Here is our update on the Edmonton real estate market. (Previous week’s numbers are in brackets). For the past 7 days:
New listings: 255 (286, 297 , 321)
# Sales: 119 (125, 169, 162)
Ratio: 47% (44%, 57% , 50%)
# Price changes: 234 (297, 347, 321)
# Expired Listings: 191 (503, 139, 231)
# Canceled/withdrawn/terminated listings: 35 (46, 26, 36)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: -90 (-388, -37, -108)
Active listings for single family homes: 2940 (2991, 200, 3188)
Active listings for condos: 1975 (1986, 2158, 2177)
So far this month there have been 319 sales, which could put us below 800 sales for the month, which is below average. The average residential sale price sits at $313k for the month so far, down from $318 at the end of November. Single family homes are averaging $355k, down from $364k while condos are up to $236k from $231k. Only 11 days into the month its hard to say this is a trend, we should have a better idea next week.
With temperatures expected to dip into the -30 range and stay very cold for at least the next week, I would expect only the most motivated buyers to be out looking putting a further chill on real estate sales this month. If you are one of those buyers thinking of going out in the next week you may want to check if your Realtor’s car has heated seats!
No surprise given: a) the time of year; b) buyer expectations of a further drop in interest rates (which already was announced); and c) would-be buyers in the wait and see position given that there could be better deals come the new year.
A 60 Minutes piece that is a must watch…
The second wave is coming
Yes, it was a good program. It just shows you how bad it may get south of the border.
But be cautious when trying to compare the US real estate market with ours. Canadian lending practices were not as liberal as they were in the US. We have very few mortgages that are classified as ‘subprime’ or ‘ARMs’, etc.
Thanks for the link, Brent.
Last year, a large corporation lured many of its employees into converting their Defined Contribution pension benefits (managed by Sunlife) from GICs to mutual funds, based on a “life plan” scheme.
People my age would have found themselves invested mainly in mortgage-backed funds, since those were considered “safe”.
When I heard about it, I was wondering why on earth the “life plan” was so actively pushed – and which high-ranking executive would have pocketed a kickback from Sunlife.
I am wondering how happy my friends who let themselves be “convinced” will be when they see their quarterly statements at the end of December….
interesting
Don’t compare the states to Canada. It won’t happen here….lol. It’s happening here. Unconventional mortgages in all of their varieties will start to fall when your inseparably connected economies fall further and the job losses mount. We are headed for a depression. I have friends losing jobs in construction, finance, the patch and two of my realtor friends in Lethbridge have seen their business fall drastically. Even a dentist I know says that his business has slid 25% in the last quarter. I would be careful talking about how bad things are going to get south of the border while ignoring the implications here. Open your eyes.
Sure Spence, why don’t you open your eyes. Your dentist buddy is down 25% huh? Are people just living with cavities now? Ya right. Patch workers sent home? Not if they were any good. Costruction workers let go. Only the uless twits I’m afraid. Anyone who is actually good at what they do is very busy still. No one is losing thier home. The U.S. screw ups will affect us as they are the whole planet but tell me, where do you think is a better place to be in the world than Canada, or even more specifically, Western Canada. Open your eyes and ears.
To all the negative nancies out there – I’d like to know what your advice would be in the current market. Should we all panic, sell our homes ASAP and move back in to our mother’s basement? Then hoard our cash for the coming apocalypse?
How exactly is that going to help, anyways? Even if we are on the verge of a major housing market correction, is it really worth it to take such drastic action? And if that is your solution, where exactly is a person supposed to park their money while waiting for the housing correction. The stock market? Oops, nope, it’s already fallen by 50%. Maybe we should just stuff our money in a bank account? Oh wait, interest rates are now officially zero in the US, and Canada is sure to follow. Maybe we should stuff a big pile of cash under our mattress? Oh wait, if we don’t have a house, then a big chunk of that cash will be going to rent, or maybe we can just throw our mattress out on the street and live there while this all blows over. Not sure how safe our money would be then though, and it’s mighty cold outside these days…
With the ridiculous fiscal policy being pursued by most world governments right now (can’t you just hear those money presses working overtime?) we may very well be in store for some serious currency devaluation. If we are lucky, maybe only the US will face the worst of it, but then again maybe not. So saving hoards of cash may not be that great if it buys nothing in a few years anyways…
So tell me, if not in housing, then where are we supposed to keep our money safe in these times? I’d like to know, because for all the negativity out there regarding housing, I just don’t see any safer options. So maybe paying for a roof over my head is a decent option, even if it is a very overpriced house and about to face a correction, when none of the other options are any better and they don’t give you a place to live either.
