November 2024 Edmonton Area Real Estate Market Update

What a roller coaster this fall has been in the real estate market. Just as things started to slow down for the fall/winter season, we were delivered a massive rate cut as the government grapples with the economy. So, did it actually make a difference? Up until October, the recent downward shifts in the interest rate environment have had minimal effect on us in Edmonton. We had a busy spring, followed by an elevated summer and then some return to a slower period in August & September. However, it isn't every year that we see sizeable upticks in the market come October like we saw this year, with 10.5% more homes selling in October compared to September, which is up a whopping 38.5% from October 2023!  This uptick, in combination with 6% fewer homes coming to market, the amount of active homes available falling by over 10%, resulted in an interesting situation with prices remaining flat in October. Detached and semi-detached homes remained unchanged. Apartment condos fell by 4.7%, however, townhomes took another rise up with a 7.6% increase in median prices in just one month, putting its year-over-year record to 23.3% from October 2023.  October still isn't anywhere near the height of the market March-May of this year, but there was most certainly a noticeable uptick in sales right after the rate drops were announced. Where could this trend go from here? October may have been a blip in the market; however, if this continues into November without a substantial decrease in activity, we may see an elevated winter market before seeing spring pick up again, which will likely put us in a position for a busy spring come 2025, especially if the rumoured interest rates continue to fall.  If you want to know how to take advantage of selling in this market, reach out to me for a free home evaluation, and I am happy to walk you through selling in this current market. https://lorenzgroup.ca/evaluation If you want to know how to best position yourself in this buying market, reach out for a free buying consultation and I am happy to come up with a game plan for you this year. https://lorenzgroup.ca/contact  

October 2024 Edmonton Area Real Estate Market Update

Folks, it’s fall season again, and another busy month is in the books. For some reason, September flew by and felt very much like an April market. Let’s take a look at how the month played out. Edmonton has started to return to a more predictable market where the annual ebbs and flows follow seasonal trends, and September seems to be no exception. Even though I saw a major uptick after the Labor Day long weekend, September gradually moved towards a fall slump. There wasn’t a significant increase in new listings or sales, both of which are down, with sales experiencing an almost 13% pullback from an already slowing August. While 2024 is still ahead compared to last year, the earlier chaos from this year is beginning to settle down.  With fewer homes selling, properties are also taking a bit longer to move off the market. The average time to sell is now 38 days, with the quickest being semi-detached homes, which sell in as little as 30 days. In all cases, homes are selling much faster than they were last year, but on average, it’s taking 8 days longer (a 26% increase) compared to June. Available inventory remains relatively steady, though there are fewer options than last month. However, with fewer sales, the market is trending more toward a balanced market than earlier in the year.  Home prices also began to stabilize last month, except for detached homes, which saw another monthly gain of 2%. Home prices are up between 7.5% and 16.3%, depending on the category. Earlier in the year, row/townhomes were leading with the highest growth, but that momentum has slowed, with row/townhomes now showing only a 7.5% increase over the last 12 months. In contrast, apartment condominiums have seen impressive growth, up 12.8%, placing them second only to semi-detached homes.  This flattening of the Edmonton market comes amid three consecutive rate decreases, with rumors of more to come later this year and into 2025, indicating that the bank rate has yet to significantly impact the Edmonton market. That could change in the New Year, but for now, we’ll have to wait and see how the fall and winter markets play out, as they are expected to follow seasonal patterns with a potential slowdown in the coming months. The next interest rate announcement is set for October 25.  If you want to know how to take advantage of selling in this market, reach out to me for a free home evaluation, and I am happy to walk you through selling in this current market. https://lorenzgroup.ca/evaluation If you want to know how to best position yourself in this buying market, reach out for a free buying consultation and I am happy to come up with a game plan for you this year. https://lorenzgroup.ca/contact  

