Edmonton real estate market normal in November
Residental MLS® sales were right where we expected them to be in November - about average for this time of year. There were 1149* residential sales in Edmonton:
Edmonton real estate sales
The average MLS® sale price was $321,135 in November, compared to $319,479 last year and $319,985 last month. The median sale price was $310,000 compared to $308,000 last year and $313,000 last month:
Edmonton real estate prices
The inventory followed to normal seasonal pattern, falling to 6,588 in November:
Edmonton homes for sale
The number of new listings was also normal in November at 1800:
*We adjust the residential sales total for the current month to account for unreported sales. Every month 6% of sales on average are not reported to the Association in time for the monthly report. The following month the numbers are updated to reflect the total sales during the previous month. That means the current month always looks worse compared to previous months. For example, in October 2011 the reported sales totalled 1170 which we adjusted to 1240 for comparison purposes. This month the final number for October sales was 1253 - much closer to my adjustment than what was reported at the time.
Confused about the weather in Edmoton? Wait ’til you read about the real estate market!
No surprises for single family home sales this November - 557 single family homes traded hands through the MLS® system in Edmonton. This is up slightly from 539 last November and down from 611 last month (normal for this time of the year). We expect December to look much like it has for the past several years as well.
Edmonton single family home sales
Condo sales in Edmonton on the other hand, are a different story. Condo sales were below the average in November - 242 condos sold compared to 285 last year and 255 last month. Given the amount of "shadow" inventory, our suspicion is there are a lot of condo sales occurring directly through builders that are not appearing on the MLS®. For example, we have a number of condo projects listed, and for every unit that sells that was listed on the MLS® system, 3 or more units sell that were not on the MLS®. So, although the buyer or buyer's agent may have found the project on the MLS®, the actual unit they buy might not be the one listed, and therefore it wouldn't be counted as a sale in the MLS® sales stats. However, this has always been the case, and we don't know if this is actually occurring more now or not, we do know that there are a lot more new condos available now than there have been in the past.
Edmonton condo sales
Pricing is where it gets a little interesting. Based on sales you would expect single family homes prices to have stayed stable or decrease slightly, but we saw a pretty significant drop in November to $351,611 compared to $366k last year (5%) and $373k last month. The median price on the other hand was $340k in November both this year and last year, and was $345k last month. Like we said, very interesting...
Meanwhile, the average price of condos sold in Edmonton in November was $221,510, down from $227k last year and up from $219k last month. The median sale price for condos was $208,250, down from $212k last year and up from $205k last month.
Edmonton real estate prices
The average sale price/square foot for single family homes was $249 and $219 for condos (both followed a similar pattern to the average sale price).
Edmonton price per square foot
All I can say is that for each property we evaluate, we are doing a significant amount of analysis to determine a market value. In some cases it turns out better than we expected and in others it doesn't look that good.
As always, this is our preliminary report on the real estate market in Edmonton in November. Our final report, based on the greater Edmonton area will be posted as soon as the numbers are released from the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.
Edmonton real estate prices and sales still ahead of last year
The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released the monthly sales stats today stating: "Average prices for all types of residential property softened in October as part of the seasonal trend." And I would have to agree that what we are seeing right now is typical for October.
Residential sales followed the normal seasonal trend dropping from 1435 sales in September to 1240* in October but well ahead of last October's 1077 sales:
Edmonton real estate sales
The overall residential average sale price was $319,985 in October, compared to $317,422 last year and $332,82 last month. The median sale price was $312,500 in October compared to $308,000 last year and $321,500 last last month:
Edmonton real estate prices
The inventory of homes for sale fell to 7,296, compared to 7,698 last year and 8,062 last month. The inventory is still above historical norms:
Edmonton homes for sale
The number of new listings fell into the normal range at 2,166 listings, compared to 2,269 last year and 2,585 last month.
Edmonton real estate listings
*We adjust the residential sales total for the current month to account for unreported sales. Every month 6% of sales on average are not reported to the Association in time for the monthly report. The following month the numbers are updated to reflect the total sales during the previous month. That means the current month always looks worse compared to previous months. For example, in September 2011 the reported sales totalled 1345 which we adjusted to 1426 for comparison purposes. This month the final number for September sales was 1435 - much closer to my adjustment than what was reported at the time.
Edmonton Real Estate Prices Drop in October; Still up from last year
The Edmonton real estate market did what it typically does in October - prices dropped compared to September. Interestingly, single family home sales and prices are up from last October, while condo sales and prices both dropped.
