You’ve heard of “buyer’s regret”. It refers to purchasing a pricey item, like a fancy sweater or a new car, and then regretting it the next day because you think you paid too much.

Fear of buyer’s regret can actually dissuade people from making a purchase, even when the price is right and they really want the product!

In the real estate world, buyers can sometimes hesitate to make an offer on a home for the same reason. They worry about paying too much, so they take a pass on the property. That’s unfortunate because they may miss out on a great home at a good price!

How do you conquer this fear?

The first step is to get your finances in order. Determine how much your current property will likely sell for on today’s market. Also, talk to a lender or mortgage advisor to find out how much of a mortgage you can get. This will give you a fairly good idea of what you can comfortably afford.

Don’t forget to factor in monthly expenses when determining affordability. If you’re looking to move to a larger home, or one that’s in a highly desirable neighbourhood, your mortgage payments may be higher. Other expenses, like utilities, might increase too.

Remember, a new home is as much a lifestyle investment as it is a traditional financial one. You’re making an investment in your – and your family’s – happiness. That might even make it worth spending a bit more. And, once you’ve reviewed your finances and anticipated your expenses, you may discover you can do just that!

So, take all these factors into account and determine a price range within which you can comfortably shop. That will make it easier to make an offer on that perfect property with confidence, and with no fears of regret.

• Foreclosure properties are in demand and often sell at market prices.

• If your client's foreclosure bid 'wins' and they are getting a bank mortgage, the lender needs what lenders need for every deal, a final, unconditional real estate purchase contract (offer to purchase). For a foreclosure purchase, that final, unconditional offer to purchase is the signed, filed, Court Order approving your deal. 

• Buyers need to understand that most lenders won't even start processing a mortgage application until there is that final, unconditional offer to purchase. As a Realtor assisting a buyer, you have to work very closely with your buyer's mortgage broker. Make sure you know what the likely lender requires. It may mean an appraisal upfront, and it's crucial to have a backup plan. Either a private mortgage or cash purchase needs to be discussed with your mortgage broker in case the Courts/lawyer do not allow any extension. We had a backup plan; however, it was an expensive one. 

• COVID affects everything, including everything to do with any court process, and that includes foreclosures. As a Realtor working through the foreclosure process, do your best to make your client, the Court and the foreclosure lawyer aware of timing. Your client might have made an unconditional offer, but they need time if closing depends on financing. 

• Make sure the Court and the foreclosure lawyer know that your buyer needs two weeks to close AFTER receipt of the signed, filed, Court Order approving your client's purchase. Try to ask for a clause such as "This purchase will close 10 business days after buyer's receipt of filed Court Order." either in your offer or verbally if you are part of the Court application.

Edmonton housing market to remain balanced in 2021, prices to increase 2%

Edmonton real estate is likely to continue as a balanced market in 2021, with demand being segmented. Buyers are looking for single-family homes and yards, which includes duplex and row-style townhomes. The average sales price in Edmonton increased by 1% to $364,820 in 2020 (Jan. 1 – Oct. 31), compared to $361,152 in 2019 (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31). The RE/MAX Outlook for Edmonton real estate in 2021 is an increase of 2% in average price to approximately $372,116.40.

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Who’s Driving Demand for Edmonton Real Estate?

Move-up buyers are currently driving demand in the Edmonton real estate market, which is expected to continue into 2021. The most popular property type among move-up buyers in Edmonton are single-detached homes and townhouses.

First-time homebuyers in Edmonton are typically single homebuyers. These buyers are not looking at one property type specifically and are buying across all property types. The average price spent on a property by a first-time homebuyer is approximately $300,000.It is expected to be more difficult to enter the market as a first-time homebuyer in 2021, as there is expected to be less inventory, making it tough for buyers to find the right property.

