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Edmonton, AB Real Estate News

By Todd and Danielle Millar, Nineteen years of excellence!
(Glenn Simon Inc.)
Over my summer holiday I once again came to the realization that constant management, improvement and measurement are critical to ongoing success. Even when we reach a point in our lives and businesses that allows us to delegate certain jobs we must continue to look for ways to improve upon them.  It may sound counter-intuitive to delegate a job and then invest time in managing it, but it's not and here's why. When we have delegated our jobs it gives us a chance to step back from them and see how the system, person and team perform without you in the active (say physical) role of doing it. You can test this by measuring their performance against your earlier benchmark.  You'll be listening for their input on how to do the job better, faster and of a higher quality as well as looking at ...
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By Todd and Danielle Millar, Nineteen years of excellence!
(Glenn Simon Inc.)
A snapshot look at Canada's economy major economists taken from The London Free Press "The downward trend among private sector employees persisted in July, with large losses for this group partially offset by continued gains in self-employment." Statistics Canada July employment report. "These are difficult times. It's going to be a difficult year. I've been saying that, to sort of calm the euphoria about, you know, 'We're out of a recession.' We are stabilized, and there are some good signs. But it's still the recession and we still have to work our way out of it." Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told CTV News. "No one said it was going to be a smooth recovery, and especially not for employment. If there is any positive spin here for the broader economy, it's that the job losses were alm...
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
I've put together a graph showing the average price for Single Family Detached homes. Our prices have moved back up to mid 2008 numbers. Way off from the 2007 peak, but we are moving in the right direction.  
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
July has been similar to June, very strong and recordbreaking. 2277 sales in the month of July, beating July of 2006 (1953 solds) by a wide margin. On the listing supply side we are now sitting at 6592 properties for sale which is down from June's 6785. What have prices done during this strong market? Not too much. We have seen an increase for Single Family dwellings to $369,859 which is just under 1% increase from June 2009. The overall average price (including condos and duplexes) actually dropped one percent to $324,847.What does this all mean? Well the market is definitely trying to find itself. The demand is very strong, but the listing inventory has been keeping up with the demand. The resulting situation is becoming more of a balanced market in my opinion. I don't thing the sales...
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By John Carle
(myVAteam)
This weekend I had the pleasure of meeting with a lady who wants to sell her house in Edmonton. It’s a fairly average home for the area, in good condition and clean. It will be a good listing, a real feather in my hat. It should sell quickly and for a good price. But I’m not sure if I want to list it. Here’s the background story on the situation… (with her permission of course!) The homeowner is not comfortable with debt. She really doesn’t like owing money to anyone, even as a mortgage on a house. So her plan is to sell the house and rent instead; ideally she’d like to rent the house that she currently owns. This will allow her to get out from under the debt that is her mortgage. That’s her plan. She isn’t selling because she needs the money, or feels that prices will fall again. She’...
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
Well as we expected, June was a record breaking month for sales. Over 2400 sales this month, more sales than May (2161 sales). The other big story is how many listings are out there. Our inventory has dropped down to the 6500 range. That is much lower than last June (2008) when we had 10,817 homes for sale. Prices for both condos and single family both went up just under 1% for the month. Not as high of an increase as May (4% increase). This could be something to watch. The high sales volume units wise is not translating into a manic price increase (like 2006). In fact the percentage of the total sales are very similar to January 2009 numbers. We have been hovering around 50% of the market in that $300,000 or less price point. So the market has been very strong, but the prices have not ...
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I've included some more question and answers relocation related. Question: What if my employer doesn't pay for the move, are their any savings I can receive? Answer:  This is a question you should ask your accountant.  If you are relocating a certain distance for work reasons Canada Customs and Revenue Agency could allow you to claim expenses such as flights, moving vans, hotel stays, meals, inspection costs, etc.  Again I am not an accountant, but check with your accountant to see if these expenses can be claimed by you. Question: I don't know much about the area I am moving to, how do I know what is good or a bad area? Answer: The short answer here is find a good REALTOR®.  A good REALTOR® will advise you on average sale prices in the area, crime concerns, commuting distances etc.   A...
