The 3rd quarter RBC Affordability Index Report was just released this Monday and while the news Nationally isn't great, once again the 'Alberta Advantage' has our province looking failry good in the grand scheme of real estate things. Alberta had the only increase in affordability over the last quarter and continues to have the most affordable real estate prices in Canada. Check out the Alberta summary on Page 3 and the complete stats in the sidebar on Page 7 here...

Well this is GREAT and VERY INTERESTING news for anyone who is a fan of Downtown Edmonton...

EDMONTON - A series of downtown building projects worth a collective $4.8 billion over the next five years has been outlined in a report released Tuesday by the Downtown Business Association.

That includes the arena project, the new Royal Alberta Museum, Grant MacEwan University’s new consolidated downtown campus and other office and residential towers. It also includes $2.1-billion worth of work it lists as “rumoured,” meaning that plans are in the works and have at least gone to the preliminary design stage. Read more here...

To download the actual report published by the Downtown Business Association of Edmonton, click here...

Interesting little video tid bit full of useful advice for first time home buyers discussing the advantages of trying to put at least 20% down to avoid CMHC insurance and ensuring one fully knows the costs associated with closing a real estate transaction, ie.: inspection fees; legal fees; taxes ( where applicable ); extra insurance and utilities; etc.

Check out the video here...

What do you think? Another glowing forecast for our fine province and City (ies).. good to hear reputable reports on growth, employment, and stability forecasts. Could all translate into steady Real Estate growth as well.

CALGARY — Fuelled by rising oil production, Alberta will lead Canada in economic growth this year and employment in Calgary and Edmonton is expected to strengthen through 2016 with the addition of 120,000 new jobs, according to a special report released Friday by BMO Capital Markets Economics.

The BMO report – Calgary and Edmonton: Partners in Economic Growth – said the spillover effect of rising oil production extends across various sectors in both Calgary and Edmonton, including manufacturing of products for oil exploration and extraction, transportation, warehousing and retail trade. Read more here...

According to some, it appears the overall Canadian Real Estate marketplace is headed for a bit of a slowdown:

OTTAWA - Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is forecasting a moderate slowdown in new-home construction starts as well as sales of existing housing.

The Ottawa-based federal agency isn't calling for a major decline, but its latest forecast suggests next year will be somewhat softer than estimates CMHC issued in June while 2012 may be somewhat stronger than previously expected. Read more here...

Now, that being said, I encourage one and all to check out the entire Housing Market Outlook - Canada report ( well maybe not the entire report as it is a bit lengthy ) especially your local area ( s ). For some what appears to be impressive Alberta forecasts and predictions, check out page 10 and the stats in the tables nearer the end of the document. Check it out here...

For more 'Prairie' specific CMHC data, check out here...

Again, touch wood ( touching wood ) but more decent news for Edmonton and Alberta...

EDMONTON - The Canadian Mortgage Housing Corporation forecast Tuesday, Aug. 14 that housing construction and sales will increase modestly in 2013 in Alberta while activity in most of the country slows down.

The Crown corporation’s latest housing market outlook predicts 400 more housing starts in 2013 in Alberta than 2012. That represents just 1.25 per cent growth, but CMHC predicts national construction activity to decline 6.8 per cent over the same period.

Read more here...

Good news for Alberta and, more specifically, Edmonton, AB. We are fortunate to be bucking the national trends but prospects appear to be bright still.... let's hope in stays that way!

EDMONTON - Alberta led the nation in July with the lowest unemployment rate for the second consecutive month in July, according to Statistics Canada.

The jobless rate held steady from June at 4.6 per cent, but compared to the same month last year, it dropped 0.9 percentage points.  

Read more here...

Edmonton, August 2, 2012: The average* price of resale residential property softened in July according to figures released by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton today. The all-residential average price dropped from $342,014 in June to $335,501 in July ( down 1.9% ). The average single family detached price in the service area of the Edmonton Multiple Listing Service® was down 2.3%, the average condominium price was down 2.1% and the duplex/row house price was off 3.25%.

“Housing prices continue to follow seasonal patterns but residential unit sales are 3.6% higher than last July,” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton President Doug Singleton. “That being said, the price drops are minimal and still about 5% higher than they were at the beginning of the year.”

There were 2,801 residential properties listed in July with 1,624 sales and the average days-on-market was up one at 52 days. The sales-to-listing ratio was stable, moving slightly from 58.4% in June to 58.0%. Eager first-time buyers are snapping up homes listed below the median price of $325,000 and reducing the inventory of lower-priced homes. A steady stream of new listings helped the residential inventory remain solid with 7,684 properties available, especially at the higher-priced end of the market.

The number of single family homes sold in the $450,000 or higher range is up about 26% in 2012 as compared to the past five years. This trend is expected to continue for the rest of the year. Homes in this range also sold faster this year than in previous years. Days-on-market was the lowest it has been in five years at just 40 days in 2012 and the spread between the list and sold prices was lower at 2.3%.

“Persistent low mortgage rates, job stability and higher average incomes in Edmonton result in consumer confidence which has opened up the higher end of the market,” said Singleton. “Many of these sellers are moving up and do not want to carry two properties. They need to sell so that they can close on the new property; so they are doing all they can to ensure a reasonable but quicker sale. The increased inventory at the higher end is creating some pressure on sellers to keep their list prices reasonable. Once again, consumer confidence and access to low cost financing is driving the upper end of the market even while providing buying opportunities for first-time buyers.”

There have been 64 sales of properties over $1 million so far this year as compared to 66 in all of 2011. Those top end properties sometimes take over a year to sell but the average DOM is just 72 days; down from 78 last year.

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Activity ( for all residential sales on Edmonton MLS® System )

1 Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual changes for a particular property, which may vary from house to house and area to area. Prior period figures have been adjusted to include late reported sales and cancellations and therefore reflect a more accurate view of the period than previously reported at month end.

2 Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses
3 Single Family Dwelling
4 The middle figure in a list of all sales prices
5 Includes residential, rural and commercial sales