January 2019 Monthly Real Estate Report

February 10, 2019 7:17 pm Published by

                            How is the Real Estate market?

As Realtors we get asked this question all the time. Our answer? It depends, are you interested in Buying, Selling, Renting or Investing?

No doubt we’ve all seen the news reports about home sales across Canada declining along with the average sales prices. Sure, there’s some exceptions but the mortgage stress test put into place by the Federal Government has worked to slow the market. And that was the goal.

It can be argued that the big stick meant to cool the hot markets of Vancouver and Toronto shouldn’t have been applied to all Canadian’s, but it was also intended to moderate the risk of higher interest rates on leveraged buyers.

The average home prices in the Edmonton area declined an average of 6% in comparison to January 2018 and sales declined by 15%. We are off to a sluggish start but should see an increase in activity as we move into the spring market. That said, I don’t see much reason to think prices are going to increase anytime soon.

I am however encouraged to see Edmonton is being recognized for it’s housing affordability and was ranked as the best city in Canada for younger employment opportunities ( Edmonton ranked the best place in Canada to look for work). Our city is on the plus side of net-migration and over the long term should boost to home sales.

So, how’s the Real Estate market? It depends…………..

Categorised in:

This post was written by Cat and Chris