Move-up buyers in the Edmonton housing market are typically young couples. There has been very little hesitation in move-up buyers when it comes to entering the market, as many are trying to take advantage of the low interest rates and low property values. Move-up buyers in Edmonton have changed the criteria on what they look for in a home due to COVID-19. Many move-up buyers are looking for yards, more space, separate offices and finished basements.

The condominium market in Edmonton is most popular with single homebuyers and young couples. The average price for a condo in Edmonton is $222,181. Apartment-style condos are currently in oversupply, which means prices are likely to drop. Currently in Edmonton, many examples of large assessments have been seen, mostly due to insurance costs escalating dramatically for condo corporations, which has resulted in higher condo-fees.

Edmonton’s luxury market is currently driven by move-up buyers with the average starting price for a luxury home in Edmonton being $1,000,000. At this price point, many buyers are getting great value, with the majority of the homes being newer infill or older beautifully renovated homes with large yards in mature areas, or huge lots, often with ravine or private nature backing, in new development areas.

Edmonton’s Hottest Neighbourhoods

Edmonton’s top-selling neighbourhoods in 2020 were Anthony Henday Zone (West), North Central Zone and Southwest Zone. These neighbourhoods are expected to continue as the most popular neighbourhoods moving into 2021.

Edmonton New-Home Construction

Edmonton’s new-home construction sales are strong for single-family in both the suburbs and infill. Apartment condos are in oversupply. Most buyers are looking for a new or “like new” home across all price ranges. Based on the current demand, single-family, duplex/rowhouse and townhomes with yards are a little undersupplied. One new-home construction trend that has emerged throughout 2020 has been the need for home office space options, which is directly related to COVID-19.

Canadian Housing Market in 2021

Canadians are on the move. RE/MAX isn’t calling this an “exodus,” but the re-location trend across the Canadian housing market is real, and it’s just one focus of the RE/MAX 2021 Housing Market Outlook Report. RE/MAX Canada anticipates healthy housing price growth at the national level, with move-up and move-over buyers continuing to drive activity in many regions across the Canadian housing market. An ongoing and widespread housing supply shortage is likely to continue, presenting challenges for homebuyers and putting upward pressure on prices.

Due to these factors, the 2021 RE/MAX 2021 outlook for average residential prices is an estimate of +4% to +6% nation-wide. Here’s the regional break-down:

Additional report findings include:

• 35% of RE/MAX brokers indicate that “move-over” buyers from other cities and provinces will continue to spark market activity in 2021

• 45% of RE/MAX brokers indicate that move-up buyers will likely be a primary driver of the housing market demand in 2021

• Half of Canadians (53%) are confident that Canada’s housing markets will remain steady in 2021

• 52% of Canadians believe real estate will remain one of the best investment options in 2021

“Despite the tragic impacts of the pandemic, our optimism in the strength of Canada’s housing market has always remained,” says Elton Ash, Regional Executive Vice President, RE/MAX of Western Canada. “While we’ve seen a significant shift in buyer preferences this year, we believe factors such as the supply issue, pent-up demand and historically lower interest rates will continue to fuel activity in 2021.”

Edmonton, March 2, 2018: Spring has hit the real estate market in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA), bringing strong unit sales and average price increases.

When compared to January 2018, unit sales across all categories increased, with single family home sales increasing 22.97%, condo sales increasing 14.17% and duplex/rowhouse sales increasing 21.28%. Year over year single family homes unit sales decreased 4.21%, condo sales decreased 4.92% and duplex/rowhouses sales decreased 7.32%. Year to date sales for all residential categories was up 2.43% compared to February 2017.

Month over month and year over year average unit prices increased across all categories. The average price of a single family home was $442,206, which was an increase of 3.14% compared to January 2018 and an increase of 3.73% compared to February 2017. The average price of a condo was $236,808, an increase of 4% month over month and 1.48% year over year. The duplex/rowhouse average price increased to $354,638, up 1.73% relative to January 2018 and up 2.62% relative to February 2017.

