About Heartland, AB

Today I spent the morning with a lady who is thinking of selling her home. Nice lady, hard working husband and four adorable kids. A normal Canadian family. They want to make a move but they bought in the last few years when the real estate market was hotter than now, prices were higher. There are many people in Central Alberta like this family, they bought a house in 2007 or 2008 and now its value is lower than before. Its hard for us as realtors to go to a home and tell people that they are going to lose money. This particular lady knows whats happening and really was not that surprised. We talked about everything from improvements to saleability. Saleability is what I think I excell at. Saleability is how much interest your home will have on the market right now. Like I told this lady today there are two reasons your home will sell. Price and marketing. An overpriced house will not sell in todays market, there are to many to choose from and buyers know them all. Secondly is marketing. Marketing your home is what every realtor should do. Does your realtor market properly? My listings are advertised at least 10 ways. One of my listings has been viewed over 2000 times on different websites, 2000 times over the past 45 days during the Christmas period. Thats a number I am proud of. Real Estate is a competitive business and I am proud to have a top ranked Century 21 website www.kenismyrealtor.ca across Canada.

I want to be your realtor.

I want to market your home to as many people in as many ways needed to sell it.

I want to help Central Albertans find their next home.

Ken Devoe - Century 21 Advantage

Red Deer Alberta

We finished 2009, the end of the first decade of the "New Millennium". This month we've been busy returning to work focusing on new goals for the new Year. At Century 21 Advantage we have also been preparing for our kick off meeting. This is the meeting where we present tips, tools and information to our associates so that they can better serve your real estate needs. This year that involved gathering not just a month or years worth of data but packaging that for a decade and really comparing last year to where we have been in the real estate market for Red Deer.

The real estate data for the last year compared to previous years tells us a great deal. We can't dwell on the first three months of 2009, as we know we experienced an economic down turn not like another. We are still building from that.

The chart below illustrates the supply and demand of the Red Deer MLS real estate market. All data was collected from the Central Alberta REALTORS® Association.

As you can see from above, there was a sharp increase in "inventory"/supply (the number of listings). That occurred two years ago and we're still dealing with the effects. While sales rose with the increased real estate activity that rise was not enough to absorb the excess supply of properties for sale. As the market slowed down the investors (flippers and speculators) left the market first leaving less buyers available to purchase the homes offered for sale.

Sales volume for Red Deer totaled 1701 residential properties which was slightly higher than 2004 and less than 2005. The big difference and what put downward pressure on the price was the number of listings. 2009 was a very competitive year for pricing if you were looking to sell your home. The good news is we had a large number of home sthat did in fact sell. 2009 was still a buyers market year overall and had moments and trends that showed the real estate market moving into a "balanced market"

So what were people buying or more specifically price ranges?

Buyers were active in all price ranges. The most active price ranges were:

• $200,000 - $250,000 with 301 sales
• $250,000 - $300,000 with 412 sales and
• $300,000 to $350,000 with 335 sales respectively.

It should be no surprise then all those sale centered around $300,000 our average sale price for 2009 was $290,187.

How does this compare to 2008?

2008 definitely had more sales recorded with a total of 1950 MLS sales in 2008 versus 1701 in 2009. With more sales in higher price ranges in 2008 the average price fell to $290,187 from in $301,363 average sale price in 2008. 2009 experienced a 12.77% decrease in sales volume and a 3.7%% decrease in the average price.

I think Red Deer real estate performed quite well despite the adverse market conditions. The average price drop was not as bad as some predictions and we certainly faired better than other markets. So was 2009 all bad or a real mixed bag?

It was a mixed bag.

. Total # Listings 2009 2009 Total # Sales 2009 Average Sale Price 2009 DOM . JANUARY 218 62 $239,821 53 . FEBRUARY 276 113 $300,465 50 . MARCH 280 123 $285,407 48 . APRIL 305 178 $295,447 48 . MAY 331 197 $309,492 46 . JUNE 299 213 $291,287 46 . JULY 281 179 $289,213 49 . AUGUST 250 163 $289,122 46 . SEPTEMBER 269 122 $297,656 36 . OCTOBER 256 151 $293,268 48 . NOVEMBER 206 114 $291,957 47 . DECEMBER 124 85 $298,512 50 . Total: 3095 1700 $290,137 47.25

Summary:

Supply and Demand improved through out 2009 aided by interest rates, and a strengthening economy.

Interest rates were the big story of 2009. If you are a home owner or you purchased anything that required financing I think a big thanks is in order to the Bank of Canada and the Finance Minister. The decision to reduce interest rates and committed to hold them until mid 2010, was a tremendous boost to the real estate market. New buyers came back with confidence knowing that the rates they were locking in at were incredibly low and that mitigated any risk that price decreases would have.

Along with low interest rates came mortgage penalties in the form of interest rate differentials. We had many more clients that wanted to move and take advantage of market conditions only to be held back due to the large cost of discharging the existing mortgages.

Overall the slide in price slowed down and should turn around in 2010 with modest increases expected. Buyers can go ahead knowing that they still have the luxury of selection and bargaining power for some price ranges. It is important to note that inventory levels dropped significantly December 31 and many of those homes have not been re-listed creating an environment with more sales close to list and more competing offers occurring.

2010 prediction: 3.5% increase in sales and price, and natural gas demand recovering and strengthening gas prices.

