Edmonton, January 7, 2015: 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 people. President Geneva Tetreault forecast that sales of single family homes in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area will remain at the same level as 2014 around 11,500 sales.

Last year exceeded modest expectations with a growth of 11% in all residential sales. Tetreault expects another big year for sales of single family homes in Edmonton but little growth. “The cool down of employment growth and uncertainty of oil prices, may leave buyers more cautious in 2015. This is likely to be offset by the potential increase in mortgage rates in late 2015. Buyers will want to take advantage of the record low rates for the first half of the year,” explains Tetreault.

The number of sales of condo, duplex and rowhouse sales will increase by a modest 2.5% throughout the region as these properties offer affordability to new home owners and income potential for investors in a tight rental market.

Prices, as usual, will fluctuate through the year but the 12-month average price for a single family detached property is anticipated to increase about 3.5%. Condominium property average prices are projected to increase at a lower rate of about 2.5% over the year due to an influx of new condominiums hitting the market.

Tetreault’s forecast was supported by five other speakers at the seminar including Todd Hirsch, Chief Economist, ATB Financial; Nolan Crouse, Chair, Capital Region; Jason Sutton, President, Canadian Home Builders Association Edmonton; Christina Butchart, Senior Marketing Analyst, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation; and Simon O’Byrne, VP, Stantec.

There are 3,200 REALTORS® operating in the greater Edmonton area which extends as far as Cold Lake, Wetaskiwin, Drayton Valley, Vegreville and Westlock.