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Each year I work with 10 or more families relocating from other cities and regions of Canada into the Metro Edmonton area.  I've put together a few questions and answers that might be of help should you be relocating. Question: Should I have my home sold first? Answer:  This is a big one.  I highly recommend you sell your current home first.  Even if you can financially swing buying before you sell, it converts you from a want to seller to a have to seller.  Your negotiating power on the selling of your home is definitely weakened when you have the added pressure of paying for two households.  The other problem is if you do have to sell your current home in order to buy the new home, the seller will most likely put on a 24/48/72 hour clause condition, which means your offer can be bumpe...
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By Todd and Danielle Millar, Nineteen years of excellence!
(Glenn Simon Inc.)
If you really want to know what's going on with the economy in Canada and aren't afraid of knowing the REAL facts not the hype then you must go to this event:Real Estate Investment Network(TM) (REIN(TM)) will host the Canadian Economic Summit on June 26th in Edmonton. Some of Canada's top economists will be providing unbiased opinion and analysis on the fundamentals of the Canadian economy (locally and nationally) and its impact on the bottom line for investors and business owners. Among the speakers will be Mary MacGregor, Chief Economist for the Government of Alberta. Other speakers include: Carl Gomez, Bentall Capital's Vice President, Research. Ron Gilbertson, President and CEO of Edmonton Economic Development Corporation Todd Hirsch, Economist and Media Commentator Peter Kinch, Aut...
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I just came across a "news" article in the Edmonton Journal today.  The title is Mortgage Defaults Soar!!!!  http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Business/Mortgage+defaults+soar/1723557/story.html  I like to present facts and stats, but this stat can be very misleading.   I really had to laugh at some of the "stats" the article brought up.  One that really stood out was, and I quote "ForeclosuresCanada.com,which tracks Alberta court filings for property investors--but doesn't provide data with the same level of detail as the province--listed two-and-a-half times more Edmonton foreclosures between this January and early May than in the same period two years ago."  Now, anybody that had a remote involvement in Edmonton real estate in early 2007 knows that this was the hottest period of sales we...
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
The condo market has strengthened as well.  I've put together another graph showing the condo price increase in the Edmonton real estate market. (Note: the June stats are all based on data up to Jun 15, 2009) Again this clearly shows the impact the upswing in sales and constant listing inventory has had on the prices in the area. 
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
Hi again!  I've put together a graph to show the rapid price increases we have seen in the last 60 days in the Edmonton real estate market.  (Note: the June stats are all based on data up to Jun 15, 2009) From the SFD graph it appears as if we hit the lowest price for single family in February of 2009. This falls into line with the continual shrinking of the months of inventory in the Edmonton area.  
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
Sales continue to be strong.  Currently we are on pace to sell over 2300 homes this month.  That is even stronger than May (2161).  So, unless things tailoff, we may beat May's numbers.  As for listing inventory, we are currently sitting at 7562 properties for sale.  The number of new listings is keeping the inventory level constant and close to what we ended May with (7435 properties).  I expect the inventory level to drop to close to 7000 by the end of the month.  This follows seasonal trends of the listing inventory peaking in the month of May.  The market is very brisk under $300,000.  In above average areas the market is also very strong up to $400,000.  Multiple offers are fairly common, but it is rare to see unconditional offers.  Good well priced properties aren't lasting long, ...
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
Well the stats are out. The market did perform quite well in May as was expected. The main points are:1) May Sales (2161 sales) are consistent with 2005 numbers (before we had our boom in 2006-07). The sales are not recordbreaking but strong. Throughout 2008 we never sold more than 2000 homes in a month. Year to date sales are still lower than 2008 (by 8%).2) Listing inventory is DOWN 100 properties from April. Normally May is the peak level of inventory for the calender year.3) PRICES are being impacted up by 4%. Buyers are shifting up in price, this is the first month we have really seen a dramatic change for both condos and single family dwellings.4) We are now sitting at 3.4 months of inventory which is more of a Sellers' market than a balanced market. The big question out there is...