Your friend in real estate,

Patrick Galesloot

@pgalesloot on Twitter.

P.S

Watch for a slide share power point show with more stats to follow.

All data was collected from the Central Alberta REALTORS® Association.

Townhouse Condo Home For Sale in Vegreville, AB

Beautiful end unit home for sale in Vegreville.  This unit has 2 bedrooms / 1 full bath upstairs, with a 3rd bedroom and additional batroom in the basement.  This home for sale has extensive renovationsincluding new windows, laminate flooring and carpet, modern lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, and new fence.  You have a single parking stall assigned off-street and direct street access for additional parking.

This condominium property is at the end of a quiet street with unbelievably low condo fees contributions of $50/month.  This includes building insurance, exterior maintenance, and reserve fund.

This home for sale is located close to an elemetary school, park and playgorund area, and hospital.  Perfect for the first time buyer with young family looking for convienient access to the above.  The world famius Vegreville Pysanka is seconds from your door with walking paths, pond, and picnic area to enjoy.

Great location, great value, and plenty of living space in this home for sale.  Low condo fees and low taxes make this affordable for the young buyer or investor.

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Home For Sale in Vegreville, Alberta

 

This property was built in 1976 on one of the largest single lots in the community.  This home for sale sits in the middle of a quiet cul-de-sac on a huge 1/3 acre lot or 12917 sq ft.  The yard is fenced with maintenance free vinyl fence, landscaped with a large flower planter, mature trees, garden, RV parking, storage shed, and a double detached garage.

  This home for sale has had extensive renovations to both the exterior and interior of the home.  The exterior has had the vinyl siding replaced 5 years ago and added upgraded rigid insulation.  On the roof the shingles were just replaced with a 30 year asphalt shingle. 

  The interior of this 1253 sq ft home for sale is the real treat.  The whole main floor has been completely redone and updated.  The kitchen has new cupboards, countertop, and appliances.  The entire main floor was repainted including the ceilings, all new flooring, doors, lighting, and trim.  It features a large kitchen with eating bar and plenty of cupboard space.  There are 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath up next to the rooms and a half bath off the back entrance.  The laundry is on the main floor also off the back entrance. 

 The basement has just had a new concrete slab poured, with new weeping tile and a sump pump added.  The basement is open and  flexible for you to finish to your taste. 

  As you can see this great family home for sale has been completely renovated and features Air Conditioning that makes those hot summer days more comforable.  But why sit inside with such an amazing yard to get outside and enjoy. 

 

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October in Red Deer is a weather roller coaster and a busy time for many. We get snow, rain, and sometimes both. We have family gatherings surrounding Thanksgiving, and parties at the end of the month surrounding Halloween. October is a fun month and diverse month.

In Red Deer real estate, October 2009 was stronger than October 2008!

The number of sales reported to the Central Alberta REALTORS® Association for the Red Deer MLS® was 151 properties sold up from 2008's sales number 128.

. 2008 100& Under 100-150 150-200 200-250 250-300 300-350 350-400 400-450 450-500 500-550 550-600 600-700 700 + Total Avg. Pr. . OCT 6 2 4 27 40 20 15 5 3 1 1 2 2 128 $297,451 . Information based on Red Deer Real Estate Board MLS Stats 2008 only. . 2009 100& Under 100-150 150-200 200-250 250-300 300-350 350-400 400-450 450-500 500-550 550-600 600-700 700+ Total Avg. Pr. . OCT 2 4 17 32 34 24 18 12 2 1 1 2 2 151 $293,268 . Information based on Red Deer Real Estate Board MLS Stats 2009 only.

Where were sales up? As noted in the table above sales were most notably higher in the $150,000-$200,000 price range (which contributed to a lower average price '08 vs '09) and the $400,000 - $450,000 price range.

A pretty solid month of sales for October 2009 real estate. On a week by week basis we also see consistent results.

. Weekly Stats # Listings # Sales # Pending Sales Active Single Family Listings Active Apartment Condo Listings Total Active . Sept.28-Oct.4 66 30 28 354 82 588 . Oct.5-Oct.11 79 30 32 356 94 604 . Oct.12-Oct.18 40 37 20 351 89 588 . Oct.19-Oct.25 49 31 34 343 89 585 . Oct. 26-Nov. 1 52 38 18 344 72 542

On a weekly basis we ended the month with a sharp decrease in inventory. This is not unusual to have many listings come off. We may see that number return this week and next as some sellers contracts expired or were cancelled. The number of new lists as noted above have been consistent for the most part during October.

The bottom line:

For buyers, there continues to be ample selection and affordable rates. The average price remains strong and stable. You can buy today with confidence that the market is stable and the largest risk buyers face today is in the potential increase of interest rates in the future.

For sellers, homes are selling at a good solid pace. If you are priced competively demonstrating value to buyers a sale is in your future. The same solid price and absorption rate that demonstrate confidence to buyers also tells sellers that the equity built up over time ion their home is more secure today than the past. The sales rate of homes selling however means that you must be market price savvy and in top showing condition.

October was a month to be thankful for in Red Deer real estate terms.

• Sales up 17.9% over 2008
• October Absorption Rate is 14 - 18 weeks
• The Sales to New Listings Ratio is between 60% and 70%

Your Friend in Real Estate,

Patrick Galesloot

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @pgalesloot