Within a few days of the beginning of the month we would have the previous month's stats in on how many homes were listed, sold, pricing, etc. and then bundle that all together and compare how the market was doing in comparison to the year previous. For the most part it was always positive news, either transaction numbers were higher, or prices had risen or both were up when compared to the last month, or last year etc. It wasn't (or isn't now) a matter that these numbers are wrong, or fudged or in any way misrepresent what is going on in the market, what was and is frustrating is that it remains dogma that the mere overview of the overall numbers remains all that many people rely on to base their decisions on real estate, which, for many people is the singe largest purchase they will make in their lifetimes.
One thing to keep in mind is that the data shared is for the Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) which includes more than just the City of Edmonton. The RAE serves a wider range of members and the data that is reported in the monthly news release tends to focus on the broader numbers. This can create a bit of a skew if you are more concerned with the actual city's real estate health as it adds some areas such as St. Albert and Sherwood Park which tend to traditionally be on the higher end of the sales scale and have sufficient sales numbers to have an impact on averages - smaller communities with less transaction numbers are not sufficient enough to have a counterbalancing effect. Let's look at the reported numbers for the overall Single Family and Condo pricing YTD as reported by the RAE's most recent new release - you can find the whole report here - the reported average SFD price for the first half of 2014 is $435,534 up 5.8% while for Condos it is $254,182 down 1.6%. If you focus only on the Edmonton numbers, then the average SFD price is $425,904 up 3.97% and Condo is $257,035 which is virtual static.
In my view it is really important to know what the numbers you are looking at really pertain to. Remember, all real estate is local - the larger the geographical area you are looking at, the less relevance it has to your specific home. Here is a great example: I have a wonderful home listed in the Mcgrath neighbourhood in Edmonton - 8 year old two storey, 4 bedrooms, double detached garage, fully finished basement professionally done listed at $799,800. Last year by this time eight homes had sold like it at an average of $820,812. This year there have only been 4 sales with an average of $749,800! Yet, if you were to just extrapolate by using the broader numbers of what the region is doing, you would swear that the figures for this year should see 10 homes having sold for an average of about $853,400.
By the way, if you are looking for a great home in Southwest Edmonton give me a call!
Shameless advertising plug #1 inserted ...
So, below are some numbers I breakdown for the various regions of the City of Edmonton that I think give a better indication as to what is happening in the various parts of the city. As the example above shows though, it is really important to take the next step and get a more localized opinion of value for your home when you are making a buying or selling decision - that is where your Realtor comes in. When you are ready call and then a more accurate, localized snapshot of your area can be examined and a better idea about the home's value can then be reached. What number and who to call? Get ready for shameless plug #2 ....
780-919-7653 or email me!
Thanks once again for reading I will try and get more things up between clients!
Larry
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