January Numbers — Similar To Year-End 2009

Every month I review, modify/ adapt, and post the MLS® data for Edmonton and area real estate activity. The information is adapted from the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Monthly MLS® Report and Press Release. You can view the original report in its entirety by visiting the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton website. Click HERE for a graphical representation of Edmonton’s average price over the course of the calendar year. Click HERE for a graphical representation of Edmonton’s actual month-to-month price over the course of the calendar year.
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Single family homes sold through the Edmonton Multiple Listing Service® System sold on average for the same amount in January as at year-end while condominium prices dipped 2%. Month-to-month sales slowed by 6.8% as compared to December but the number of new listings in January doubled the December numbers. 

The average*** single family home prices were stable, increasing minutely from $366,761 in December to $367,747 in January. Condominium prices dipped 2% from $244,174 to $239,006. Duplex and rowhouse prices were up 1.5% to $300,563. The average residential price was $314,783 for January, down 1.4% from last month and down just 0.7% from a year ago. The average days-on-market was 57 days – up 7 days from December.

“There will be month-to-month fluctuations in prices for all types of properties,” said Larry Westergard, president of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. “We expect that the local market will continue to be robust and prices will trend upwards through the year.”

Compared to December, housing sales were down in January with 524 single family sales and 288 condominium sales. Total residential sales were 884 units – 154 ahead of last January. There were 2,199 residential listings added during January resulting in a 40% sales-to-listing ratio and a month-end inventory of 4,864 homes. Total sales (including residential, commercial and rural properties) in January were valued at $315 million (up 19% from last year).

“While the low prices may have motivated some buyers, the continuing low interest rates are probably a bigger factor for first time and repeat buyers,” said Westergard. “The inventory increase shows that current owners are poised to enter the market and to offer their homes for sale. Buyers and sellers should consult their REALTOR® to work out an appropriate strategy for their situation.”

***Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual prices, which vary from house to house and area to area. For information on a specific area, contact me directly***
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January 2010 Activity	Record for the Month *	Percent Change from January 2009	Change From December
Total MLS® sales this month	990	24.2%	DOWN
Value of total MLS® sales – month	$315 million	18.7%	DOWN
Value of total MLS® sales – year	$315 million	5.52%	N/A
Residential¹ sales this month	884	21.1%	DOWN
Residential average price	$314,783	-1.40%	DOWN
SFD² average selling price – month	$367,747	4.20%	UP
SFD² median³ selling price	$356,000	1.30%	UP
Condo average selling price	$239,006	0.10%	DOWN

1. Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses.
2. Single Family Dwelling
3. The middle figure in a list of all sales prices

 ///…CP

Sell First Or Buy First – Which Is Right For You?

When it comes to buying and selling real estate, timing is of the utmost importance. Unfortunately, it’s a topic few people truly understand. Sell before buying or buy before selling? It’s an age-old dilemma, but asking a few strategic questions might help you figure out the right sequence of events for your situation. The following are some questions to keep in mind when speaking with your REALTOR® about how to time your next buying/ selling experience.

Do You Have Some Flexibility? Job relocation, change of marital status, and other life situations often require relocation within a specified period of time. Equally important are the needs of the other party. Work with your REALTOR® to understand the opportunities and limitations of both sides of the buy/ sell equation in order to create a win-win situation.

Can You Obtain Interim Financing? Having the ability to obtain interim financing (or bridge financing as it’s sometimes called) or carry two mortgages at the same time generally puts you in the best position for buying before selling. Speak to your REALTOR® about options they are aware of through their mortgage specialist or mortgage broker contacts. Better yet, let your REALTOR® refer you to a professional mortgage broker – they’re the best equipped to appropriately advise you and to establish the timing of the financing should you opt for this method.

Same-Day Closings Selling before buying can benefit those who are unable to obtain financing with an existing mortgage in place or who wish to use cash proceeds from the prior sale to fund repairs, renovations, or an entire purchase. In some instances, it is possible to arrange simultaneous closings for both the home purchased and the home sold; with contingencies that reflect this situation on both transactions. These can be tricky so make sure your REALTOR® has referred you to a good lawyer who can fully explain the pros and cons and any possible costs to you should you choose the simultaneous closing route.

In short,  your REALTOR® is your best resource for advising you on the timing of buying and selling and should be able to help you determine the best approach for your circumstances. Make sure your REALTOR® explains the risks and rewards for each scenario so that when you do make your decision it is with your eyes wide open.

///…CP

REALTORS® Association of Edmonton – Another Free Home Buying Seminar

Is homeownership right for me? Am I financially ready? How much will it really cost? What professionals should I call on? How can I find the right home?

Buying a home can be scary. It is likely the biggest thing you will ever buy and there are literally hundreds of details that have to be dealt with. Why not arm yourself with some basic information before you start house-hunting?

The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton is offering another FREE home buyers seminar on Tuesday, March 2 at 7:00pm at the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Auditorium.

The seminar will follow the Homebuying Step-by-Step Guide and Workbook provided by CMHC and will feature video clips from industry experts. A mortgage broker, lawyer, and home inspector will be on hand to answer questions. REALTORS® have been asked not to attend by the association – so this will be a no pressure evening and no salesperson will call you after the fact.

Register for this seminar online at www.ereb.com. There will be free parking and refreshments and there is no charge to register.

