We are very excited to move into our new headquarters today. Our new space is perfectly suited to our needs with more space for training, more space for meeting with clients, and more space for collaborating and socializing. I'll post some pictures soon but for today bear with us as we will have some gaps in phone and internet service today.

Our new address is 18831 111 Ave, Edmonton, AB, T5S 2X4. 

MapToLiv

Here is our update on the Edmonton real estate market. (Previous week’s numbers are in brackets). For the past 7 days:

New Listings: 587 (568, 551, 481)
# Sales: 324 (305, 30S0, 334)
Ratio: 55% (54%, 54%, 69%)
# Price Changes: 253 (277, 232, 228)
# Expired/Off Market Listings: 124 (104, 228, 79)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: 139 (159, 23, 68)
Active single family home listings: 2603 (2505, 2382, 2346)
Active condo listings: 1939 (1873, 1816, 1822)
Homes 4-week running average: $415k ($411k, $407k, $411k)
Condos 4-week running average: $237k ($239k, $241k, $244k)

Condo inventory is right in line with where we were at this time last year, but single family home inventory is still well below the past three years. Sales are quite similar to what we've seen for the past few years, so rising prices continue to be a result of low supply more than high demand. Single family home prices have gotten so high I'm going to have to edit my template, since the price line is about to hit my title:

Real Estate Prices

Real Estate Listings and Sales

Have a great weekend!

Light the Bridge Launch Video from ATB Financial on Vimeo.

Why should we Light the Bridge?

• It our most iconic structure
• It's 100 years old this year
• It was once the highest streetcar crossing in the world
• When the sun goes down the bridge fades away, losing it's "landmark" appeal
• It will look incredible - the LED lights can be individually controlled to dim, flash, glow and glitter in every imaginable colour. Imagine the bridge in red & white on Canada Day, pink for breast cancer awareness, or blue and orange if the Oilers every make it to the playoffs!

Light the Bridge

You can buy a bulb on the bridge for $25, and when the project is complete, they'll be able to tell you where your bulb is! People are buying bulbs for all kinds of reasons - to celebrate milestones, to remember a loved one or just to be part of a true "Edmonton" project.

As you know, we Love where we Liv, and we are proud to call Edmonton home. Liv Real Estate has already made a donation to Light the Bridge, and we hope you will too.

In 1913 it cost $2 million to build the bridge, today it will cost $3 million to light it up! The design eliminates traditional light pollution by having all the lights pointed downward. Basically, the design means that the light lights the bridge, and does not stray.

Here is our update on the Edmonton real estate market. (Previous week’s numbers are in brackets). For the past 7 days:

New Listings: 568 (551, 481, 563)
# Sales: 305 (300, 334, 302)
Ratio: 54% (54%, 69%, 54%)
# Price Changes: 277 (232, 228, 216)
# Expired/Off Market Listings: 104 (228, 79, 125)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: 159 (23, 68, 136)
Active single family home listings: 2505 (2382, 2346, 2294)
Active condo listings: 1873 (1816, 1822, 1785)
Homes 4-week running average: $411k ($407k, $411k, $412k)
Condos 4-week running average: $239k ($241k, $244k, $239)

There has been a slight uptick in listing activity, but we're still well below last year's inventory levels. Builders are getting busy in Edmonton too - according to CMHC housing starts were up significantly in April. Sales have been below last year's levels in May so far - are we starting to see the market cool off already? 

Edmonton real estate prices

Edmonton listings and sales

Have a great weekend!

New Listings: 551 (481, 563, 500)
# Sales: 300 (334, 302, 267)
Ratio: 54% (69%, 54%, 53%)
# Price Changes: 232 (228, 216, 201)
# Expired/Off Market Listings: 228 (79, 125, 99)
Net loss/gain in listings this week: 23 (68, 136, 134)
Active single family home listings: 2382 (2346, 2294, 2252)
Active condo listings: 1816 (1822, 1785, 1694)
Homes 4-week running average: $407k ($411k, $412k, $405k)
Condos 4-week running average: $241k ($244k, $239, $245k)

I'll keep it short and sweet this week since we've talked a lot of stats already. 

Real Estate Prices

Real Estate Listings and Sales

Have a great weekend!

Edmonton Real Estate Market Snapshot, April 2013

There were 1645 residential sales in the Greater Edmonton area in April. This is about equal to last April when 1656 homes sold, and up from 1501 in March. 

Edmonton Real Estate Sales

The average price is up 2% from last April to $348,535 (compared to $342k last April and $355k last month). It is not uncommon to see the average price drop from May to April - it happened in 4 out of the past 7 years. 

Edmonton Real Estate Prices

The inventory continues to rise, as it should at this time of year, but it is still well below the levels seen in previous years. The current inventory is 5,294 down from 6,040 last year and up from 4,741 last month. 

