2015 prices and inventory up, sales decline

Edmonton, January 5, 2015:  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. 

Most regions in Canada's housing market have posted year-over-year gains in average residential sale price. Find out which regions are expected to see an increase next year in the 2016 RE/MAX Housing Market Outlook Report: http://rem.ax/1NbrACN

Homeowners in Edmonton will be receiving property assessments in the coming days and the City’s Assessment and Taxation Branch says that most will see a small increase in values. A typical single-family, detached home increased by 1.7 per cent and is now valued at $408,000; a typical condominium, townhouse and duplex increased by 4.8 per cent; a typical apartment building increased by 9 per cent; commercial and industrial properties increased by 0.7 per cent. Property tax bills will be delivered in May.