THE LOCAL REAL ESTATE MARKET: A (HAPPY) UPDATE // REAL ESTATE
THE LOCAL REAL ESTATE MARKET: A (HAPPY) UPDATE BY NERISSA MCNAUGHTON
HERE’S WHERE THINGS ARE AT, WHERE THINGS ARE GOING, AND A SNEAK PEEK AT THE TINY TREND
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lberta may boom and bust when it comes to the energy industry, but one thing the province can pride itself on is an affordable housing market. One only needs to look to the far west where the average home price peaked at $1.8 million in Vancouver in 2017, or the east where last year’s average was $735,021, to feel good about the $400,000 average Alberta enjoys. Now, as 2018 gets underway, what can we expect from the Edmonton market? Darcy Torhjelm, 2018 chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, weighs in. “The year-over-year sales have risen overall about 1.5 per cent,” says Torhjelm. “It’s not a large increase, but it does show that there is more confidence in the market. The overall inventory is over up over previous years, which does also indicate the
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MARCH 2018 // BUSINESS IN EDMONTON // BUSINESSINEDMONTON.COM
recession that we are currently working our way out of. I am fairly confident that the worst is behind us, and although we are not looking at large increases in prices or sales, this will bring some stability and confidence to the overall housing market.” Torhjelm breaks it down, saying, “The single family homes’ numbers overall have been steady with not much increase in overall sales or prices. The higher priced properties, over $500,000, have been a little more difficult to sell in many areas, but there are still sales happening. The duplex/ townhouse market has seen the largest growth with around 4-5 per cent in sales and price increases in most areas. Condos look to be the most difficult with inventory, climbing more in this category – the pressure is going to be downward as sellers find fewer buyers and more competition.”