REALTORS® Association of Edmonton

Home buyers contiue to cautiously watch market

Residential inventory continues to remain strong, as January closed out with 5,751 properties for sale on the MLS® System for the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). That’s an increase of 39.2 per cent over this time last year, and 13.03 per cent up over last month. Sales for January were down however, with 618 properties selling in the first month of 2016, down 13.32 per cent month-over-month, and 7.21 per cent lower year-over-year (year-over-year).

“Sales volumes are down, relative to the same time last year,” REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair Steve Sedgwick explains. “It is likely that home buyers are responding to current economic uncertainties. Although prices have dropped slightly, they remain stable. Growth in inventory may create more opportunities for potential buyers, and given the low interest rates, we remain optimistic about market growth as we head into the spring buying season.”

Prices in all categories saw a decline in the Edmonton CMA market as many lower priced properties sold in January. The all-residential price ended the month at $339,714, down 7.2 per cent from December and 6.3 per cent YoY. Single family house prices averaged $418,928, down 1.3 per cent and 1.2 per cent from the previous month and YoY, respectively. Condo properties sold for an average of $227,052, down 8.8 per cent over last month and 10.3 per cent YoY. And the increasingly popular duplex/row house category, which held steady for much of 2015, took the biggest average selling price decrease, coming in at $326,885, down 12.7 per cent from the previous month and down 13.6 per cent from the same time last year.

January’s average days-on-market rose to 71, up from 62 in December and 58 in January 2015. The increase is mainly attributed to the increased days-on-market for condos, which sat at 85 for January, up from 62 from last month and 61 YoY.

“The increase in the average days on market just appears to reflect that buyers are taking time to consider their options before purchasing a new home,” Sedgwick said. “Clients are looking to their REALTOR® for advice and guidance as they navigate their own individual situations.”

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The information contained in this report has been prepared by
The Canadian Real Estate Association, in co-operation with the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.
The information has been drawn from sources deemed to be reliable, but the accuracy and completeness of the information is not guaranteed.
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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.