FREE Home Buyers Seminar
Tuesday March 2, 2010 7:00pm to 8:30 pm
Free parking and refreshments
Location: 14220 – 112 Avenue (across from the Telus World of Science)

///…CP

I’m Selling — My REALTOR® Doesn’t Care About My Pets

It happened again this weekend…and I don’t understand how or why because quite frankly, there’s no excuse for it.

Picture The Following: You’ve chosen to sell your home and accordingly have taken the best first step and hired a professional REALTOR® to assist you. Great! Too bad the REALTOR® you’ve chosen to represent you suffers from an attention-to-detail deficit or simply lacks sufficient concern for the safety and security of your home, your belongings, and your pets.

What Am I Getting At? This past Saturday morning I took my Clients out to see five properties listed for sale in and around Edmonton. All five homes we visited are listed with REALTORS® and are on MLS®. Of the five homes we visited, three of them had pets — yet only one of the listings made mention of pets in the home.

Why Am I Bringing This Up? It is important to consider how you will handle showings when you have pets in your home. Can your cat(s) survive an afternoon in the snow and sub-zero temperatures? Did you expect your large dog(s) to become protective of their home and bite/ knockdown the prospective buyers’ two-year old daughter?

Fortunately for the sellers of the homes my Clients and I visited, none of these things happened. The cats didn’t dart past us when we opened the front door, and the two large dogs did not attack us when we opened the back door to view the deck and yard (though they were somewhat aggressive and barked loudly).

What Can You Do? Communicate with your REALTOR®. Make sure the professional you’ve hired is aware of your pets and that you have discussed (in detail) how to accommodate showings if your pets are to be home. Don’t be afraid to ask your REALTOR® for advice on what to do with your pets during showings and seek your REALTOR®’s opinion on the pros and cons of each scenario — that’s why you hired a professional.

There Is Help. Did you know there’s a useful little tool that REALTORS® have at their disposal called the “Private Remarks” section of your listing. It’s an area where REALTORS® can convey important information to other REALTORS®. This information is not available to the public on REALTOR.ca nor is it available in the listing information on REALTOR®/ brokerage web sites. This information is only available to licensed REALTORS®. Examples of information typically provided in this space includes such things as: special considerations for showing times if you’re a shift worker, extra information about your home that a REALTOR® needs to know, and information about any pets in your home.

You’ve hired a professional — make sure they perform like one!

///…CP

What Was Really Said: An Overview Of The 2010 Housing Forecast

If you’re a regular visitor to my site then you already know I attended the 22nd Annual REALTORS® Housing Forecast Seminar yesterday. This year’s event was the largest seminar to-date; with over 1,000 registrants. As promised in my post last week, the following is my summary of what was said and what the predictions were for the coming year.

As usual, it was a great (sold out) event with fantastic (and extremely knowledgeable) speakers. All-in-all the session was a very positive one with all of the speakers having optimistic and realistic expectations for the Edmonton real estate market and for Alberta as a whole. The following is a list of speakers at this year’s event:

• Larry Pollock, President & CEO, Canadian Western Bank;
• Ron Gilbertson, President and CEO, Edmonton Economic Development Corporation;
• Guy St. Germain, President, Canadian Home Builders Association – Edmonton Region;
• Angus Watt, Managing Director – Individual Investor Services, National Bank Financial;
• Richard Goatcher, Senior Market Analyst, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation; and
• Larry Westergard, President, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.

The following is a summary of the main background points offered by the speakers to substantiate and/ or qualify their predictions:

• it’s important to remember that the economy drives the real estate and development sectors;
• Edmonton and Alberta survived the recession better than most and while we seem to be through the worst of it, the recovery is still happening and will likely continue through 2010 and into 2011;
• Edmonton is expected to continue to lead the way and be one of the strongest economies in North America for the next 2 to 3 years;
• one of the speakers indicated the potential for an ongoing struggle as things progress in 2010 – much like the White Tiger;
• global urbanization is accelerating and it is expected that urban residents will outnumber rural residents globally by 2012;
• based upon the affordability index, Edmonton is in a solid position and could absorb interest rates as high as 7% before creating a ‘problem’ in our market; and
• currently, Edmonton is experiencing a balanced market (i.e. it is neither a buyers market or a sellers market).

Here are the summarized predictions of the speakers for the 2010 market in Edmonton:

• interest rates are likely to rise by 1% to 2%, though not right away;
• anticipating an increase of 4% to 5% in single-family home prices and little to no change in condominium prices over the course of the calendar year;
• expecting sales of acreages with homes, recreational properties, and second homes to remain strong;
• the market for single-family homes will remain active and balanced, with re-sale having an advantage over new construction;
• buyers will still have some choice but sales will remain steady; and
• the market for higher-end homes ($500K plus) will be soft.

In summary, a more-or-less normal market with a balanced sales-to-listing ratio, seasonal fluctuations in price and inventory, and a net increase of 4% to 5% by year’s end.

According to the speakers, there are a few things that could affect (negatively) how our market performs over the next year and if they occur, could stagnate our market in 2010:

• if the Canadian dollar gets up to $1.03 or more, the government could begin purchasing bonds on the open market to ‘buy down’ interest rates;
• if vacancy rates remain elevated then rents will remain low, thus eliminating renters’ incentive to purchase rather than rent;
• if first-time buyers remain cautious because of uncertainty regarding interest rates; and
• if inventory levels remain low, basic supply-and-demand principles dictate prices will rise.

Feel free to contact me if you’d like some more information on what was really said at the 2010 Housing Forecast Seminar.

///…CP