Edmonton Market Report for October 2019
REALTORS From Across Canada Urge Governments to Reduce Costs & Remove Barriers to Home Ownership
REALTOR® associations from Canada’s largest real estate markets are calling on all levels of government to take meaningful action to make home ownership more accessible to people across the country.
With a federal election on October 21, the Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver real estate boards, together with the Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers, the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton and the Nova Scotia Association of REALTORS® are urging the federal political parties to commit to policies that will help remove barriers and reduce the cost of home ownership.
These organizations are asking the federal political parties to adopt the following housing affordability recommendations:
- Revise the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institution’s (OSFI) mortgage stress test to take into account its impact on different real estate markets across the country. The federal government should view the stress test as a flexible policy and adjust it based on changing economic trends and interest rates.
- Replace the $750 First-Time Home Buyers Tax Credit with a $2,500 non-refundable tax credit for first-time home buyers.
- Reintroduce 30-year mortgage amortizations.
- Consider regional differences when implementing nation-wide measures that affect home buyers.
With housing affordability and supply a top-of-mind issue for Canadians, REALTORS® across the country want to work with federal, provincial and municipal governments to increase home ownership in Canada. There is too much regulation, at all levels of government, focused on curbing demand and providing “one-size-fits-all” solutions that do not take local market conditions into account.
“Home ownership is a key component of the national economic fabric and its role in creating economic diversity cannot be overlooked. To help Canadians, the real estate market must have liquidity, but the federal government’s anti-homeownership policies have made it difficult for millennials to purchase their first home, difficult for families to upsize or downsize as their needs change and difficult for seniors to exit the market. For example, the mortgage stress test, implemented as national policy with total disregard for regional differences, has had a significant downward impact on the price point at which buyers can qualify and purchase. This has lowered prices and stolen equity from homeowners. Home equity is a substantial asset for many Canadians, and this equity will not be easily or quickly rebuilt,” said Michael Brodrick, Chair, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.
MLS Sales Up Year-Over-Year While Market Remains Stable
Edmonton, October 2, 2019: Total residential unit sales in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) real estate market for the month of September 2019 increased 5.72% compared to September 2018. The number of new residential listings is also up, growing 1.67% from September 2018. Overall inventory in the Edmonton CMA fell 9.72% from September of last year.
Single family home unit sales are down 2.91%, unit sales of duplexes are up 7.52%, and condo unit sales jumped 26.78% from the same period of time last year.
All residential average prices are down slightly at $351,526, a 6.06% decrease from September 2018, and are down 4.30% from August 2019. Single family homes sold for an average of $420,406, a 2.16% year-over-year decrease from September 2018, and a 3.27% decrease from August 2019. Condominiums sold for an average of $217,665, a 9.82% drop year-over-year, and a decrease of 7.17% from the previous month. Duplex prices are virtually unchanged from last year at $343,230, which was a 3.17% decrease from the previous month.
“The Edmonton market continues to remain stable, with slight decreases in prices across all property types,” says REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair Michael Brodrick. “Single family home pricing dropped 2.16%, condos are down 9.82% from last month, and duplexes are virtually unchanged at -0.58% year-over-year.”
Single family homes averaged 59 days on the market, a one day decrease from last year. Condos spent eight days less on the market, from 67 to 75 days, while duplexes averaged 67 days on market, a three day decrease from September 2018. Overall, all residential listings averaged 63 days on market, a 1.56% decrease year-over-year, and increased by one day from the previous month.
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