Most of the big banks in Canada raised mortgage rates over the past few days, delivering another hit to our slow real estate market. While the increase might cause a small short-term surge in activity, as buyers look to take advantage of any rate holds they may have, the overall effect will likely decrease demand even further in the months to come. Our initial look at the real estate market in Edmonton showed lower than normal sales, and falling average prices. The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton has now released their monthly report on the Greater Edmonton area market showing an increase in year-over-year sales, which suggests there was an increase in sales in the areas around Edmonton (since my preliminary report only includes Edmonton…

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The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released their report on the Greater Edmonton Area real estate market for March this week saying:

“We generally see housing market activity increase at this time of year,” says Darcy Torhjelm, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “Despite the year over year decreases, the market is still growing relative to February 2018 in preparation for the spring buying season. Market growth should continue in the coming months.”

One part of the market has certainly gained activity, and that's listings. New listings were up 12% over last year and end of month inventory was up 17% over last year, while sales were down 12%. Last year at this time we were at a 48% listing to sales ratio with 4.6 months of inventory, this year…

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Higher mortgage rates don't just impact people in the market, for the first time in quite awhile, homeowners that need to renew their mortgages are looking at significantly higher rates than what they've been paying for the past five years. According to this Globe and Mail article, those who bought a house 5 years ago and chose the most popular 5-year mortgage will see their rates increase from their current rate of approximately 2.44%-2.74% to the new rate around 3.19-3.59%. I asked Gord McCallum, the founder and CEO of First Foundation, an Edmonton Mortgage Broker for his thoughts: "One of the challenges facing existing homeowners may be obtaining the best financing at renewal. As a result of the new mortgage stress test, (which requires borrowers…

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Here is our snapshot of the Greater Edmonton Area real estate market based on the monthly report released by The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton (Edmonton only comments and charts follow):  

Edmonton Stats

After a more active January, the real estate market cooled off a bit in Edmonton in February; single-family home sales were above average and condo sales were roughly average in January and sales in both categories (while up month over month) dropped to below average levels in February. 506 single family homes were reported sold in Edmonton in February, down 13% from last February. Condo sales were also down 13% from last February; 230 condos were reported sold in Edmonton. The average price of single-family homes sold in Edmonton…

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These charts really tell the story about what is happening with the Edmonton real estate market. Sales are up 14% over last year, while inventory is up 7% over last year to the highest level we've seen in January in 10 years. A lot of buyers seem to have moved their purchase forward due to rising mortgage rates. The average price is up 0.64% over last year and the median price is down 2.9%: Our preliminary stats on the Edmonton real estate market in January showed:

  • Single-family home sales were up 12% over last January, while condo sales were up 29%
  • Single-family prices were up 3.2% to $438,852 and condo prices were down 8.9% to $221,736
  • The average price per square was equal to last year at $281 for single-family and down $18 to…

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The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released their monthly report on the Greater Edmonton real estate market today: “2017 was a steady year for real estate in Edmonton and many of the surrounding municipalities, where sales and prices were quite stable for the majority of the year,” said Darcy Torhjelm, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “For most of the year we continued to see home buyers take advantage of low mortgage rates and a slightly increased inventory, while sellers enjoyed solid prices for their properties.” “Now that the holiday season is over and a new year is here, we expect listings and sales to begin to ramp up again,” said Torhjelm. “We encourage both potential buyers and sellers to talk to their local REALTOR® about their…

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The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton has released their monthly report on the Greater Edmonton real estate market for November, so I've updated our monthly report (original Edmonton stats are at the end of this post). Residential sales were up 12.42% over last November, which the Association attributes to the upcoming mortgage rule changes. While I agree the rule changes are likely part of the equation, I think rising interest rates (and expiring rate holds) are also a factor, as is the growing population, and the improving economy. Here's our snapshot of the Greater Edmonton Real Estate market, followed by our monthly charts:  

Edmonton Stats:

After spending much of the year slower than last year, our initial report on the Edmonton real…

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Today the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released their monthly report on the Greater Edmonton Area real estate market in October saying: “We continue to see stability in the all-residential average and median prices, and this stability has been primarily due to strong sales of single family homes, which are a staple of our marketplace,” explains James Mabey, Chair of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. Here is our snapshot on the market in October:

Preliminary Edmonton Report

Our preliminary report on the real estate market in Edmonton shows a moderate year over year increase in single-family home sales in October, which is a nice rebound after a lack-lustre September. We will update this report in a few days when the REALTORS®…

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For the first time in a long time, I'm seeing a lot of positive headlines related to Edmonton, and Alberta as a whole, the economy and the real estate market. I don't know about you, but I kind of forgot what that's like! Here's what people are saying... A report released Monday by the Real Estate Investment Network named Edmonton the top spot to invest in Alberta, and one of the top 10 in Canada, saying Edmonton is poised to outperform the rest of the province for the next 5  years or so. Our stable economy, affordable housing, falling rent and rising vacancies indicate that Edmonton is in the middle of a slump, making it a good time to buy. “The fix-and-flippers, the HGTV-watching guys, it’s not the greatest market for them, because it’s a slower…

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UPDATE - The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released their monthly report on the Greater Edmonton Real Estate Market this week showing fairly stable prices amidst lower than normal sales. As we've been discussing on this blog all year, the big story in Edmonton is inventory, which is well above normal levels. Meanwhile, builders have been busy adding new homes to the inventory available for sale. Demand has been somewhere between average and below average so far this year. Throw in rising interest rates, and a shrinking population (?), real estate is hanging in there pretty well. Here's our snapshot of the Greater Edmonton Area real estate market in September:   And our charts showing trends and comparisons:

Edmonton Stats:

Our…

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