Posts by smaclenn:
1 Million Page Views
February 3rd, 2012
I was happily surprised when I checked our analytics yesterday. Our Edmonton MLS® Search web site - edmontonrealestate.pro - reached a new milestone and got over 1 million page views in the month of January! Thanks to everyone who uses the site to find real estate in Edmonton! We will continue to improve the site and add new features as long as people keep using it. With the average time on site over ten minutes, people clearly like it. Our clients enjoy extra traffic to their listings, since our listings are featured at the top of the results whenever they are included in a user's search. That's the beauty of the Internet - a small company that focuses on quality and details can kick the big guy's butts.
Edmonton Real Estate Market Weekly Update – Feb. 3/12
February 3rd, 2012
EdmontonRealEstateMarketUpdate
Here is our update on the Edmonton real estate market. (Previous week’s numbers are in brackets). For the past 7 days:
New listings: 403 (358, 383, 438)
# Sales: 189 (177, 139, 109)
Ratio: 47% (49%, 36%, 25%)
# Price changes: 138 (119, 111, 125)
# Expired/Off Market Listings: 237 (122, 160, 143)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: -23 (59, 84, 186)
Active single family home listings: 2008 (2020, 2013, 1972)
Active condo listings: 1236 (1237, 1182, 1139)
Homes 4-week running average: $359k ($358k, $353k, $357k)
Condos 4-week running average: $210k ($208k, $211k, $220k)
Edmonton real estate listings and sales
Edmonton real estate listings and sales
Had enough stats this week so I'll leave it at that. Enjoy the weekend!
Greater Edmonton real estate prices buoyed by satellite communities
February 1st, 2012There were 934 residential sales in the Greater Edmonton area in January compared to 820 last year and 881 last month.* We are seeing significant increases in the number of showings on our listings, and some of our buyer clients are running into multiple offers. The spring market may come a little early this year due to historically low mortgage rates.
The average residential sale price was $318,034 up from $311k last year and $316k last month. The median sale price was $312k up from $307k last year and $303k last month. Sales outside of Edmonton must have held prices up since we know from our preliminary report on Edmonton only, prices in most categories were down.
There were 5,303 listings on the market at the end of the month compared to 5,633 last year and 5,316 last month. So we are starting the year off with a normal inventory level. Will inventory levels follow a normal pattern, or rise dramatically in the next few months? It remains to be seen whether or not the 5th anniversary of the boom will see investors dumping product on the market as their payout penalties are no longer a factor.
2441 new listings came on the market in January, well ahead of last year and higher than average. This will definitely be something to keep an eye on.
*We adjust the residential sales total for the current month to account for unreported sales. Every month 6% of sales on average are not reported to the Association in time for the monthly report. The following month the numbers are updated to reflect the total sales during the previous month. That means the current month always looks worse compared to previous months. For example, in December there were 829 reported sales which I adjusted to 879 sales, and the actual sales for December were 881 so I was only off by 2 sales whereas the Association was off by 52. So far our adjusted numbers have been far closer to the actual numbers than those reported by the Association each month (so far on average I am off by 1 sale whereas the association is under reporting by 77 sales on average each month).
Single Family Homes Sales Still Strong in Edmonton
February 1st, 2012In January there were 450 single family home sales in Edmonton - up significantly from 382 last year and 358 last month. It looks like this may be the one bright spot in the real estate market as prices and sales are down in most other categories.
Condo sales improved slightly from last year, but were down from last month - there were 184 condo sales in January in Edmonton compared to 225 last month and 169 last year.
Single family homes sold for $361,644 on average in Edmonton in January which was unchanged from last year and down from $367k last month. The median sale price for single family homes was $340k compared to $348k last month and $339k last year. Meanwhile, condos sold on average for $210,034, down from $216k last year and $229k last month. The median sale price for condos was $200k compared to $215k last month and $210k.
The average price per square foot for single for single family homes was $249 compared to $255 last month and $248. The average price per square foot for condos was $210 compared to $223 last month and $215 last year.