Sales of single family homes were strong in Edmonton in September; there were 611 sales of single family homes in September, compared to 554 last September. This was the highest number of sales for the last 5 years:
Edmonton single family home sales
Condo sales on the other hand, were the lowest we've seen in over 5 years. There were 255 condo sales in October, compared to 267 last year and 277 last month.
Edmonton Condo Sales
The average sale price of single family homes was $372,911, up from $368,404 last October and down from $386,567 last month. The median sale price for single family homes was $345k in October, up from $340k last October and down from $355k last month.
The average sale price for condos dropped to $218,541 in October from $233k last year and $230 last month. The median sale price for condos in October was $205k compared to $217,500 last year and $220k last month.
Edmonton real estate prices
The average price per square foot followed a similar pattern to the overall average prices. Single family homes sold on average for $253/square foot - equal to last year and down from $259 last month. Condos sold on average for $214/square foot compared to $225 last year and $227 last month.
Edmonton real estate prices/square foot
As always, this is our preliminary report on the Edmonton real estate market. Our final report for the great Edmonton area will be posted as soon as the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton releases the final numbers in the next few days.
Edmonton Real Estate Sales and Prices Ahead of Last Year in September
The biggest debate on the blog last month was about my new method of reporting sales:
Last year the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton started adjusting past reported numbers each month. This is because REALTORS® have a number of days to report a sale, so when the numbers are released by the board, many of the sales are not yet reported and therefore not counted in the monthly report. Then when the next month's numbers are tallied, they re-tally the previous months and adjust them to reflect the correct numbers. This does not take into account that the same thing is going to happen in the current month, and therefore the sales reported for the current month are always lower now than they will be next month and makes it impossible to compare this month to previous ones.
Here is the result... the Association reported 1507 sales, which I adjusted up 6% to 1603. Today the Association is reporting 1593 sales for August, so I was off by 10 sales. Not bad. This month they are reporting 1345 residential sales, which I am adjusting up to 1426, putting us significantly ahead of last September's 1187:
Edmonton real estate sales
The big news thought is that prices were on the rise in September, which is unusual for this time of year. The average residential sale price was $332,782 in September up from $324k last month and last year. The median sale price was $321,500 up from $315k last month and $308k last year:
Edmonton real estate prices
The inventory of homes for sale on the market is still relatively high at 8062 listings:
Edmonton homes for sale
Meanwhile the number of new listings is in the normal range:
Edmonton real estate listings
The end of the world continues to be delayed, even amidst turbulent financial markets and a downward trending loonie, as evidenced by strong sales and rising prices at a time of year when we normally see the opposite. Seriously though, sales in September 2010 were so bad just about anything would look like Cinderella next to them, so lets not get too far ahead of ourselves.
Single Family Home Market Remains Strong in Edmonton in September
Sales of single family homes held strong in Edmonton in September; 691 single family homes sold in September compared to 716 last month and 554 last year.
Edmonton Single family home sales
Condo sales on the other hand took a significant drop; 277 condos sold in September compared to 398 last month and 286 last year. Although the number of condo sales were similar to 2010 and 2007, they were the lowest we've seen in at least six years.
Edmonton condo sales
The average sale price for single family homes was $386,567 in September, up from $381k last month and $378k last year. The median sale price for single family homes was $355,500, and $348,000 last year. The average sale price for condos was $229,873 in September, about the sale as last month but down from $241k last year. The median sale price for condos was $220,000 - equal to last month and down $1500 from last year.
Edmonton real estate average sale prices
The average price/square foot was $259 for single family homes (up $2 from last month) and $226 for condos (down $2 from last month).
Edmonton price/square foot
As always this is our preliminary report based on the sales reported for the city of Edmonton only. We will publish the final numbers in a few days when the are released by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.
Real Estate Sales Improve in Edmonton While Prices Dip in August
While real estate sales are significantly higher than they were at this time last year (34% higher), the average sale price decreased slightly, a 0.42% drop. In August the average sale price for residential real estate in the Greater Edmonton area was $324,217 compared to $325,588 last August and $334,054 last month. The median price meanwhile was $315,000 in August compared to $310,000 last year and $317,000 last month.
Edmonton Average Sale Price
Residential sales increased over last month and last year, but this is not the story you will read in the newspapers. I have decided to report the monthly sales slightly differently from now on than I have in the past. Last year the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton started adjusting past reported numbers each month. This is because REALTORS® have a number of days to report a sale, so when the numbers are released by the board, many of the sales are not yet reported and therefore not counted in the monthly report. Then when the next month's numbers are tallied, they re-tally the previous months and adjust them to reflect the correct numbers. This does not take into account that the same thing is going to happen in the current month, and therefore the sales reported for the current month are always lower now than they will be next month and makes it impossible to compare this month to previous ones.