“February turned out to be a busy month for REALTORS®, which was reflected in the increases in sales activity and average prices across all categories of residential properties,” said Darcy Torhjelm, Chair of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.

Inventory increased 10.90% compared to January 2018 and was up 8.67% compared to February 2017. Listings also increased, up 4.03% month over month and 5.92% year over year. 

Days on market decreased for all categories compared to January 2018. Single family homes took an average of 59 days to sell, condos required 75 average days and duplex/rowhouses needed 64 days to sell. Overall the average days on market for all residential properties was 65, which was 10 days faster than January 2018 and identical to February 2017.

MLS® System Activity for February 2018

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

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Edmonton, January 3, 2018: The Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) real estate market marked a year of overall stability in 2017. All residential year-to-date unit sales were up 1.50%. In total, 16,441 residential units were reported sold in 2017 as compared to 16,198 in 2016.

Year-to-date prices were also consistent with modest increases throughout 2017. Average single family home prices increased 0.77% to $437,744 and average duplex/rowhouse prices increased 0.12% to $348,225, while average condominium prices decreased 0.96% to $248,130.

“2017 was a steady year for real estate in Edmonton and many of the surrounding municipalities, where sales and prices were quite stable for the majority of the year,” said Darcy Torhjelm, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “For most of the year we continued to see home buyers take advantage of low mortgage rates and a slightly increased inventory, while sellers enjoyed solid prices for their properties.”

Average year-to-date days on market for 2017 for all residential units was 59, up 2 days from the average of 57 days on market in 2016. Year-to-date listings were also up, increasing 2.38% over 2016. The reported all-year sales to listing ratio was 52%, indicating a fairly-balanced market.

As is seasonally normal, sales dropped in December from November, but are up year over year from December 2016 in all categories. For single family homes, sales decreased 19.83% month over month, and increased 22.84% year over year. Condominium unit sales declined 23.53% compared to November 2017 but increased 15.42% relative to December 2016. Duplex/rowhouse sales decreased 24.59% month over month, however, increased 21.05% year over year. In total, the average all residential unit sales decreased 22.09% month over month, however they increased 19.42% compared to December 2016.

Average prices declined in December 2017, both month over month and year over year. Single family homes average prices decreased 5.63% compared to November 2017, and decreased 2% compared to December 2016. Condominiums prices increased slightly by 1.74% relative to November 2017 and decreased 3.18% relative to December 2016. Duplex/rowhouse average prices decreased 6.07% month over month and 6.80% year over year.
 
“Now that the holiday season is over and a new year is here, we expect listings and sales to begin to ramp up again,” said Torhjelm. “We encourage both potential buyers and sellers to talk to their local REALTOR® about their options in this market and what is right for them.”.

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MLS® System Activity for January 2017

Market Report: October 2017

Alberta home down slightly on a year-over-year basis in October 2017

Alberta home down slightly on a year-over-year basis in October 2017

Click to download the complete report.

Alberta reported 4,465 units sold through the MLS® systems of real estate Boards in Alberta in October; a decrease of 1.3% from the year prior. This was slightly below the 10-year average for the month, and ended the trend of year-over-year increases in residential sales in Alberta over the nine months of the year.

On a year-to-date basis, home sales totaled 50,004 units over the 10 months of the year combined, up 8.5% from the same period in 2016. 

Nationally, home sales activity was down 4.3% overall from last year’s activity in October.

The value of all home sales in the province totalled $1.76 billion in October; an decrease of 0.4% from October 2016. The national average for value of total home sales increased by 0.4% on a year-over-year basis. 

Sales volume of all property types were down in Alberta (including commercial and agricultural properties), decreasing 3.6% to 4,708 total units from this time last year. The total value of all property types amounted to $1.9 billion, which was a decrease of 3.4% however from October 2016.

