Housing most affordable in Edmonton
Edmonton, June 4, 2012: Home buyers in Edmonton are facing one of the most affordable markets in Canada according to a recent RBC market survey. That is confirmed by month end figures released by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton for residential property sold in May through the Multiple Listing Service® System. RBC reported that the housing affordability index for Edmonton was just 32.4% of a typical household income. Increases in the affordability index in other parts of the country are influenced by higher real estate prices.
“While housing prices are higher in Edmonton than last month, they are inching up in manageable increments,” said REALTORS® Association of Edmonton President Doug Singleton. “The total amount a home buyer has available for a home purchase is based on the amount they can afford to pay each month. When affordability ratios are low, as they are in Edmonton, the buyer has more confidence in their ability to meet all of their living expenses.” The strong economy with resilient consumer confidence has resulted in strong housing sales in this market and relative price stability.
In May, the average1 residential price was up 3.2% from last month at $348,196. The average price of a single family detached home was $388,762, up 1.7% from the previous month. The average price of a condominium in May was $248,846, up 5.9% from April. Duplex and rowhouse properties sold on average for $310,991; a 5.5% drop from the previous month.
The median3 price for a single family detached home was the highest it has been in five years. Half of the homes sold last month were under $370,000 while an equal number of sales were priced over that figure. In 2008 the median price was $365,000. The median price for condominiums last month was $232,000 which is lower than the 2008 median ($250,000) reflecting a market change that results in higher sales of smaller (and therefore cheaper) condominium properties.
The average days-on-market in May was down one at 49 days and the sales-to-listing ratio was stable at 53%. REALTORS® participated in the sale of over $811 million worth of residential property last month and total MLS® activity for the year is $3.1 billion.
“Many financial planners advise that homeowners should spend a third of their income on housing (mortgage, utilities and property taxes),” said Singleton. “Edmonton is bucking a national trend and making housing more affordable than other cities.” According to RBC the affordability index for Toronto was 53.4% of income and Vancouver was 88.9%.
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Activity (for all residential sales on Edmonton MLS® System)
| May 2012 | M/M % Change |
Y/Y % change |
|
| SFD2 average selling price – month | $388,762 | 1.70% | 2.80% |
| SFD median3 selling price | $370,000 | 1.40% | 3.90% |
| Condominium average selling price | $248,846 | 5.90% | 3.80% |
| Condominium median selling price | $232,000 | 3.90% | 2.20% |
| All-residential4 average selling price | $348,196 | 3.20% | 5.40% |
| All-residential median selling price | $333,900 | 2.10% | 5.70% |
| # residential listings this month | 3,748 | 15.20% | 8.30% |
| # residential sales this month | 1,983 | 15.80% | 0.05% |
| # residential inventory at month end | 7,935 | 8.20% | -3.00% |
| # Total5 MLS® System sales this month | 2,266 | 17.60% | 1.50% |
| $ Value residential sales this month | $690 Million | 19.50% | 5.40% |
| $ Value of total MLS® System sales – month | $811 Million | 21.60% | 8.00% |
| $ Value of total MLS® System sales – YTD | $3.1 Billion | 39.90% | 16.90% |
2 Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses
3 Single Family Dwelling
4 The middle figure in a list of all sales prices
5 Includes residential, rural and commercial sales
1 Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual changes for a particular property, which may vary from house to house and area to area. Prior period figures have been adjusted to include late reported sales and cancellations and therefore reflect a more accurate view of the period than previously reported at month end.
