Selena March 2021 Newsletter

Early Spring ?

February was a busy month for Real Estate. To what shall we attribute it? A mild winter, amazing interest rates, government first time home buyer programs, changes to the qualifying rules, increased buyer confidence, good selection of properties, sellers asking reasonable prices… Yeah, something like that.

Condos

The Condo market hasn’t been performing like Single-Family market has. Sales and prices in this area have been tepid compared with the rest of the market however people are still buying and we have several clients right now who have offers in place. One thing we notice when reviewing the condo docs is many of the complexes are under funded and have announced special assessments. This is why it is so important to have conditions to protect you when you make an offer to buy a home, and that you fully review the condo docs when you buy a condo. It’s also important to review them with someone who understands condos, numbers and construction. As an example, after delving into a set of condo docs it became apparent they would increase the condo fee by 23% each year for the next 9 years and then they would have two special assessments for $20k the next 2 years. Walk away from that one.

Turn Key

A close contact in the financing industry pointed out they are seeing more people qualifying for mortgages these days and they attribute it to Covid and the lock down. People have been spending less on items such as dining out and travelling so they have more savings than normal and therefore they have been looking to make a home purchase. They also pointed out that the savings only cover their down payment. They don’t have any money left for renovations and so they are looking for starter homes that are new or fully renovated so there is nothing for them to do except move in. They don’t even want to paint. We have certainly noticed this as well when pricing homes for sale. When a home needs work you typically make adjustments to market price allowing for renovations. What we find now is you need to do the renovations just to improve the chances of selling even though you may not realize a profit on that extra work.

Latest Sales Data

Every Month the Edmonton Real Estate Board gathers the latest sales figures sorted by property type, price ranges, listed and Sold. Click the above link to download a copy from our website.

2020 Awards

Even with the whole economy being slowed down in 2020 due to Covid restrictions, we were still working hard for all our clients however it did surprise me a little when I was notified I had won Coldwell Banker International President’s Circle Award for 2020. Thank you to all our loyal clients for trusting us throughout this pandemic.

Fionna

Our little angel has turned 8!
She requested a pink cake so Daddy baked her favourite from one of his mother’s recipes. 8 wonderful years and it seems just a blink of an eye.

Disclaimer: Not intended to solicit buyers or properties under contract.
This article contains the opinions of Andrew Barrett and Selena Cheung. Licensed Realtors® with COLDWELL BANKER Venture Realty.
The trademarks REALTOR®, REALTORS®, MLS®, Multiple Listing Service®, and the associated logos are controlled by
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify real estate professionals
who are members of CREA or identify the quality of
services provided by Real Estate professionals who are members of CREA
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