what we do and illustrate that against what others may or may not offer.
Sheldon
“The US cannot boycott our oil. Other buyers are lining up and already in the provice: Dutch, French, Chinese, Noreigans, etc.”
Where is Noreiga…? I probably meant Norwegian…
“I do not mean to disrespect the environment but I would rather see 500 dead ducks than 5 hungry kids because their parents are unemployed or 5 youth turn criminals because their parents cannot send them to school. The environmalists propaganda is misleading, think of humans, humans come first before ducks and fish.”
Mike, you are contradicting yourself… We are in Alberta, these youths would not turn criminals because their parents cannot send them to school because they are unemployed… This is Alberta and it is impossible to be unemployed, they could find a job in a McDonald’s!!! I just cannot believe how judgemental all of your comments are… Do not tell me kids turn criminals because their parents could not send them to school.
If I want to think like you do, I would reply that all the workers in Fort Mac are criminals then!
Any people on this blog that are not bubbleheads neither Donald Trump type investors? Any normal people??? Sick and tired to read propaganda not supported by any evidence…
Jesse and Mike,
Do you guys actually believe what you stated, cause I hope its a joke? Just like Yogi I’m definately not an environmentalist, but really it comes down to if they only get fined X if they spill Y, and paying the fine costs less then making it never happen in the first place, then they’ll pay the fine. Yeah I know thats simplified risk management, but really its also about money. If fines increase for errors, then more preventitive spending happens; it’s just finding the happy medium of fines to make them do better, and not so heavy that it causes them to go bankrupt when they do get fined.
“The environmalists propaganda is misleading, think of humans, humans come first before ducks and fish.”
And then what… bears? Like the grizzly, hey if we wipe out 500 of them who cares right? Uh oh thats the entire grizzly population in Alberta… oops, oh well there are more bears. How about a few falcons… oops another species wiped out in Alberta, wanna go for another few? The point is, if we don’t care about them, even when warnings have been posted to these companies for years by ducks unlimited, etc, to install some very inexpensive noise makers, it goes back to my simplified risk, and now that the fines are increased by Special Ed, they’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Mike, I don’t know if you live in Edmonton or Calgary, but the crime rate in Edmonton has increased with the increasing population, so whether mommy or daddy are unemployed or we have a dramatic increase in stabbings and shootings due to pressures from population, affordable housing, etc (2007 I think was one of the worst I can remember), its pretty much the same result.
Sorry for going off topic, but seriously…
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“The survey found prices in Edmonton fell by between 12 and 14 per cent. In Calgary, four of the neighbourhoods surveyed showed price declines of between four and 13 per cent but two others registered increases of three and nine per cent.”
http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/business/story.html?id=e5bfca78-893a-4b4a-93a8-0a6e6040ee66
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It looks like the saying “when US sneezes Canada catches cold” still holds some truth.
“As odd as it might seem, Canada could end up feeling a worse downdraft from the housing-led U.S. slump than the United States itself.
The tremendous drag on this export-dependent nation from the U.S. slowdown is beginning to neutralize our fabled strong domestic demand while the more varied U.S. economy continues against all odds to hold its head above water.”
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=483017
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Ya, it would be nice if Greenpeace started to be a little more active in the oilsands… they have been oddly quiet about it thus far.
Maybe Greenpeace members can’t pay the rent up there on their 20 dollar Walmart jobs. No offense intended, if they paid the same down here I would work at Walmart no problem. I always had a secret ambition to be a Walmart Greeter.
I guess the solar energy companies are so broke that they could not fork any donations to the Greens. Hey Greens, may be you should buy some oil company stocks to get some funding for your cause hehe. Also cockroaches are endangered species as people tend to fight them in their natural habitat i.e. kitchens, may be you should do something about that.
Mike I’m not quite sure what point your trying to make…again I’m assuming your joking. BTW, going “Green” is a multi-billion dollar industry, and you might want to look up he words “endangered animals”, I’m not sure you understand what that means.
On Bob’s site, he reports good stats for April:
SFH.
959 sold for an average price of $400K, Most sold since June 07 and highest avg. price since October.
Condos.
475 sold, almost beats the amount sold in July!
I wonder what BAD, Brent, etc will have to say here for denial.
BTW, I sold my SFH in 5 days.
I had 3 showings and accepted an offer at $5K under my asking ($455K)! RE crash? What crash?