Edmonton Real Estate Inventory

After three months of below average listing activity we started to get into the more normal range in April. 2,769 homes were listing for sale in April - about the same as last year (2,756) and up from 2,422 in March. 

NewListings

Overall we are seeing the same market forces at play that we saw last month; relatively low supply and good demand are keeping prices at higher levels than we've seen for the past five years. We are seeing some areas where homes are selling above their peak value (from 2007) and some areas where the current value of homes is still well below their peak value. 

Single Family Home Sales

Condo sales are in the normal range for this time of year. There were 421 condo sales in April through the MLS® system in Edmonton - up from 397 last year and 365 last month.

Condo Sales

Prices are on the rise in Edmonton; the average price for single family homes sold in April was $409,220, up from $395k last April and $406k in March. The median price for single family homes was $375k, up from $367k last year and $362k last month. Condo prices increased as well; the average price for condos was $243,757 in April, up from $235k last year and about the same as last month. 

Average Price

The average price per square foot for single family homes was $273, up from $265 last year and $268 last month. For condos the average price per square foot was $235, up from $222 last year and $234 last month. 

Average Price Per Square Foot

CMHC reported yesterday that new home construction continues to plow ahead, with total housing starts up 29% in the first quarter of 2013 compared to 2012. The report discusses economic trends including employment and migration in the Edmonton area. First quarter employment dropped slightly from the end of last year, but was still up over the first quarter of 2013. Our labour market outperformed most of Canada in the first quarter, and the unemployment rate dropped to 4.2% from 4.5% in Q4 2012. As we've already discussed on the blog, migration into the province was very strong in 2012 when net migration reached 85,978 people, more than doubling the 2011 tally as well as reaching a record high. I've yet to see any population stats for 2013 but will post them when I find some. 

Edmonton Employment

As always this is our preliminary report on the Edmonton real estate market, our final monthly report on the greater Edmonton area will be posted when the numbers are released by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.

I'm currently at a technology conference... comments to follow. Thanks for your patience. 

Edmonton Real Estate Prices

Edmonton Listings and Sales

First and foremost, it is important to know that property taxes are quite unlike most bills you pay. For example, rent is always paid in advance. You pay in full on the first of the month for the upcoming month. Most other bills are paid in arrears. When you make your mortgage payment, you are paying interest for the previous month. When you pay utility bills, you are paying for the utilities you consumed in the previous billing period. When you pay property taxes, you pay somewhere in the middle of the year. In Edmonton and most other municipalities in Alberta, property taxes are due and payable on June 30 every year. In rare cases, the property tax due date is some other date such as August 31 or September 30. Whether it is June 30, August 31, or some other date, when you pay the property taxes you are paying for the calendar year. So, a property tax payment on June 30 covers the previous six months and the upcoming six months.

With this in mind, let’s take a brief look at the property tax adjustment on a standard real estate closing in Edmonton where taxes are due on June 30.

For a closing prior to June 30 where the seller has not paid the taxes, they will still owe their share. If the taxes for the year are $2,400.00, then, using a sale closing date of April 1, the seller’s share is $591.78 for the months of January through March. This will be deducted from the amount the buyer must pay to close the deal. The buyer will then be responsible for paying the entire tax bill for the year on June 30.

For a closing after June 30, say November 1, when the taxes have now been paid in full, the buyer will have to pay money to the seller on top of the sale price. For an annual tax bill of $2,400.00, the buyer will have to pay $401.10 to the seller. This will pay all the property taxes up to December 31.

When there is a mortgage involved, the property tax adjustment between the buyer and the seller stays the same. As a buyer, if you are paying property taxes as part of your monthly payment, these will typically be payments towards next year’s property taxes. You will still have to account and pay your share of this year’s taxes.

If you are a seller, there will still be a deduction from the cash-to-close for property taxes when the deal closes prior to June 30. At the same time, your mortgage payout will be reduced as the mortgage company will give you credit for all the money they hold in your property tax payment account in anticipation of paying taxes on June 30.

For further details and a more in-depth discussion of property tax adjustments, please visit the property tax page on our website at the following link: www.galbraith.ab.ca/real-estate/property-taxes/

Galbraith Law does extensive work in the areas of real estate, small business, and wills & estates.

I grew up in a 165 year old farmhouse, that we heated with two woodstoves - and this was in the '80s. It was absolutely beautiful. The first home I owned was built in the '20s in a neighbourhood where most of the homes where built in the 1800's. So I can appreciate a beautiful old home... but many people aren't as enamoured with them as I am. 

Finding one of these "infill" gems can be a challenge, so I've put together a list of new homes for sale in mature neighbourhoods. It includes attached and detached homes and condos, built after 2005 in neighbourhoods defined as "mature" by the city of Edmonton. It will update with the newest listings automatically and you can narrow it down to homes in various price ranges. Check out new homes for sale in older neighbourhoods.