Our weather is still cold but hopefully all the snow should be gone in a week or two as we are getting more daylight, and lots of sun most days. Even though we still have snow on the ground, things are warming up and as the snow starts to melt, we are seeing more listings on the market. In Chinese we say, The Year’s plan starts with Spring and indeed there is much truth. Spring for farmers, time to start seeding. For Students, time to study hard to pass the coming exams. And for Real Estate, most sellers love to list their homes in spring. Typically it is the busiest season for realtors and we see prices increasing so even if you are not wanting to sell now, it’s time to do some spring cleaning and bring some fresh energy to your home.
Every month we scour the headlines for relevant stories about Real Estate.
I am sure you have already heard The Bank of Canada left interest rate on hold becoming the first major central bank not to raise rates this time round. That is good news for buyers and should put some confidence back into the market. Also, CREA are forecasting a 10% increase in sales across Canada for 2023 so they feel confident in the economy and Real Estate in general as stories of recession are not making the headlines. That is 180 degrees from what they were saying last month but I will repeat what I have said before, we are getting back to normal pre-pandemic levels.
While the above graph shows the number of sales are down from the previous 2 years, they are showing the same rate of increase we expect at this time of the year as we head into a spring market. You really need to compare it over a longer time frame (remember, Real Estate is not get rich quick) so I will have to ask my hubby to make a graph for you and compare to the stages in a Real Estate cycle. Homes are selling and we are seeing a trend with movement starting lower down the food chain so to speak. Compared to last year, there has been an increase in number of apartment condos sold, increase in townhouses sold and an increase in number of half duplexes sold, (Prices yet to increase) which translates to more first time home buyers entering the market. If you are looking to sell a property like this, know that first time home buyers are often younger and expect “Brand New” “Show Home” “Magazine Quality” places.
There is a lot of negative news right now. It’s a buyers market but buyers holding off while interest rates increase so properties are not selling. It is true for some of the properties, however there is always ways to sell and sometimes, for a higher price. I am sure you are aware 90% of the buyers are home buyers, when dealing with home buyers, the first impression is priceless! Most buyers cannot imagine what a home could look like if they put new flooring or change paint colour etc, so basically, you will have to do it for them. Best to prepare your home getting all items done prior to list your home. For example, we recently sold a half duplex within 20 days. The actual sold price was higher than seller expected and very close to the asking price. The seller ended up making money on the cost of renovations which is always a good rule of thumb. The whole process of getting the home ready for sale was actually longer than time took to sell but the contractor did a good job and the cleaners spent days on cleaning and detailing and without that attention to detail, the results could be very different.
Our little Girl Fionna is a perfect 10.
We recently celebrate Fionna’s birthday with a small party of close friends at Clay and Cupcakes. It’s a place we found in Edmonton where you can paint pottery and they cater to small groups. It’s really nice they can design, create and colour with their vivid imaginations and then after being fired in the kiln, the pieces are ready for pick up.
Recently I saw an article with a nice graphic example of how far your dollar goes when it comes to buying million dollar Real Estate in various cities around the world. Being a Realtor in Edmonton, I have the numbers for million dollar Real Estate here in Edmonton and have added it to the bottom of the chart. You can see, your dollar really does buy you a lot more in Edmonton than most other major cities.
And from another article comparing Canadian cities and the cost associated with owning a home based on first year costs. Edmonton as you can see is very affordable.
This article contains the opinions of Andrew Barrett and Selena Cheung. Licensed Realtors® with COLDWELL BANKER Venture Realty.
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