Posted on
June 5, 2014
by
Dan Weiss & Carolyn Knispel
Members of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton list and sell homes on the local Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) from dozens of towns and counties in the local area. REALTORS® are active in every community from Wetaskiwin to Westlock and from Wabamun to Cold Lake. This month we report on average prices in some of the larger centres as well as Edmonton; but first the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) numbers.
In May, the average price of a single-family detached (SFD) property in the CMA was up 2.2% to $438,279. The all-residential average price was $371,871; up 1.6% from April. Throughout the CMA, the average price for a condominium dipped 0.13% from April to $251,688.
There were 2,137 adjusted all-residential sales (1,979 reported) in May 2014 compared to 1,998 sales in April. There were 3,388 residential properties listed in May compared to 2,978 last month. The overall sales-to-listing ratio in May was 58% and average days-on-market was 41. End-of-month residential inventory was 5,634, up 14.7% from April.
“People who bought at the peak have not been able to realize their original purchase price until these prices surpassed the earlier peak,” said REALTORS® Association President Greg Steele. “Now people are confident in the market and feeling comfortable about making a move and those houses are being listed. There are homes for sale all throughout the Edmonton region and SFD prices vary from $221 thousand to $463 thousand on average.”
The most active regions are St. Albert and Sherwood Park with 103 and 102 sales respectively last month. Total sales in those communities represent about 14% of all SFD sales in the Edmonton MLS® System. Year-over-year sales in Beaumont (up 55%), Westlock (up 78%), and Fort Saskatchewan (up 24%) show the highest growth while areas in the northeast (St. Paul, Bonnyville, and Cold Lake) have declined because of a shortage of inventory and price escalation. SFD sales in the City of Edmonton are up just 2.4% Y/Y.
As you might expect, average housing prices tend to decrease as you move further away from the city. Average prices are lowest in Wetaskiwin and Westlock which are both about an hour’s drive from Edmonton. Closer in, St. Albert and Sherwood Park command the highest prices with Beaumont clambering to join that price club. All real estate is local and an average price increase may not reflect a change in value for an individual property.
“Generally housing prices are rising in the Edmonton area,” said President Steele. “There may be slightly different trends in some communities with occasional dips and bumps but there are local REALTORS® operating in each community who can advise buyers and sellers about pricing and marketing strategies that are right for that location.” See the attached chart for details of pricing and sales changes in 12 communities outside Edmonton.
| May 2014 |
|
M/M % Change |
Y/Y % Change |
| SFD2 average3 selling price – month |
$438,279 |
2.20% |
5.10% |
| SFD median4 selling price – month |
$410,000 |
2.50% |
5.90% |
| Condominium average selling price |
$251,688 |
-0.10% |
6.70% |
| Condominium median selling price |
$235,000 |
0.00% |
3.50% |
| All-residential5 average selling price |
$371,871 |
1.60% |
4.60% |
| All-residential median selling price |
$352,100 |
0.90% |
4.20% |
| # residential listings this month |
3,388 |
13.80% |
9.40% |
| # residential sales this month (reported) |
1,979 |
7.80% |
6.50% |
| # residential inventory at month end |
5,634 |
14.70% |
-6.50% |
| # Total6 MLS® System sales this month |
2,677 |
10.10% |
4.60% |
| $ Total value MLS® System residential sales - month |
$850 mil |
9.00% |
9.18% |
| $ Total value MLS® System sales – month |
$1.013 bil |
11.90% |
12.24% |
| $ Total value MLS® System sales – YTD |
$3.794 bil |
58.90% |
15.28% |
1 Census Metropolitan Area (Edmonton and surrounding municipalities)
2 Single Family Dwelling
3 The total value of sales in a category divided by the number of properties sold
4 The middle figure in a list of all sales prices
5 Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses.
6 Includes residential, rural and commercial sales
