Police urge motorists to protect licence plates
Edmonton police say vehicle license plates are quickly becoming a popular target for criminals. Officers say by using anti-theft screws to secure the plate, criminals will be less inclined to target your plate.Edmontonians could shell out more for garbage pick up
Edmontonians may soon be paying more to have their trash picked up. A new city report recommends a six per cent increase starting next year for providing city litter pick up, and recycling services for the city.Postal service suspended in Calgary neighbourhood after hawk attacks
Mail delivery has been placed on hold for about 150 homes in a Calgary neighbourhood after a letter carrier was attacked by a hawk.City opens new Meadows Transit Centre
A new place for residents of southeast Edmonton to catch the bus has officially opened.Local youth organize aid for Pakistan
A group of Edmonton youth is putting together flood relief packages for Pakistan.Edmonton house, condo prices down in August
House prices in Edmonton continued to slide in August for the second month in row, according the Realtors Association.Edmonton Real Estate Market Sleepy in August
The official numbers have been released (the numbers I reported yesterday were just for Edmonton, not the entire board) showing small price drops across all categories. The average single family home dropped slightly for the second consecutive month in August after having plateaued at just over $388,000 from March to June. Condominium prices have dropped steadily from their high point of $253,000 in April and are down another 2.99%.
“Despite the two month drop, single family homes are still priced a bit higher than they were at the same time last year,” said Larry Westergard, president of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. “There may be bargains in the condominium market as prices are about $10,000 less than a year ago, on average.”
The average sale price for single family homes was down 1.96% and sold for $372,253 in August. Condominiums dropped in price for the fourth consecutive month and sold on average for $232,230 in August.
Residential sales in August were down from the previous month at 1,195 as were listings at 2,700. The sales-to-listing ratio was 44% and the inventory increased to 8,822 units at the end of the month. The average days-on-market was up six at 57 days.
The number of new listings slowed down to the level we expect for August:
Even with slower listing activity inventory is still relatively high for the Edmonton market at this time of year and is fairly close to the record levels we saw in '07 and '08. We believe inventory should continue to drop this fall. We are seeing more and more sellers with unrealistic or unattainable expectations dropping off the market. They are either renting their properties out and/or postponing their move.
This is my favourite graph. This year it shows a rapid increase in inventory along with price gains. How does this happen if not artificially by low interest rates? Regardles of your view of the market bear or bull my perspective is that it has to correct itself. My expectation is average prices should return to where they were at the beginning of the year.
“Although the market has quieted this summer the inventory is being constantly refreshed,” said Westergard. “Our 3,200 REALTORS® are listing 50 to 100 properties every day and wide choice is available in all areas. We don’t expect a big push this fall but homes are selling although the sales cycle is longer than many sellers would like.”
I would say that there is certainly an abundance of choice, but not when you drill down to certain sought after price ranges and property types. Any buyers in the 300,000 - 350,000 range are still seeing properties sell quickly and in some cases with multiple offers. This activity around the base of the average price is likely what will keep the average up while sales appear anemic.