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
Hi everyone. It looks like we will end up with close to 2250 sales for May (up from 1843 in April)and an inventory of 7500 homes for sale (close to April's numbers). The market is now tipping more towards a Seller's Market than a balanced market. We only have a 3 month supply of homes for sale with the current rate of sales. The market currently is very strong. The only thing that could pour some cold water on the market is the talk that interest rates are going up. Our market has been very price sensitive. 50% of the sales are under $300,000 and that has not changed since the beginning of 2009. I think an interest rate increase combined with price increases will knock out alot of buyers that are in the market right now. So, I am cautiously optimistic on the market. I will be putting ou...
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By John Carle
(myVAteam)
I’ve been noticing more and more lately how Edmonton real estate agents are forming teams to “Serve you better”. But I have to ask, does it really benefit the customers? Sometimes it does. Sometimes it’s just a marketing strategy.  I’ve spent some time on this subject over the past year, as I’ve been rebuilding my own real estate business. Through this, I’ve categorized real estate teams into 3 groups: 1. More Agents, Not More Clients This is a fairly rare model in the Edmonton real estate landscape, but one that I think should be noted all the same. I’ve only seen it successfully dome once, and that’s by a couple of guys in my own ReMax office. They go together on all of their appointments, so that the clients know both of them.  This would be a highly effective model for the client, ...
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By Todd and Danielle Millar, Nineteen years of excellence!
(Glenn Simon Inc.)
With the the hint of warmer weather and a couple of dead cat bounces, market sentiment seems up. I'd say that for Edmonton real estate it is a combination of the increasingly lower prime rates; soon banks will be stuffing dollars into our pockets. And the cyclicallift that spring/summer bring to home listings and sales.Folks that have been waiting to buy are now cautiously dipping a toe or two testing the waters. Is it a good time to buy? Yes, of course it is - whenever you buy for cashflow in a fundamentally strong area, it is a good thing.Did you know that CMHC has even backed mortgages for commercial multi-family apartment buildings for as low as 3.45% for a 35 year amortization?Incredible... CASH FLOW CASH FLOW CASH FLOW!It's great to see so many people taking action and adding addi...
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
I was working on a graph that shows the number of properties sold in the Metro Edmonton area over the last 5 years. It clearly shows that May is normally our peak month for number of sales. The red line is this year's sales numbers. If the pattern continues we could see 2000 properties sold in May. That would put us on track with 2008 (blue line) and 2005 (yellow line) sales volume. 2006 (black line) and 2007 (green line) were unusual speculative years and should not be considered a "normal" number of sales. The market has definitely been brisk. Our days on market average continues to fall (from the 70 days range to 58 days)and the list to sale's price ratio (ie how much the buyers are getting off the price) has been rising. These are two clear signals that the market is strengthening.
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By Jason Thomas
(Royal LePage Summit)
How is the market? The short answer is improving! Last year (2008) we had an oversupply of listings (reached 11000 listings), only 4 out of 10 listed homes sold and prices were dropping in the 1% a month range. Thankfully that year is over!The market demand (sales) have been steady this year. In April we sold 20 more homes than April of 2008 (1% increase). In contrast to the oversupply of listings in 2008 which caused the prices to fall, our listings are way down. New listings are down 1452 from last April (32% lower) Overall Inventory is down 3067 from last year (7539 versus 10606) or down 29% from 2008. The tightening supply has caused the prices to stop their freefall and it looks like we have moved from a buyer's market into a balanced market. If you are curious what your home is wo...
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I’m sitting at a building inspection today, working on my Edmonton real estate blog while the inspector works on the house. The client (Megan) and I had a great discussion about leaving business cards behind when showing a home. I recently sold her condo for her, and she expressed an interesting perspective.  “It just gives me the peace of mind of knowing that they’ve been there. When a card wasn’t left, I wasn’t sure if they’d been there or not. When that happened, it was disconcerting.”  That’s interesting. I’ve heard a few agents complain about leaving their cards, claiming it to be a waste of resources. “What a waste of money!”  But to hear that this client liked having cards, I have to say that I’m prone to keep leaving my card at showings.  What are your thoughts? Do you prefer t...
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