As always, this is our preliminary report on the real estate market in January, and our final report will follow when the final numbers are released by the REALTORS® Association.
What’s going on with Condo Prices in Edmonton?
January 27th, 2012Over the past 5 weeks we've seen the average price of condos drop from $230k to $208k. That's a pretty significant drop over a 5 week period, so a reader asked - "what's going on with condos?"
There are a number of answers to that question... first of all, when you look at the chart tracking the average price trends for condos and single family homes, you can see there are much greater fluctuations in average condo prices than single family home prices. The simple explanation for that is that there are more sales of single family homes in Edmonton, which means more data to work with, which means more reliable analysis of the data.
When you add in the fact that the number of condo sales is very low for the past month or so, you get even less reliable data.
I took it a step further though... I have tabulated the number of sales of condos in different prices ranges for the last 30 days, as well as 1 month with a high average price (August), one with a low average price (October) and 2 months with average prices somewhere in the middle (November and June).
In the past 30 days there have only been 172 total condo sales, 15 of which were under $100,000. When you look at June, there were 415 total sales, 17 of which were under $100,000. Sales on the bottom end of the price spectrum made up 9% of total sales in the past 30 days, and only 4% of sales in June. Here is how it all breaks down:
Condo Sales Breakdown
You can also see that sales over $400k made up only 3% of the past 30 days, VS 6% of sales in October. There are all kinds of inferences and deductions you can make from the above data, but the most important thing to keep in mind is that I post the averages so we can follow the overall trend, not get caught up in weekly fluctuations.
UPDATE:
I added a polynomial trend line to the average prices over the past year and its quite interesting. Even though the fluctuations in pricing for condos are greater on the short term, over the course of the year the fluctuation in pricing is greater for single family homes. The trend line only moves $10k for condos, but for single family homes the spread is greater - about $30k. So it would appear that seasonality has a greater affect on single family home prices than condo prices. Food for thought for sure...
Edmonton real estate price trends
Edmonton Real Estate Market Weekly Update – Jan. 27/12
January 27th, 2012
Edmonton 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: 358 (383, 438, 239)
# Sales: 177 (139, 109, 74)
Ratio: 49% (36%, 25%, 31%)
# Price changes: 119 (111, 125, 73)
# Expired/Off Market Listings: 122 (160, 143, 577)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: 59 (84, 186, -412)
Active single family home listings: 2020 (2013, 1972, 1843)
Active condo listings: 1237 (1182, 1139, 1067)
Homes 4-week running average: $358k ($353k, $357k, $366k)
Condos 4-week running average: $208k ($211k, $220k, $223k)
The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton is reporting 684 sales so far this month for the greater Edmonton area. The pace has picked up each week this month and we should end up with around 800-850 sales by the end of the month (similar to last year, but below average overall).
Edmonton real estate prices
Edmonton real estate listings and sales
Have a great weekend!
Special Report: Year in Review and 2012 Forecast
January 23rd, 2012We have finally completed our annual "Year in Review and 2012 Forecast." We will be emailing it out to subscribers and fans tomorrow (Jan. 24) afternoon. Don't miss out - subscribe or like us today!
Edmonton Real Estate Market Weekly Update – Jan. 20/11
January 20th, 2012
Edmonton 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: 383 (438, 239, 69)
# Sales: 139 (109, 74, 91)
Ratio: 36% (25%, 31%, 132%)
# Price changes: 111 (125, 73, 29)
# Expired/Off Market Listings: 160 (143, 577, 105)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: 84 (186, -412, -127)
Active single family home listings: 2013 (1972, 1843, 2094)
Active condo listings: 1182 (1139, 1067, 1209)
Homes 4-week running average: $353k ($357k, $366k, $366k)
Condos 4-week running average: $211k ($220k, $223k, $231k)
The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton is reporting 424 sales so far this month for the Greater Edmonton area. The pace should pick up, but with only 11 days left in the month it looks like we will see below average sales for January. It's kind of hard to believe, because when we are trying to make appointments to show properties to buyers it's hard to find many that aren't pending. We've had a few clients miss out on properties they really liked this week while they were thinking about making an offer. If you're in an area where there are no for sale signs, and are thinking of selling, this may be the time. On the other hand, if you tried to sell last year and were unsuccessful, and are thinking of bringing your home back on the market at a higher price (we are seeing a lot of that, especially in St. Albert), prepare for more disappointment.
