2008 went out with a fizzle…at least as far as real estate was concerned. December is always a slow month for real estate sales in Edmonton, but this December takes the cake. We didn't break the 600 mark for sale – 599 MLS sales could make this the slowest December on record! (Note – there have been no new sales posted for 2 days, so there may be a glitch in the system, the final 'official' numbers will come out next week).
The average residential sale price fell 2.5% to $310,727:
MLS wide single family home prices dropped from $364k to $351, and condos increased to $235 from $231. What's interesting is that if you look only at Edmonton prices (as opposed to the entire Edmonton MLS area) single family home prices actually increased slightly from $370k in November to $377k in December, and condos increased from $226k to $232k.
Interesting…
As for the weekly numbers…
Here is our update on the Edmonton real estate market. (Previous week's numbers are in brackets). For the past 7 days:
New listings: 94 (107, 200, 255)
# Sales: 37 (65, 107, 119)
Ratio: 39% (61%, 54%, 47%)
# Price changes: 94 (75, 159, 234)
# Expired Listings: 851 (184, 258, 191)
# Canceled/withdrawn/terminated listings: 13 (17, 31, 35)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: -807 (-159, -196, -90)
Active listings for single family homes: 2258 (2722, 2804, 2991)
Active listings for condos: 1554 (1878, 1934, 1975)
I admit, I was shocked by the low number of 37 sales, the lowest number I had on record before that was last week at 65 and every other week has been at least over 100 (the chart below puts the low sales in perspective). The number of expired listings is similar to last year at this time, now we have to wait and see how many of those come back on the market and how quickly.
Have a great weekend! More charts and analysis next week.
A lot of single family homes in the south end of the city have been relisted in January with prices just below 300k. This after a year of sitting on the market in the 350k range.
Jayman and a few other builders have dropped prices on their spec homes significantly and they’re now listed on mls for less than most of the duplexes nearby.
Is it possible that price drops are going to accelerate now?
wow, burn baby burn
I looked thru MLS at SW Edmonton and I couldn’t believe the amount of listings with no snow in the pictures. It was like 99% of them.
How long do sellers sit on last years prices and not sell?
I know when the bubble bursts price drops are sticky at first because there is still denial but it eventually gives way to reality. I think the new year will bring reality.
Or at least you’d expect the realtors to take new pictures with snow on the ground…
I still see one (used to be two) listings with last springs snow on the ground in Sherwood park. *rolleyes*
Time shall tell indeed!
Or the picture of the front of the house is new with snow on the ground but the other pictures (backyard, deck, etc…) are still old pictures with no snow.
They might have dropped the price a whopping $9,999.00 with that new snowy picture.
LOL
great post on your market, we are useually slow this time of year too. But it starts picking up when the weather gets warm
According to EREB there are roughly 3,200 realtors in the Edmonton area. With sales tanking in recent months, assuming this trend continues into 2009, total sales will most certainly be less than 2008. It’ll be interesting to see how many will be around by the end of 2009!
wow things are getting bad here. We’ll be cheaper than Saskatoon in no time. Infact some housing levels already are, like mid level new homes. How come Ft. Mac is still going strong? Median income just below 150k, supporting now an average 680k price? and climbing? what the? and looking back to when Ft. Mac Median family income was at 92k, like Edmonton now, their average home price was 460k, 50% more than us now…. What is in the water there? When are they going to fall?
Regarding the Fort Mac market robustness…give it some time.
Just like Canada in general peaked 18 months after the US housing market, there are lag-times within Canada and the provinces as well.
Recall Saskatoon and Regina climbing while Edmonton/Calgary stalling out or falling. People need to understand that not everything is synchronized, house-prices, layoffs, slowing consumer purchases, etc.
So just because we haven’t seen unemployment numbers skyrocket on paper, does not mean that the new year won’t have huge job losses in store for us.
