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. Close to 50% of the sales are under $300,000 and that has been fairly consistent 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 out the official stats once they are posted by the Edmonton Realtors Association.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Mid May 2009 Metro Edmonton Market Update
The strengthening market continues. The sales have been very strong in the recent 2 months. This is combined with a lower number of homes for sale versus last year at this time. According to the latest stats, we are on pace to sell over 2000 homes this month. As for the number of homes for sale, it looks like our inventory will increase by around 700 homes by the end of May. That will put us at just over 8000 listings (we were at 11,000 by the end of May 2008). 2000 sales with 8000 properties for sale is equivalent to a 4 month supply (how long it would take to sell our current inventory at the current rate of sales with no new listings). Normally this indicates a sellers' market and prices should increase.
The one thing that is interesting is that the prices have not been effected so far. I am noticing buyers wanting to buy homes, but they are being very patient. They want to negotiate and are willing to wait if the seller does not agree to their numbers. It is an interesting dynamic. Normally with this tight of a supply situation you will see stronger price increases, instead pricing is remaining very stable. The buyers are definitely willing to pay market value, but they do not want to get into a bidding war. Hard to say how long this situation will last, but when a market enters a transitional stage there is often a period of adjustment by the sellers and the buyers.
The one thing that is interesting is that the prices have not been effected so far. I am noticing buyers wanting to buy homes, but they are being very patient. They want to negotiate and are willing to wait if the seller does not agree to their numbers. It is an interesting dynamic. Normally with this tight of a supply situation you will see stronger price increases, instead pricing is remaining very stable. The buyers are definitely willing to pay market value, but they do not want to get into a bidding war. Hard to say how long this situation will last, but when a market enters a transitional stage there is often a period of adjustment by the sellers and the buyers.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Residential sales yearly comparison
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.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Edmonton Real Estate market update May 2009
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 worth today, please don’t hesitate to call me at 780.499.5696.
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