Edmonton real estate prices
Edmonton real estate listings and sales
Edmonton Second in Canadian Metro Economic Activity Index Rankings: CIBC
January 19th, 2012CIBC ranks Canadian cities for economic growth and today announced Toronto leads the country with Edmonton coming in a close second place. Toronto lead the country for the second year in a row, showing the fastest economic momentum with strong population growth, employment and housing starts.
Edmonton ranked second in CIBC's measure or economic momentum, up from 11th in the 2011 Q1 report. The ranking reflects the city's strong labour market with overall employment rising by almost eight per cent year-over-year in the third quarter—the fastest pace among all of Canada's top cities. "The city also enjoyed one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation (5.7 per cent as of the third quarter of 2011) while the quality of employment is relatively elevated (ranked 4th among all cities)," notes Deputy Chief Economist Benjamin Tal.
"As well, Edmonton's population is now rising by a year-over-year rate of 1.7 per cent—well above the national average, while the numbers of consumer and business bankruptcies are among the lowest in the nation."
CIBC Metropolitan Economic Activity Index (2011 Q3)
Rank CMA 3Q Moving Average
1. Toronto 23.0
2. Edmonton 20.0
3. Kitchener 18.0
4. Halifax 16.8
5. Vancouver 15.5
6. Ottawa 15.2
7. Montréal 14.9
8. Regina 13.8
9. Calgary 13.1
10. Trois-Rivières 11.7
11. Québec City 11.5
12. Winnipeg 11.1
13. St. John's 11.0
14. Hamilton 10.7
15. Sherbrooke 9.5
16. Kingston 7.5
17. Saint John 7.1
18. Sudbury 6.7
19. Saskatoon 6.4
20. Victoria 5.9
21. St. Catharines-Niagara 5.6
22. London 5.2
23. Windsor 0.4
24. Saguenay -1.8
25. Thunder Bay -3.4
Average of 25 CMAs 10.2
About the CIBC Metropolitan Economic Activity Index
Using 9 key macroeconomic variables, CIBC's metropolitan index of economic activity is structured in a way that approximates the change in each city's level of economic activity. With data going back in history, the index monitors not only the current performance of a given city but also tracks its cyclical behaviour against the national economy and other census metropolitan areas (CMAs). The focus is on the 25 largest CMAs in Canada.
The macro variables used to develop the index are:
Population growth; Employment growth; Unemployment rate; Full-time share in total employment; Personal bankruptcy rate; Business bankruptcy rate; Housing starts; MLS Housing resales; and Non-Residential building permits. The complete CIBC World Markets report is available at: http://research.cibcwm.com/economic_public/download/metro_monitor.pdf
The Pipes Aren’t Frozen on Our Web Site!
January 16th, 2012
Damn its cold! What happened to that beautiful mild winter we were having? It seems like winter has arrived with a vengeance.
A person called in on one of our builder's properties this morning saying there were no tracks to the home but the upstairs balcony door was wide open. WOW! It was a sharp reminder that if you have a vacant property you will need to check on it frequently. Make sure the walks are shovelled and the heat is on. The last thing you want is a flood because of frozen pipes.
Depending on the home you may want to set the thermostat to a reasonable temperature, especially if it is going to be shown to potential buyers. There is nothing more uncomfortable for a buyer who has come to see your home at -30 to find out it's better outside.
The beauty of cold weather means our website traffic shoots through the roof as “property porn” goes to the next level. Whether these are actual people interested in buying or people that are just going stir crazy checking out www.edmontonrealestate.pro because they have nothing else to do remains to be seen. I do know I am answering a lot more questions about specific properties right now than normal.
