December Results Create Positive Year-end
Edmonton, January 2010: Residential sales through the Edmonton Multiple
Listing Service® were at the second
highest level ever for December (after
a record number of sales in 2006 of
1,074). Sales of single family homes,
condominiums, duplexes and other
residential property totalled 948 units
for the month. Total sales of all types
of real estate for December was 1,066, also a second place
finish for monthly sales.
The price of residential property remained stable in December
with single family homes dropping just one third of a percent
and condos increasing 5.4% to reverse the 2.5% drop in
November. An average* priced single family property in the
Edmonton area sold for $366,760 in December; down from
$368,018 in November. The average price for a condo was
$244,170; up form $231,684 the previous month. The
all-residential average price at the end of December was
$319,200.
"Strong year-end sales put a crown on a year that started
slow but ended big," said Charlie Ponde, president of
the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. "We entered
2009 with a global recession at our backs and a real estate
meltdown to the south. However consumer confidence in
Alberta started to return in the second quarter and the real
estate market in Edmonton was the first place in the country
to show signs of the recovery."
There were 19,139 residential sales in 2009 with record
setting sales in June and July after the slowest start since
1996. From September to December residential sales were
just below record sales set in 2006.
Throughout the year the average single family sale prices
varied from a low of $347,000 in February to $373,000 in July;
a $26,000 or 7.5% spread. The average year-to-date value
was $364,032. Condo prices varied within a 9% range from
$227,000 in February to $247,000 in June.
The average year-to-date price was $240,322.
There were 1,118 homes listed in December resulting in a
sales-to-listing ratio of 85%. The average days-on-market was
50 days and total residential sales were valued at $302 million
for the month. Overall, the MLS® System had total sales of all
types of property of just under $7 billion in 2009 as compared to
$6.6 billion in 2008.
"We predicted residential sales of 15,550 this year and
exceeded it in early October," said Ponde. "We anticipated that
single family prices would end the year at $352,000 and
condos would be at $222,500. We are pleased that the year
ended up better than we had anticipated and look forward to the
stable market continuing into the next decade."