December Real Estate Update

January 13, 2017 2:47 pm Published by

Happy New Year! We’ve just returned from a very nice Mexican get away and are looking forward to all the hope and promise 2017 has to offer.

In general the market reacted normally for a December month with the number of sales relatively the same year over year but with the expected dip from November due to the holiday season. The average home price dropped from November with a year over year decrease of 2.27%. Breaking it down further however shows single family homes and condo’s both declined by only 1% year over year verses a 5% drop in the Duplex/Rowhouse category. This relative stability is refreshing when considering the degree of uncertainty and pessimism some considered going into 2016.

While I was away the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released its annual housing forecast for 2017. It offers an interesting perspective so I included it below. The Edmonton economy is expected to show a gradual recovery from 2016 and due to our more diverse economy, outperform the rest of Alberta. My sense is that we’ve weathered the worst and I look forward to more stability with a longer term upside. Time will tell!

As always, please give me a call if you have any questions or if I may be of some service.

Cheers,

Chris Keeler_

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REALTORS® forecast slight sales decline, inventory growth for 2017

Edmonton, January 4, 2017: The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton released its annual housing forecast today at a seminar at the Northlands Expo Centre attended by 600 REALTORS® and business leaders. Chair James Mabey forecast that sales of residential homes in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area will continue to remain relatively stable in 2017.

Single family homes performed well in 2016, with a slight drop in unit sales and average prices. Unit sales are predicted to continue to decline until the middle of 2017, ending the year approximately 1.7% under 2016 numbers. Single family home prices are expected to decrease by 2.2%. Inventory is expected to remain higher than in previous years. Continued strength in the $350,000 to $450,000 single family home prices category is expected.

“Edmonton had a positive 2016 despite ongoing economic uncertainty,” said Mabey. “Buyers are continuing to remain cautious, and sellers are having to set appropriate expectations and evaluate their motivation and urgency.”

Condominium sales experienced a drop in both unit sales and prices in 2016. It is expected that unit sales will stabilize and increase slightly, by 0.2%. However, inventory will continue to grow by 1.1% and the average unit selling price will decrease by an anticipated 3.8%.

Duplex/rowhouses continue to gain in popularity as an alternative to single family homes, offering both affordability and an ownership model that appeals to many first time buyers. The addition of a higher quality selection should help to keep average prices stable for this category. Forecasts suggest an increase in unit sales by a modest 0.5% and inventory slightly lower by 0.5%. Unit sales overall are projected to decrease by 1%.

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This post was written by Cat and Chris