Edmonton Real Estate Update – September 2008

August residential sales up 18.6% over last year In August homebuyers are distracted by warm weather, vacations and back-to-school preparations. Never-the-less the REALTORS(r) Association of Edmonton reports that residential sales were up 18.6% in August as compared to August 2007. New listings were down for the month compared to last year resulting in a net drop of 889 properties available on the Multiple Listing Service(r) (MLS(r)) dropping below the 10,000 mark for the first time since March. There were just 9,612 residential properties in the inventory on August 31 as compared to 10,501 at the beginning of the month. Sales, compared month to month, were stronger than last year for the second consecutive month. New home sales are down dramatically partially because of the wide selection of homes available through the MLS(r) but buyers are demonstrating their confidence in this market and are not afraid to purchase. Average prices for all types of homes were down slightly from the previous month. Single family detached homes were off 2.65% to $369,190; the lowest price in 18 months. Condominium prices were down just 1.1% to $251,048 in August after a 3.25% slide in July. Duplex and rowhouse prices were down less than half a percent. Overall, the average residential price (which includes all types of residential property) was $329,207 (off 1.8%: the same as the month previous). Days-on-market rose from 55 to 63 days. The sales-to-listing ratio was 51% in August. Total MLS(r) sales for the month were up as a result of the increased sales volume to $574 million with total sales for the year reaching just under $5 billion. Housing prices typically rise slightly through the fall. We expect that the strong sales this quarter will support rising prices as we approach year-end.    Source: Barry Burden @ Remax River City