Edmonton Market Update
With a full month of data to go on, the Realtors® Association of Edmonton has released its first Market update for the year.
Before we get into that, let’s review their forecast for 2010 as presented at their Annual Housing Seminar on December 13th. Association President Larry Westergard stated in his keynote address an expectation of sales to climb 10.5% from 2009 numbers to a figure of approximately 21,000. Prices, he said, would experience seasonal variations but would trend upwards especially for single family homes which could expect to see a year over year increase of about 5%. Condo prices though are expected to remain fairly stable with little or no year over year increase. The end of year pricing in both categories is expected to be $385,000 (SFD) and $244,000 (Condo). The one note of caution expressed was with respect to inventories – Westergard noted that the number of properties currently available hovered around 4,000 and the Association would be more comfortable with a number closer to 6,000 in order to alleviate any upward pressure on prices spiking, much as it did in 2006.
So, how did the year start off? From a price point of view the RAE reports that there was little variation in single family homes – only an increase of $1,000 from December – condos on the other hand saw a 2% decrease (about $5,000) from December. The number of transactions also was down in December, but the year over year comparison shows that January 2010 saw an increase of 154 units. The biggest surprise was a doubling of the number of homes listed on MLS® bringing the inventory up to just below 5,000. This indicates that the market in Edmonton remains robust.
Low interest rates and stable prices make for many great opportunities for Buyers, and the still too low inventory totals means that Sellers can still expect good activity on well priced and well looked after homes. The one fact to remember is that with all of this information, the time tested mantra of real estate still holds – Location, location, location! – real estate is most effected by what is happening around it in its own community. To get a better idea as to what your local real estate conditions are call one of our RE/MAX Real Estate Associates for a one on one discussion of your real estate needs and the conditions of your micro-market at 780-462-5000 or email remax.re@shaw.ca
For RE/MAX Real Estate (Edmonton) – Southeast Branch
Leanne Tougas
Office Website Coordinator