The average price of homes sold across Alberta in October was $395,429, up 1% from a year earlier. The year-to-date average price of residential properties was up 1.5% over the first ten months of 2016 however, settling at $400,301. The national average for home prices by comparison for October, which is often inflated by larger real estate markets such as Toronto and Vancouver, was $505,937. This marked a 5% increase nationally on a year-over-year basis.

Regionally, monthly residential average price increases in Alberta were led by the Brooks (South Central Alberta +8.3%), Medicine Hat (+4.9%) and Edmonton (+4.9%) regions on a year-over-year basis. The Fort McMurray (-14.68%) and Grande Prairie (-11.6%) regions had the largest year-over-year decline in Alberta for the month of October. However, Fort McMurray sales figures this time last year were skewed by the wildfire that took place last May.

View the regional Boards/Associations geographical breakdowns here.

There were 8,484 new listings on the MLS® systems of real estate Boards in Alberta in October, rising 10.8% from a year earlier. This was the highest number of new listings for the month of October in nine years. Active listings were also up from this time last year, rising 12.6% to 30,466 units at the end of October. 

The months of inventory ratio (total inventory / monthly sales activity) continues to be an important market indicator, comparing the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. This ratio can suggest if the market is moving quickly or slowly, and how long the average property may stay on the active market. The October months of inventory ratio dropped slightly to 6.8 from 6.9. A score of 6.4 is still generally thought of as a “balance market,” not favouring either the buyer or seller.

Welcome friends, family & clients alike to the November edition of this month newsletter.

 This edition is especially important as we will begin to cover a number of topics that will hopefully leave you better prepared to face the Real Estate market.

 Whether you aspire to purchase a property which suits your needs, or when trying to sell one of your very own, our intent is to support you along the way.

On the buying side, the focus will be on the upcoming (and dreaded) hike in interests rates, and what these proposed changes could mean to your bottom line.

 Winter is also fast approaching and we will try our best to ease you into the cold with a few tips. Whether preparing your home for the season, or when looking at properties under heaps of snow, there are always things to keep in mind and be aware of!

For sellers, it would appear as though higher levels of inventory will continue to be the trend in the forseeable future. The expected increase in interest rates will ultimately leave fewer people with the buying power they have under our current favorable rates.

 This would suggest that while we are in a buyers’ market, the consequent rise in interest rates will force certain buyers to reassess how much can be borrowed and which opportunities to pursue.

 The good news is for those who are already locked into reasonable rates, and great news still for those who get pre-approved in the limited time available before these mortgage changes are likely put into effect.

Real Estate News

A highly noteworthy and modern piece of legislation known as The Condominium Property Amendment Act (CPAA) will officially go into affect as of January 18th, 2018. It was initially passed in December 2014, but has undergone a period of consultation (open as well to the public until November 10t of this month).

It is described as having the intended purpose of supporting “responsible self-governance of vibrant condominium communities and to protect owners of condominiums.”

The following excerpts can be found at:https://www.alberta.ca/condominium-consultation.aspx, as they relate to the three summarized phases of their plans.

Phase 1 focused on new protections for buyers of newly-built and conversion condominiums. Albertans were consulted in 2015 on:

• better purchase disclosures at the point-of-sale, including occupancy date for their unit

• realistic operating budget and estimated condo fees

• trust money safeguards

• cancellation rights for certain long term contracts entered into by the developer

Phase II addresses how condo boards govern themselves, including:

• insurance requirements

• voting procedures

• reserve fund plans

Phase III will establish a condominium dispute tribunal that is intended to be an affordable and efficient forum to resolve condo disputes between condo boards, owners, occupants, and other interested parties. Once available, it will provide a lower-cost alternative to the courts for condo owners.

More detailed information can also be found at: https://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=48750B0ABE17D-9966-6836-51C687E3FCFF9BF0. This is a must read for those who own, or seek to own a condominium unit(s). It is an empowering piece of legislation which will only aid and protect the best interests of condo owners and their associated partners/stakeholders.