Edmonton homesales surged in August by 18.6 per
cent over the same month last year as the average price of a single-family
detached house fell to its lowest level in 18 months, monthly statistics
released Wednesday show.
Marc Perras, president of the Realtors Association of
Edmonton, said the figures confirm what he’s experienced in his own real
estate office.
“I’ve been run off my feet,” Perras said.
“July was ridiculously busy and August has been ridiculously busy, and
when it shows in the numbers, it’s not just me.”
It’s the second consecutive month that sales
outperformed the same period last year.
Newentries on the Multiple Listing Service also fell for the
month compared to last year by 889 properties. It’s the first time since
March that MLS homes for sale have dropped below 10,000.
There were 9,612 residential properties in the inventory on
Aug. 31, compared with 10,501 at the beginning of the month.
“The stats show buyers are confident with the Edmonton
economy. It’s a large selection to pick from right now, and I think they
don’t foresee a drastic dropping of prices, so they want to get into the
marketplace and buy.
“By the time we get through to next spring, we’re
going to have a far more reasonable listing inventory and we’re going to
have a far more balanced marketplace,” Perras said.
Richard Goatcher, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. senior
market analyst for Edmonton, agreed the current buyers’ market is moving
toward a balanced one, and that’s motivating last year’s
fence-sitters as selection slips and prices dip but remain relatively steady.
“For buyers, it’s not going to get any better
than it is right now because of the supply, which is going to start to dwindle
away,” Goatcher said.
“The buyers’ market will give way to more of a
balanced market over the winter as supply gets reduced but sales remain fairly
firm.”
Average MLS prices for all types of homes were
down slightly in August from the previous month.