Sitting from your perch and watching the destruction of wealth on the horizon should be a warning sign and an signal to prepare for changes; not an opportunity to gloat and confuse yourself with a false sense of immunity.
Since early 2007, we have all seen a lot of big events and changes in attitude/expectations occurring around the world as well as here. If we were able to present this information to ourselves in 2007, we would be in total disbelief, and would disregard all of these events as impossibilities.
Albertans are currently in another state of mind today, where denial still rules. At some point this year, the reality will set in for many, and we will finally begin to have more realistic expectations that will include wage-growth and the cost of Real Estate.
This transition will be painful, and I only hope that our federal and provincial governments do not try intervene any more in the markets, and attempt to stop the market from doing what it will do. The only outcome will ultimately be a stretched-out period of adjustment which will involve more pain than necessary, and no change in the outcome.
I’ve been conflicted over whether to buy a new house or a old one. I here a lot of people say that all new houses are poorly constructed pieces of sh#t that are going to crumble and implode in a few years. I do however really like the lay-out of the new two story 1800sq ft houses. I’ve been looking at Bedrock and Landmark. I don’t know anyone who’s dealt with them before. Any stories? Anyway…. I don’t really want to have to reno an old house and I’m not particularly fond of their layouts, yet I’m paranoid as hell about getting a new house and having it go to sh#t ( cracked foundation, leaky roof, ect.) I’m hoping the new houses are crap sentiment is exaggerated . Opinions please…….
try rate your builder.com
Lando, I’ve dealt with both Bedrock & Landmark before, but this is from 2 years back before the boom. Bedrock is just that, 1 division with various finishing levels. Their (pre-boom) homes were generally well built but lacked the latest in designs, finishes and materials.
Landmark, like Jayman, have several divisions according to the price range you’re in. They have a division for low-end 4-storey condos (Urban Landmarks), medium density duplexes (Best Communities), standard grade (Landmark) and high-end (Landmark Classics). Obviously, the more you spend, the better the finishing. Again, Landmark is general well built but everything depends on the crew. If you don’t occasionally show up to inspect the site, there will be defects that are hidden and random garbage hidden in the walls. You should see some of the stuff the trades leave in the walls, insulation and vents! Don’t buy on price but look at the specs. 2×6, 16″ OC should be standard but Landmark seems to have moved to 2×6 24″ OC even though lumber is cheap(er). The 95% furnace is a nice “free” upgrade, but you have to know the downside is that a new motor is $2000 rather than $500.
Do your research! That can’t be emphasized enough. Go by an existing home and buy the owners coffee/lunch/whatever to get first hand knowledge. Most people are too afraid to even talk to their neighbors, so this will give you the peace of mind you’re looking for if you have questions about the quality of any builder.
Lando,
We looked at Bedrock and Landmark before buying our house last year and moving in this fall. Bedrock appears to be good value for the money, but everything is “speced” and you can’t change anything. We were very disappointed with their service and unwillingness to do or change anything. I am sure this has changed now due to their need to sell anything to get it off their books.
I also question the quality of work at Bedrock after looking at Landmark, Hillview, Cameron Homes, Parkwood and other “higher” quality builders. There are also some very unsubstantiated rumors about spec home builders in Edmonton drastically cutting back on anything to save money in an effort to stave off bankruptcy. I am not saying that Bedrock is one of them, but if I was going to do business with them I would get a lawyer involved from the beginning and hold back 10 – 20% of the purchase price for the first two years to ensure that anything that goes wrong is fixed to your satisfaction. If they aren’t willing to do this or something like this then there is a problem. They might refer you to the Alberta New Home Warrantee but this is only for structural faults and not things like faulty appliances, carpet mismatches, etc. I for one – knowing what I know now – would not buy from Bedrock. I am glad we went with another builder.
I agree with other comments here about Landmark. They are OK, but you need to stay on top and make sure you get what you pay for. I would also engage the services of a building inspector and get his access written into the contract to make regular visits to your new home and ensure it is being built properly.