Real Estate Market Update
Here is our update on the Edmonton real estate market. (Previous week’s numbers are in brackets). For the past 7 days:
New listings: 305 (430, 354, 422)
# Sales: 199 (246, 243, 250)
Ratio: 65% (57%, 69%, 59%)
# Price changes: 217 (263, 288, 274)
# Expired/Off Market Listings: 170 (438, 212, 216)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: -64 (-254, -101, -44)
Active single family home listings: 2789 (2828, 2995, 2997)
Active condo listings: 1763 (1763, 1863, 1873)
Homes 4-week running average: $377k ($382, $382k, $385k)
Condos 4-week running average: $229k ($225k, $225k, $228k)
Phew… average price for single family homes is dropping quickly these days! The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton is reporting 420 sales so far this month, which should put us around 1250 sales for the month – bang on average for this time of year.
Edmonton home prices
Edmonton listings and sales
Have a great weekend!
About Sara MacLennan
Sara MacLennan is the Director of Marketing at Liv Real Estate and a licensed Real Estate Associate. The bulk of Sara’s experience and wealth of expertise lies in on-line technology and marketing both for agents and consumers. Sara is the former National Director for Interactive Marketing for Coldwell Banker Canada where she was responsible for an extensive training program traveling to offices across the country training agents and brokers on marketing and technology. Find Sara on Twitter @edmontonblogger.
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No suprise that prices are dropping. Lots of deep pockets of course in this town that can hold out “for what they KNOW their property is worth”, but there are always the people that need to sell. They will continue to drop their asking prices until someone bites. The problem is that the number of fish in the pond is dropping due to 25 year max amorts and will get even smaller with coming HELOC rule changes again limiting credit.
So we are now lower than October 2011 on average price for houses. A ways to go yet to go below 2010, but I would wager will we make it once the snow hits.
Think about this. For things to really take off in Edmonton the Canadian, US, and world economy needs to turn around and take off too. If that happens guess what is guaranteed to happen with it? Substantially higher interest rates. I’m sure we all know what that means for housing.
Shrinking credit availability and stagnant wage gains (especially after inflation) mean the best case scenario is a flat line on housing…period.
If we’re talking inflation, then house prices will rise along with it. And with that a decrease in everyone’s relative debt.
Thus, inflation is a win-win for all.
Bring it on Bernanke!!!
what are the changing HELOC rules? And is the housing market dropping because of a correction or is it seasonal. In other words, is the average housing price drop in line with the average percentage of price drop for Sep-Jan of previous years?
It is a little of both plus IMO the national news cycle dealing with corrections ocuring in Toronto and Vancouver. Without looking I’d say the price drop so far this year is definitely more agressive than last year but only slightly ahead of some of the previous years.
New HELOC rules mandadory as far as I know are limiting you to 65% of your home equity,
Some banks, like PC Financial are already limiting them to 65% as opposed to the old common maximum of 85%.
Less availability of credit for reno’s or down payments on second (or whatever number) properties.
The Feds have begun reigning in debt without raising interest rates, which is deflating housing all accross Canada (except Calgary so far). This is of course what they intended to happen.
Sheldon, regardless of the headlines what happens in the areas that hold over 10 million people in our country cause ripples everywhere, and the credit rules are national of course.
I would appaud gov’t if CMHC was discontinued entirely. Tough love, but better for everyone (except the banks) in the long run.
Sheldon: From the top to the current average sale price is definitely a greater drop than the previous years.
Condos have not taken the drop that SFD’s have, about $12,000 more than 2011. Maybe rent increases will push/keep the condo prices up as employment rates remains better in Edmonton.
GM,
You think house prices will go up despite rising interest rates that will come with inflation?
After all these years of spend heavy Canadians getting used to cheap debt to carry their lifestyles?
I wouldn’t bet on it.
Rising interest rate will not come “with” inflation.
Rising interest rate will come after inflation has already started, and won’t be able to curb the said inflation for multiple years, if you look at the previous cycle. The eventually corrected price will still be higher than before it started.
I don’t see any inflation on the way. Inflation continues to fall. Check out the downward slope of the CPI.
link to statcan.gc.ca
Alberta is tied for the lowest in the country at only 1.0% annual rate.
If the house is Priced Right
“it will sell.”
Most listings are priced what the owner wants…. Not what it is worth.
I sell new homes for a living (In the south west) I can sell double front attach garage homes with hardwood tile and granite for under $400,000 I do not think I can even find a good listing under $400000… As a investor who has bought over 10 properties I would not even consider buying any of the current inventory on MLS. If you are in the market I suggest looking at New Construction. If you disagree please post post it and surprise me.
Ryan, I agree. I think it can be attributed to the completion of A.H. Prior to 2008, good new lots are so hard to come by. But right now, there are so many new and better areas being developed. The lots are not only larger than the 2007 era, but also cheaper. Some of them even have shorter commute time than older areas, because of A.H. This is definitely a time to buy new.
We are starting to look for a house now and are starting to see price drops. We have our little excel spreadsheet that holds about 12 houses we have our eye on: from 480K-600K.
Some of these houses have languished since the spring (based on some of the pictures with snow) or longer. Some houses are speculators trying to cash in, my guess is a realtor got caught. The description indicates “brand new house”, but the house is built in 2010 or 2011. One house that didn’t make our top 12 is “still under construction” and a great opportunity to “be your own designer”. Hahahaha.
My brother just got a mortgage and the banks seem to be a lot tighter with giving out free credit (which caused this housing boom).
I was wondering how long the govt can punish savers and reward debtors. Hopefully that attitude is gone now. Competing with people who make 60K a year on a 500K house is stupid.
Watching and reading the news this Monday and once again our collective debt story is everywhere.
Even more dire warnings from the BOC about interest rates going up….Carny is getting an itchy trigger finger.
Tick tick….if you have debt you better deal with it, and quick.
They’ve already effectively killed the real estate markets in Vancouver and their beloved Toronto.
I don’t think they’ll be raising rates any time soon.
GM, the Markets in Vancouver and Toronto have only begun to crumble…. I agree I don’t see interest rate changes in the short term as they are not required.
However, it’s clear that housing across Canada is only headed in one direction…..
A housing crash is the last thing government would want as it would immediately mean the whole economy crashing; raising interests right now would spell exactly that. So I don’t think that happening soon; they wanted a soft landing of prices and cooling things down especially in TO and VA and both of those were long due.
That will inevitably have an effect on the whole country (price-wise) but I doubt other places go down as much as they do (just like not they went up all together).
The US of A won’t raise its rate until 2015. The Canadian rate is already higher than the US rate. Any rate hike here will lead to further loss of manufacturing jobs, which is an automatic political suicide.
Lets not forget that credit is bring squeezed in other ways already. They are definitely trying to deflate things slowly because they know that many people will struggle whenrates normalize. These measures are working and affect all Canadians, Edmontonians included.
If you are banking on largecapital gains from real estate in the future you are looking in the wrong country!
I agree. I think the biggest mistake Canadians made was not use this opportunity to pay down debts, instead they added debt and all got houses and cars. I think this is the first time ever 20 something’s own real-estate and drive a new cars. I’m a strong believer in Economic fundamentals and think the market will return to its mean (otherwise a correcting is upon us).
When you know the central banks are printing like crazy, it would be pretty stupid to pay down your debt.
When the currency is losing value fast, borrow as much as you can.
When the currency is stable (such as gold), think about saving.
and when you been denied credit everywhere….Mac James can help….lol