Please let me know if you have a better option.
No Rej, people are not living with cavities now. They are still getting their cavities fixed….for now anyway. They just are not going for their routine cleanings or the teeth whitening treatment or the little extras. Obviously dentists will get by, but they too have to cut staff when the going gets tough. You bring up a good point that the useless twits will be the first to go. Sadly though, the useless twits have become an integral part of our economy. The good ones that remain employed will not be able to keep the Alberta dream alive by themselves. I am a carpenter. I consider myself a good carpenter. But I left it for Med school because things are slowing down. Many carpenters are not very busy I am afraid (and not just because it is -25) No, I don’t wish I lived in another country. The whole world is going to feel this. I am an Alberta boy and always will be. I just hate the fact that so many people seem blind to reality.
For your information, personal bankruptcies in alberta were up 50% in October 2008 from October 2007. People are losing their houses here. I’m just saying plan now so it’s not you. Good luck
http://www.lethbridgeherald.com/content/view/13509/26/
Hey Another Fred,
I would absolutely stay in your house if you can afford it and you have a secure job. From the sounds of things it would be pretty hard to sell right now anyway. I have a house in the Southwest and I have no intentions of selling it. Before buying it I had 250K in commercial paper at TD waterhouse. It was low risk, but you never know right. When we began looking up here in the summer we had already been pre-approved for up to 500K. We decided to buy a half duplex for 300K instead. Like I already mentioned I had been watching the economy slow down first hand as a carpenter. I am not saying don’t buy houses. All I am saying is get your house in order. Avoid unnecessary extras and prepare for the days ahead. Don’t treat your home like an ATM and use your equity to buy toys. There has been a lot of this happening up here over the last few years. Unlike Rej, it sounds like you can actually see that times are changing.
Edmonton is not an island immune to what is happening all around us. All this quick paper wealth that happened in 2006 and 2007 can disappear just as fast. People using their homes as ATM machines to by excessive toys are gone.
Frankly, I think what’s happening is great! This isn’t the French Riveria or Mediterranean. Edmonton is a one trick pony and always has been. It’s a land locked, sub zero, wind swept dreadful place 6 months of the year and should be priced accordingly. There is noway on earth one should have to pay the $ we have been paying for a partical board shoe box in suburbia. It’s totally absurd and a complete joke. Compare our hyper inflated prices to prices down south, is living at the north pole better and we should pay more for that privilege? Frig No!
Brent,
Why do you live here if you hate it so much. You work overseas anyway. Oh yea sorry to here about the latest telecoms bust. I guess you have no choice, have fun installing Sat dishes on our homes.
I enjoy it here in the winter, it is nice to build a roaring fire in the back yard fire pit, and have a few drinks with the neighbours. I Go skating, skiing etc. I guess it looks pretty bleak for you stuck in a crappy apartment somewhere, with car frozen outside.
Cheers
Yup it sucks major, there’s no doubt about it. One feels like a hermit in this climate running from store to car, from car to home. Oh ya, got to go back out and shovel snow. Frig!
So much for OPEC cuts.
Crude prices tumble despite record OPEC cuts
How about this? If you are financially in reasonable shape and don’t expect to lose your job in the current downturn:
1) Pay down as much debt as you can, if you don’t want to invest in the markets right now or accept the current low interest on savings.
2) Keep the economy going by spending money – but wisely. There are lots of good deals on items you may have had on your list anyway.