Corporate Relocations: Relocating your family to Edmonton Part 2

I've included some more question and answers relocation related.
Question: What if my employer doesn't pay for the move, are there 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 good rule of thumb is, the higher the average price of a neighbourhood, the better the neighbourhood. If it looks like it is a great deal, there is probably a location issue with the home. Your REALTOR® can help advise you on what the best area will be for your price range.
Question: What is the market like? I know where I am living everything is selling slowly.
Answer: Again a good REALTOR® will make you aware of what the average days on market is, how much the sellers are coming down in price etc. Really market education is the key.
Question: How should I pick a REALTOR®?
Answer: Referrals from a REALTOR® you know in your current area is one great way. That is how I am connected to most of my relocating clients. Also, talk to friends or family members that may know someone. Some companies have a relocation program that assign you a REALTOR® as well. Be sure to check out the steps involved if you are part of a relocation program. For example, I know with the Canadian Forces you can not list your home before you have your posting message. If you don't follow the right steps, your relocation company may not pay for some of your moving expenses. The internet is also a good way to find a REALTOR®, you can create dialogue through emails and by the phone. Don't be afraid to ask questions!
Questions: When choosing a REALTOR® what questions should I ask?
Answer: I would ask how many relocations they deal with per year. How experienced they are (important for neighbourhood knowledge). Do they personally work with you or do they put you in touch with a buyer's agent. If it is a buyers agent, how experienced is that agent.

Corporate Relocations: Relocating your family to Edmonton Part 1

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 bumped at anytime by another buyer. This is a very emotionally draining position for a family to be in. You think you have your dream home tied up and it is pulled out from under you. Not a positive experience.
Question: How many homes should I be looking at?
Answer: The average number of homes a local buyer will physically look at when they are utilizing the internet in their search is 8. I find that my buyers that are from out of the area normally look at double that number (15 or so). That does not mean everyone looks at that amount, as it depends on how many homes are for sale in your price range and area, but it is a fairly accurate average.
Question: I have a week to find a home. Is a week enough time?
Answer: Surprisingly yes! I have actually found that 2 or 3 days of power shopping (looking at 8 or more homes per day) normally is enough time to pick your new home. That still gives you time to line up a building inspection and be present at the inspection before you have to return to your current home. In fact, I do not ever remember having a client not being able to find a home in the week they were given.

Stay tuned for part 2....

Edmonton mortgage defaults June 2009 and media sensationalism

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 Now, I like to present facts and stats, but I really had to laugh at some of the points the article brought up. One "stat" 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 have ever had. In fact, the most homes we ever sold in one month was in May 2007 (2839 sales). Sale prices were climbing 5% per MONTH in early 2007. To see a home go into foreclosure in early 2007 was a complete oddity. So, any market would have more foreclosures than that time, I am actually surprised there were only 2.5 times as many. To be fair, I also know that Real Estate Boards tend to put a positive spin on everything. I'm not defending that either. But, this headline is just sensationalism. I guess it gets attention, kind of like Elvis is Alive, or I am Bigfoot's love child.

Edmonton real estate price range statistics

I was mentioning in a previous post the price ranges that are the most active. I've put together another graph that shows where the market is the most active. Currently close to 50% of the market is under $300,000, 85% of the market is under $400,000. The biggest segment of buyers by far are in the $250,000-$300,000 price range. That segment alone makes up close to 20% of the market. These stats are for June 2009, month to date (as of June 17th).

Edmonton Real Estate Condo Average Sale Price June 2009

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.

Edmonton Real Estate Average Sale Price Mid June 2009

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.

Mid June 2009 Edmonton Real Estate Market Market update

Sales continue to be strong. Currently we are on pace to sell over 2300 homes. 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, on average they are going pending in the first week on the market. I'm working with a couple buyers in the lower price ranges tonight, and hopefully we can find something to offer on where we are not in competition with other buyers.

Official Edmonton MLS stats for May 2009

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 will this strength continue. The supply and demand definitely indicate prices should increase (as they have). Our sales are very similar (actually we are down by 8% year to date) to 2008. The difference is on the supply side. Our number of listings are way down (30% range). That is what has kicked the market out of a buyers' market and into a sellers' market. As I had mentioned in a previous post, the one wild card that is out there is interest rates. If interest rates move up 1 to 2%, I think the market will cool off quickly. In 2006 and 2007 it was more of a "I have to buy before prices go up and I'm going to get rich" mentality. This year it has been more of a "I can finally afford a home now with the reduction in prices and interest rates" . This is more of an affordablity driven market, 2006-07 was more of a speculative panic market. That is why I am cautiously optimistic in the market, but also know that a return to the boom months of 5% price increase per month is probably unlikely.
We did see an increase of prices by 4% last month, I just don't see that becoming a pattern in 2009. If anyone has any thoughts on the market, I would love to hear them.