Selena’s 2023 Spring Newsletter

Hello Spring! Or Should I say Hello Summer! We been having such beautiful and hot spring here. May is the month for the unpredictable! That’s why it’s call month of May
It May rain,
It May be Hot,
It May be cold,
It May snow…
Anyhow, time to enjoy this lovely time of year.

Our Real Estate Market – Up and Down! It is interesting to note in one news feed I checked, first article said the market is going up while the next said it was going down. So who is right?
They both are, but it depends on what they are focusing on. Is it prices, sales or number of listings, and are they referring to new builds or re-sale homes, are they looking at one market segment such as single-family homes, or are they lumping in together everything from condos, townhouses, duplexes as well as single family. Are they comparing to last month or last year, and are they even talking about my city or is it generic averages for the whole country.

In summary, the below graph is just for the City of Edmonton. It is focusing on sales because sales are an important indicator of what is currently happening and useful in predicting what is going to happen. And it is covering all property types.

So you can see the number of sales is increasing (this is what happens in spring which is why owners want to sell in the spring) but if you compare to the previous years the numbers are way down. OMG chicken little, the sky is falling.
Moving on to the next graph, this one focuses on price because people love price and when you are selling that is how much money you put in your pocket. So prices are up and back on par with previous crazy pandemic times. Why? Because the number of listings is way down. For the full monthly report on market trends simply click graph.

Next Bank of Canada meeting June 7th. Based on what is happening elsewhere (primarily US) the Bank of Canada may raise interest rate again. That gives you a month to go get pre-approved and lock in your interest rate while you shop for a new home. As a buyer, you want a home that looks great and is well priced. For sellers, Homes that are lacking curb appeal or are asking too much just sit there while homes that are presentable and listed at right price are getting multiple offers on day one. If you are buying you need to be ready to act quick and have early condition removal if you want to win in multiple offer.