We have officially moved into the second half of 2011 and being the middle of July I think it is safe to make a few comments on the real estate market in Edmonton as it approaches the dog days of summer.
A good analogy for the Edmonton market is likening it to a bathtub full of water – I know, but bear with me for a second – 2006/2007 saw that tub fill up quite a bit as the number of transactions and prices rose, then in mid-2008 someone threw in a foreign object that caused huge waves to ripple across the tub – while the majority of the unsettled water has stopped sloshing about, there still remain a few waves that are disturbing the water in the tub and it isn’t quite as full as it was. Okay, so maybe it is a horrible analogy but you (hopefully) see what I mean … so far in 2011 we have seen some improvements in the real estate market, but there is still plenty of uncertainty as you look around. Let’s take a look at the year over year comparison (end of June 2010 vs end of June 2011) for the Edmonton market – Residential homes and Condo properties.
Overall, the Edmonton market has seen a drop in the number of sales transactions in both the Residential and Condominium markets. Residential sales to the end of June are down 2.8% while Condo sales are down 7.8%. As is always the case, the mantra location, location, location holds true with some areas of the city showing gains contrary to the bigger picture – the South Central area has experienced a 13.6% increase in Condo transactions, while the Northeast has seen a 7.7% increase in Residential Sales. Here in the Southeast the news is not all that rosy. Sales numbers are down – 5.5% for condos and 8.5% for residential homes – making it that much more difficult for Sellers to find a Buyer for their property.
Prices are also not presenting us with an overall cheery picture. The average price of a Condo fell 5.7% when compared to end of June 2010, while the residential average fell 5.8% over the same period. For Condos, the only areas that saw price increases where the Northwest (3.6%) and the Southeast (0.2%). The only Edmonton market that saw a price gain was the Northwest (1.7%). As we have seen, here in the Southeast, Condo price rose slightly by .2%; Residential house prices “only” fell by 1.1% good news when compared the City as a whole!?
Of interest to those of us down in the Southeast; Beaumont is experiencing a bit of a boom with price increases of 4.9% for residential properties and almost 11% more sales than last year.
What can we expect for the balance of the year? The second half of 2010 was not very good – sales were slow but steady, Condo prices fell month to month to month until the end of the year and residential prices sputtered along as well. I don’t believe 2011 will be as poor of a performance as we saw second half 2010, but I don’t expect a great surge either. Expect the second half of the year to see a small bump in activity in late summer early fall that will even out some of the losses of the first half and cushion the end of year reporting. A positive note is the number of permits for non-residential projects that Edmonton has granted – this increase might foreshadow increased activity for residential markets in 2012/13.
As always, when we talk about real estate trends, we are talking about generalities – there are a great deal of factors that influence what is happening in your local community. Your RE/MAX Realtor® can give you an informed, professional assessment of your neighbourhood and your home. Call them today at 780-462-5000!

The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author based on information gathered and interpreted from data collected from the MLS® system of the Realtors Association of Edmonton. It reflects general trends and further consultation should be undertaken to get an accurate opinion of value on a specific property.