This is an update as to yesterday's posting on subdividing 50' lots and the impact it would have on our mature neighbourhoods. It's a topic for discussion, that is to be sure.

EDMONTON ( AB ) - Most of us support the concept of densification. We like its goal of bringing more people into aging, hollowed-out older neighbourhoods. We’re just not so keen if an apartment or a duplex is going to be built next door to our own house.

The moment that “densification” means our neighbour is allowed to put a big addition on the front of his house, or tear down the house, subdivide the land into two smaller lots and build two tall, slender homes, we might even start getting overwhelmed by anxiety and upset. To read more, click here...

Anyone who knows me knows I love my City of Edmonton mature neighbourhoods; they're beautiful!

This is an interesting development and City Council discused this further yesterday although I still haven't determined what -- if anything -- was decided or, more likely, delayed.

Edmonton ( AB ): Edmonton may allow owners of larger yards in older neighbourhoods to subdivide their properties into smaller lots in an effort to provide more infill housing. To read and listen more, click here... 

Interesting -- and not all that surprising news -- re: interest rates and their current state of affairs.

The Bank of Canada announced on October 23^rd, 2012 it is keeping kept its key policy rate at 1 per cent, where it has been held steady for two years. This marks the longest period since the 1950s that rates have been left unchanged. Read more here...

Edmonton, October 2, 2012: The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reports that residential listings and sales have trended lower in the third quarter after an active start to the year. In September, there were 1,269 residential sales in the greater Edmonton market as compared to 1,442 in September 2011. Despite the recent cooling trend, residential sales year-to-date are still up 7.2% as compared to last year at this time. There have been 14,565 residential sales to the end of the third quarter as compared to just 13,729 last year.

“There were changes to the mortgage qualification rules in March,” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton President Doug Singleton. “We did not see an effect on the local market at that time but it seems to have had a cooling effect in the past quarter.”

The average1 price for a single family dwelling (SFD) has remained higher than last year for each of the past nine months. In September, the SFD average price of $376,678 was up just 0.23% from the previous year and is up 2.78% from the January 1 price. The all-residential average price is down 2.6% from last year at $323,369. This is the first month this year that the all-res price has dipped below the 2011 figure for the same month.

Condominium and duplex/rowhouse prices are more volatile and vary widely from month to month. In September average condo prices were down 3.1% ($229,246) while duplex/townhouse prices on average were up 2.75% ($307,739). Still, after nine months both current prices are up from the January 1, 2012 prices for the category.

Total MLS® System listings this year are up 104 units as compared to last year at 33,295 properties but Total MLS® System year-to-date sales are 16,487 units as compared to 15,378 at the end of the third quarter in 2011.

There are 6,956 residential properties in the inventory compared to the 8,062 last year at this time. Rural and commercial property sales are both up marginally compared to last year although listings have dropped. The residential sales-to-listing ratio was down from 56.7% to 52.3% and residential days-on-market was up to 59 in September from 54 in August.

“Sales always fall month-to-month at the end of the year; that’s just normal market fluctuation,” said Singleton. “But overall, the market has been stable with little market advantage for either buyers or sellers. Edmonton is still one of the best places in North America to own property and I urge consumers to talk to their local REALTOR® when they are in a position to buy or sell property.”

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

¹ The total value of sales in a category divided by the number of properties sold
² Single Family Dwelling
³ The middle figure in a list of all sales prices
⁴ Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses.
⁵ Includes residential, rural and commercial sales

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. The RAE trading area includes communities beyond the CMA (Census Metropolitan Area) and therefore average and median prices may include sold properties outside the CMA.