September 2024 Edmonton Area Real Estate Market Update

Many will say, “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it.” However, it seems the Canadian economy is the opposite, as the Bank of Canada has adjusted the interest rate yet again by lowering it by 0.25% this week, marking the third consecutive rate decrease. There are many people far more informed than I am on the broader Canadian economy, but from what I’ve been told, the remainder of the year may continue in the same direction. So, how does this affect our local market in Edmonton? August is always an odd time in real estate. It’s the end of summer, people are squeezing in last-minute vacations before school starts back up, and, almost regardless of which way rates go, August tends to slow down compared to the months before or after. So, it’s not unusual to see slightly less activity during this time. This is exactly what we saw last month. The number of listings coming to market, as well as the number of homes sold, both slowed down compared to July’s activity. However, in both cases, there’s still more happening this year than last year. Home prices remained steady, with single-family homes and apartment condos seeing a slight pullback in August, while row townhomes and semi-detached homes experienced moderate gains. Overall, 2024 remains more active than last year, with prices up across the board—showing a median increase of around 11.1%. The average time to sell a home is still down almost 24% from last year, with current listings taking just over a month to sell. While this isn’t as fast as the peak of spring, it’s still highly competitive compared to previous years, even during the best of times. How does August usually predict the remainder of the year? I’ve been telling clients for a few weeks now that despite the slowdown in August, we’re almost certain to see the market pick up again in September and continue to be active through to Thanksgiving. As of writing this on September 6th, I can confirm that in the last 10-14 days, I have already seen an uptick in market activity. If you want to know how to take advantage of selling in this market, reach out to me for a free home evaluation, and I am happy to walk you through selling in this current market. https://lorenzgroup.ca/evaluation If you want to know how to best position yourself in this buying market, reach out for a free buying consultation and I am happy to come up with a game plan for you this year. https://lorenzgroup.ca/contact

August 2024 Edmonton Area Real Estate Market Update

We are on a roll with rate cuts, and I like it! Finally, I have something positive to say if you are a buyer in 2024! If you missed the latest news last week, the Bank of Canada decided that with inflation, another rate cut would help the economy, especially with the two major real estate markets grinding to a halt in Canada. In Edmonton, things have been a little different. The heatwave we experienced last month did not stop people from putting up and taking down for sale signs; it may have even spurred it a little bit? All joking aside, even with the slight inflection we saw in June with sales slowing, July came back and made up for that with a small increase over the previous month, showing a much stronger market than last year, up by nearly 30%. Homes are still moving quickly across Edmonton, though taking a little longer to sell in July than in June. However, the average is barely over a month at 33 days, while most half duplexes still take 27 days to trade. This is still caused by the lack of inventory in Edmonton, with only about 2 months of supply at any given time. So even with all of these listings, they are selling just as fast. Good news for home prices if you are a home buyer: they haven’t been drastically increasing in the last couple of months. We have been in summer, showing about a 1-2% fallback from the previous month again, except for detached homes increasing by 1%. This brings the overall increase across the Edmonton area between 9%-10% from last year, which is very strong for the Edmonton market. What do I expect in August from this? Summer is always a slower time than early spring or fall, and with August being the most favorable summer month to take off, I don’t expect things to increase at a record pace quite yet. With the amount of demand we have seen in Edmonton, things will be steady, and homes will sell quickly, but instead of 9 or 10 offers, it might be 3 or 4 on those hot listings. This is part of the reason that property prices haven’t increased as much in the last month while demand seems steady on paper. For both buyers and sellers, August will be a busy month. Buyers will likely face a little less competition than in April or May, and sellers will still see their homes sell fast, especially in the target price range for their home type, as this is most definitely still a seller’s market. If you want to know how to take advantage of selling in this market, reach out to me for a free home evaluation, and I am happy to walk you through selling this spring and summer. https://lorenzgroup.ca/evaluation If you want to know how to best position yourself in this buying market, reach out for a free buying consultation and I am happy to come up with a game plan for you this year. https://lorenzgroup.ca/contact