Melbourne says he doesn’t see those conditions changing much in Alberta Real Estate market over the upcoming year.
“We’re still just kind of waiting to see if Premier Kenney’s election promises come to fruition,” says Melbourne. “Of course the pipelines are supposedly going ahead, we’ve got one of them that is up and running while the other two are on-again, off-again. That would make a big difference to get our oil and gas out of the province in a little bit more of an economical fashion.”
The ”Mortgage Stress Test” is an area Melbourne also highlights as having a major impact on central Albertans.
“The Mortgage Stress Test has done what it was designed to do. Vancouver, Toronto, the markets that were superhot, prices were extremely high and it certainly slowed things down there, but it has hurt Albertans for sure.”
In terms of price, statistics show the average price for a single family home in Red Deer was $321,141 in November, up from $316,242 in November, 2018.
Melbourne acknowledges that the current inventory of homes for sale is the result of many factors, including people’s economic circumstances and job locations.
“They’re moving for jobs and there’s buyers out there that are looking to move up to a bigger home,” he exclaims. “And of course with the current conditions, it’s a great time to sell your smaller home and move into a bigger home. We’re seeing some folks that are downsizing, so there’s a lot of factors going on in there for sure.”
According to CREA, the average number of days to sell a home in Red Deer was also a little higher in most months of 2019, with January seeing the largest amount of days to sell a home at 82.
Melbourne says both buyers and sellers have to be patient with current market conditions, adding first-time home buyers should seek-out an experienced agent for help.
“Of course prior to going out and looking at properties, make sure that their mortgage and financing are in place and go out and spend some time looking at houses and make a wise decision based on the needs of your family,” he explains.
For those looking to sell, Melbourne encourages owners to have their home staged properly.
“You only get one opportunity to make a first impression,” he warns. “It has to be priced well, it has to be based on the market and buyers need to understand that they’re not going to go in and get a super deal on a property. You can’t low-ball properties, you have to go in with a fair and reasonable offer and the same applies to the seller, you have to look at fair and reasonable offers.”
Melbourne admits they’re now in wait-and-see mode in terms of what to expect in 2020.
“We took some small steps forward in 2019 and we’re just kind of waiting to see what election promises come ahead,” says Melbourne. “We’re anticipating a little bit better market in 2020, but it’s certainly not going to be anything in leaps and bounds. It’s going to be very slow and very steady throughout the year.”
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
MONTREAL – The Quebec Professional Association of Real Estate Brokers says Montreal-area home sales rose 9.3 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, with levels slightly higher than the historical average for this time of year.
The association says home sales in the region totalled 2,991 for the month, up from 2,737 in August 2023.
The median price for all housing types was up year-over-year, led by a six per cent increase for the price of a plex at $763,000 last month.
The median price for a single-family home rose 5.2 per cent to $590,000 and the median price for a condominium rose 4.4 per cent to $407,100.
QPAREB market analysis director Charles Brant says the strength of the Montreal resale market contrasts with declines in many other Canadian cities struggling with higher levels of household debt, lower savings and diminishing purchasing power.
Active listings for August jumped 18 per cent compared with a year earlier to 17,200, while new listings rose 1.7 per cent to 4,840.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