So... Working backwards I have determined that on average only 94% of the sales are reported by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton in their monthly report and I have therefore adjusted this month's sales up by 6%. So the number reported was 1507 which I have adjusted to 1603 allowing me to compare this to previous months. In short, there were approximately 1603 sales in Edmonton in August which is up from 1564 last month and 1195 last year.
Edmonton real estate sales
The inventory of homes for sale dropped marginally in August to 8343 listings, compared to 8,421 last month and 8,822 last year. With relatively strong sales the inventory remained high due to higher than expected new listings.
Edmonton real estate inventory
Edmonton real estate listings
Real Estate Prices Drop in Edmonton in August
While real estate sales reached a respectable level, prices dipped in Edmonton in August. The average sale price for single family homes was $381,320 in Edmonton in August, compared to $390k last month and last year. The median price was $353,750 compared to $356,500 last month and was up from $352,250 last year. It is not unusual to see prices decrease in August, and the median dropped less significantly than the average price.
Condos meanwhile sold on average for $228,715 in August compared to $244k last month and $229k last year. The median sale prices for condos was $220,000 in August compared to $222,950 last month and was up from $212,500 last year.
Edmonton real estate prices
The average sale price per square foot followed a similar trend, dropping $7/foot to $257 for single family homes and $4/foot to $228 for condos compared to last month. The average price per square foot was $267 for single family homes and $225 for condos last year.
Edmonton real estate prices/square foot
Sales of single family homes were up from last month in Edmonton to 716 from 702 last month and 581 last year. It is always difficult to predict what will happen to sales in August, but we typically see a drop in September every year.
Edmonton home sales
Condo sales remained right in line with last month at 398 and increased from 316 last year.
Edmonton condo sales
As always this is our preliminary report on the real estate market based on sales reported for Edmonton only. We will post our final report when the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton releases the official numbers in a day or two.
Real Estate Prices on the rise in Edmonton in July
The Edmonton real estate market saw minor improvements in July, lead mostly by single family home sales. There were 702 sales of single family homes in Edmonton in July, compared to 592 last July and 835 in June (it is normal to see sales decrease in July compared to June):
Edmonton home sales
Condo sales were also up compared to last year with 398 sales compared to 322 last July and 420 last month.
Edmonton condo sales
Prices were up across the board in July. The average single family home sale price increased to $390,108 compared to $388,549 last July and $383,712 last month. The median sale price of single family homes was $356,500 in July compared to $353,000 last July and $355,000 last month. Condos meanwhile sold on average for $243,675 compared to $236,112 last July and $225,356 last month. The median sale price from condos was $222,950 in July compared to $223,000 last July and $212,250 last month.
Edmonton real estate prices
Is this the beginning of a new trend, or just a blip? That remains to be seen, but as always, this is our preliminary report based on the sales reported for Edmonton only. We will post our final monthly report as soon as the numbers are available from the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. Have a great day!
Edmonton housing market maintains stability in June
The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released the final numbers for Edmonton's real estate market in June today. They pointed out a number of economic indicators from various sources, including:
- Statistics Canada reported that Alberta boasted the highest spike in population in the first quarter with a 0.4% increase.
- Although the Bank of Canada seems reluctant to raise interest rates because of the negative impact on exports, CMHC reports that Canadians are budgeting for an interest rate hike.
- While housing prices nationally are up by 8.6% (May figures) Edmonton prices are tracking predictably in a stable market.
- CIBC is of the opinion that Alberta home prices are over-valued by 17% yet RBC names Edmonton amongst the most affordable major metro markets in Canada.
- A report by Peters and Co. forecast that $180 billion will be spent on new oilsands projects in the next decade with current oilsands operations and maintenance adding another $30 billion a year.
“The various reports and indicators can be confusing and contradictory,” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton President Chris Mooney. “Alberta and Edmonton are often moving in a different direction than the rest of the country and a national statistic or trend may not apply here...”
Real estate is local, and I don't see any point in looking at national averages. Today you have two markets pulling up the average for the rest of the county - all that tells us is that two markets are improving. When those markets come down, so will the national average, while our market could be doing quite well. To me, national average home prices are as valuable for predicting the local market as the national average temperature is for predicting the local weather.
So, looking at the greater Edmonton area, residential sales dropped in June compared to May, but were up significantly from last year. Five out of the last seven years saw sales drop in June compared to May, so I'd say that's pretty normal. 1768 homes sold through the MLS® system in June compared to 1978 in May and 1621 last June.
Edmonton real estate sales
