Edmonton Real Estate Blog - statistics

US Style Housing Meltdown Not Expected Here

Few scenarios keep home owners, or would-be home owners, anxiously awake at night more these days than the fear of a US-style housing meltdown making its way up here to Edmonton and the Great White North.

Indeed, we’ve all seen the pictures of American ghost towns full of foreclosed homes, and anguished home owners who are either barely staying above water, or who actually can’t afford to sell their homes – because they owe more than the home’s going market value.

However, as dismal and tragic as that situation is, last week real estate lawyer Mark Weisleder wrote an interesting article in the Toronto Star, which attempted to sooth jangled nerves and let Canadians know that they’re not headed for a US-style housing meltdown anytime soon.

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Edmonton and National Real Estate Market Returning to Normal

After a couple of years of unprecedented volatility, the housing market across Canada seems to be returning to normal.

That’s the good news reported by the CBC last Wednesday, which pointed to newly minted statistics released by the Canadian Real Estate Association. According to the numbers:

• In November, the national average price for a home in Canada was $344,268; an increase of 2% over the same period in 2009
• The seasonally-adjusted volume of home resales climbed 4.8% in October and November – the fourth consecutive monthly increase in a row.
• Seasonally adjusted sales in November climbed 19.5% over the year’s lowest point in July.
• November sales in 2010 are closing in on the average levels for the past 4 November’s (2006 – 2009) 
• …

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Edmonton Real Estate Marketing Heating Up

Though it may be freezing cold outside, the real estate market in Edmonton is heating up again!

As reported last Friday by the Edmonton Journal, Edmonton home buyers are enjoying a happy combination of: competitive home prices, healthy inventory, strong national sales growth, and historically low interest rates. All of that led to a boost in November MLS sales – the first such increase in five months. 

According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton: 

•  The average price of a single-detached home sold for $362,657 -- .5% lower than October 2010, and 2.5% lower than October 2009.

• Condo prices dipped to an average of $229,604 – a 2% dip from October 2009, and a 3% drop from November 2009.

• The average number of days a house remained…

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CREA Lowers Resale Forecast for 2010 and 2011

Earlier this month, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) lowered its resale housing forecast for 2010 by a modest 4.9%. The decline is expected to reach 9% in 2011.

The revised forecast, which is based on the Multiple Listing Service’s (MLS) home sales activity, is due to less-than-stellar national economic growth. Factors such as slow job creation, shaky consumer confidence, and slowly rising interest rates are also playing a role.

However, the overall picture – especially in places like Alberta, which has a relatively strong and growing economy – is not grim. Really, the decline is a realistic correction in the marketplace, which saw massive, record-level activity in 2009 and into 2010. It’s still a “friendly” housing market…

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