Real estate market still on boil
Southwest-area houses average half a million dollars; solid gains expected until late summer
Ron Chalmers
The Edmonton Journal
Thursday, April 05, 2007
CREDIT: Bruce Edwards, The Journal
HOUSE PRICES HOT: Average home prices in southwest Edmonton topped half a million dollars last month. The house shown above sold recently for $499,900.
EDMONTON - Average house prices now exceed half a million dollars in southwest Edmonton and are almost $400,000 across the area.
"Housing prices have not yet peaked," Carolyn Pratt, president of the Edmonton Real Estate Board, said Wednesday, releasing the March figures for sales through the Multiple Listing Service.
Edmonton-area prices averaged $398,476 for single-family homes and $325,339 for all housing forms.
In only the first three months of this year, average house prices have climbed 16.5 per cent, surpassing Pratt's original forecast of a 15-per-cent rise for the full year.
"We're predicting that prices will continue to rise until August, at four to five per cent per month, then at two per cent per month," she now says, citing Edmonton's continuing in-migration, strong demand, low inventory and prices that still are below Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary.
Averages for single-family homes ranged from $501,838 in southwest Edmonton and $484,168 in St. Albert to $320,600 in Morinville, $312,730 in northeast Edmonton and $281,480 in central Edmonton.
The high-priced southwest has high-quality homes, says Madeline Sarafinchan of Jayman Realty. It also has good access to the University of Alberta, South Edmonton Common and the International Airport -- and its newest neighbourhoods "are well planned with a lot of park space."
Sarafinchan recently sold a 1,689 square-foot house in Rutherford, in the southwest, for $499,900. It has hardwood floors and a gas fireplace on the main floor, three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, attached double garage and upgraded insulation -- on an 11-metre by 35-metre lot.
Edmonton-area condominium prices actually fell $547 in March from February, to an average of $246,719.
Condo prices normally are more volatile than house prices, Pratt said.
This March, 1,236 condos were listed -- almost double the 621 listings in March 2006. Pratt thought the spike was caused by investors selling condos that they had been renting out.
Among all housing forms, the EREB reported 3,091 new listings in March, 2,359 sales and a month-end inventory of 2,574 units.
ComFree Edmonton acquired 664 new listings in March, with 513 sales at an average price of $350,300 and a remaining inventory of 893 units.
rchalmers@thejournal.canwest.com
© The Edmonton Journal 2007
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5 comments:
One number to take note of is that condo prices didn't go up, but actually went down (even if the number was minimal). If u follow most booms and busts including the current one in the U.S. that condos are the first to go up during a boom and the first to go down during a boom. Housing usually trails by 6-8 months. More speculators in condos.
This is something that I've noticed as well being in Calgary. I subscribe to MLS listings in Calgary and recently this month has been "price reduced!" ads... all of them were condos and apartments.
The avg price overall for housing has also come to a taper, almost standing still at 420K approx. Perhaps it is time for the much touted downturn.
If your 15% forecast was exceeded isn't it possible that you may have been initially right and the market priced in the 15% early? If everyone expects 15% then the gains would be made quickly - not over a year.
Seems quite optimistic to then up your forecast to 4-5% a MONTH. (
Whats the target price consider oil sands growth remains strong and in-migration continues? Is it perpetual 2-5% a month or is there an upper limit?
When someone predicts " Oh prices will rise by 15% this year" in a hot market a lot of people tend to quickly jump and buy into it to make a quick buck.
But in reality these prices are unsustainable, there is only a small percentage of families making 100,000 or more a year in Edmonton.
Watch prices creep down over the next 2 years...
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