The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released their annual housing forecast today at a seminar at the Northlands Expo Centre attended by 700 REALTORS® and business leaders. Chair Steve Sedgwick forecast that sales of residential homes in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area will remain relatively stable. A decline of about 2.3% from 2015 sales levels will result in less than 17,000 sales in 2016.

Edmonton CMA had a good year last year with all residential sales at 17,298. That is down 9% from 2014 but up over 1% from 2013. Sedgwick expects another solid year in sales of single family homes in the Edmonton area but with a small decrease of about 2.5%, as economic uncertainty continues. “The continuation of low oil prices and economic decline have made buyers cautious. While much of the decline is offset by record low lending rates, we don’t expect sales to pick up without a boost in our overall economy. That said, Edmonton has fared much better than many other places in Alberta. We expect continued growth and development in our city to continue to keep interest in our housing market strong.” explains Sedgwick.

Condo sales are expected to decline by a modest 2.7% throughout the region as the rental market eases up and migration slows down. The popular duplex/rowhouse category was strong in 2015 and looks to remain so through 2016 as more inventory comes available in this category. Duplex/rowhouses offer both affordability and an ownership model that appeals to many first time buyers.

Prices, as usual, will fluctuate through the year but the 12-month average price for a single family detached property is anticipated to decrease modestly about 2.7% as inventory grows. Condominium property average prices are projected to decrease at the same rate with many higher priced options keeping the average price inflated.

Sedgwick’s forecast was supported by four other speakers at the seminar including Todd Hirsch, Chief Economist, ATB Financial; John Rose, Chief Economist, City of Edmonton; Bruce Edgelow, VP of Strategic Initiatives, ATB Financial; and Christina Butchart, Senior Marketing Analyst Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

There are 3,300 REALTORS® operating in the greater Edmonton area which extends as far as Cold Lake, Wetaskiwin, Drayton Valley, Vegreville and Westlock.

A recent article in the Edmonton Journal stated that “Edmonton resale home prices will soften and sales will slide rufther in 2016 – but not as much as other places in Alberta battered by a faltering economy, says a forecast by the Realtors Association of Edmonton. ‘Edmonton and area has not felt the same effects of oil prices as the rest of Alberta has,’ Steve Sedgwick said Wednesday. ‘There’s a lot of exciting growth happening in Edmonton and we remain conservatively optimistic when it comes to our housing market.’

It’s an assessment backed by prominent economists, who say that Edmonton’s economy will slow in 2016, but not as much as other Alberta municipalities.

‘While you’re going to continue to see some very negative numbers and some very negative commentary about the province as a whole, people have to bear in mind that Edmonton is a bit of an island in the storm,’ said John Rose, chief economist for the City of Edmonton. Rose predicts a growth of 0.5 to one per cent for 2016 for the city and a slightly lower rate for the region.

Todd Hirsch, chief economist for ATB Financial, agreed Edmonton’s real estate market will endure an economic slowdown better than other Alberta markets because of its more diversified economy.

‘I do see the Edmonton real estate market faring generally in better shape than Calgary or Fort McMurray this year,’ Hirsch said. ‘It’s the centre of government, health care and education – broader sectors that support employment growth in Edmonton. I don’t see the downturn in the real estate market in Edmonton to be as severe as it will be in other parts of the province.’

Christina Butchart, senior marketing analyst for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, said the situation has shifted from a market that slightly favored sellers to a buyers’ market because of larger inventory and fewer sales.

Meanwhile, despite Alberta’s economic slowdown, the assessed value of the average Edmonton house has still gone up this year, said municipal officials this week. The typical single-family detached home is now worth $408,000, up 1.7 per cent from last year. The average value of condos, townhouses and duplexes went up 4.8 per cent.”

After reviewing the REA annual housing forecast, Don Cholak recommends selling sooner rather than later. “If selling in the next year, with a negative forecast in place, the sooner you sell, the better price you will receive. If you are planning on moving up in 2016, you stand to gain the most in this type of market. Lower price homes will not be impacted as much as the upper end market will be in 2016.”
 

FACT #1: When the current owner of a condominium home wants to
sell they will be required to provide documents to the prospective
buyer.
FACT #2: Many lawyers and lenders will not allow the sale to proceed
without the documents being provided being compliant with the
condominium legislation and the information contained in these
documents being current.
FACT #3: Many sales are lost due to condominium documents not
available in a timely manner to complete the sale.
FACT #4: Condominium legislation is different for the sale of a unit by
the developer to one sold by a current owner.
FACT #5: These facts apply to all condominiums from 2 unit style homes
to commercial bay condos, professional and self-managed. No condo is
excluded in today’s market conditions.

Source: Condo Check January 2016 Brochure
 

I am proud to be the #8 Producer with RE/MAX Professionals for 2015, and I am grateful to all of my clients for making my first full year at RE/MAX a great one!
 

Sales of residential property through the Edmonton Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) System in 2015 in the Edmonton CMA were down 9% from 2014 but up over 1% from 2013. This decrease was reflected across all property types except duplex and rowhouse sales which were up 6%. Single family homes were down 9% over last year and condos were down 13%. There were 17,298 residential sales reported in 2015 as compared to 18,991 in 2014.

Although sales were down, prices are up year over year, with single family homes finishing the year over 1% higher relative to last year at an average price of $437,569. For 2015, the average price of a condo was $252,954 (up 0.4% from 2014) and the average price of all residential properties was $372,511 (up 1.5% from 2014).

“2015 was a steady year for real estate in Edmonton. Edmonton and the surrounding areas experienced a decline in sales due to economic uncertainty, but we saw a slight increase in price that demonstrated that the market remained relatively stable. This began to cool in the fall months as inventory remained higher than normal.” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair Geneva Tetreault. “We continued to see home buyers take advantage of low mortgage rates. An influx of listings at the beginning of the year, meant that buyers had a larger selection of homes and were able to take more time selecting properties than in previous years. We continue to see a tight market in the popular $400,000 price range for single family homes.”

The all-year sales-to-listing ratio was 54% (down 16% from 2014) with average days-on-market at 51 days (up from 47 last year). An increase of listings was highlighted by a year-end inventory of 5,088 properties, up dramatically from the end of 2014 where only 3,059 properties were available on the MLS® System.

As is seasonally normal, December all residential prices dropped slightly by 0.9% from November. The price of a single family detached property dropped from $432,862 in November to $424,629 in December. Condo prices dropped 1.8% in December to $248,956 while duplex/row house prices increased by 10% from November to $374,217.

Source: http://www.ereb.com/News&Events/LatestMarketStatistics.html