1. Consider Resale Homes First
Many home and condo buyers in Edmonton are drawn to the sexy new developments cropping up. And why not? The show homes are finished to the nines and look simply fantastic. However, shrewd buyers know that the real gems are in the resale market. That is Edmonton homes and condos that already exist and are several years old. Why? First, if you buy a brand new home you are paying full retail. That is you are paying for current construction costs, the developers marketing budget and perhaps a little bit of hype. In many cases, for about the first 5 years of a home’s existence, the value could actually go down, relative to prices paid when new. Older homes will usually be stable in value and will appreciate with the wider…

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Perhaps your existing home is too small, too large, or you want to move somewhere else.

In some ways then it would make sense to ask a real estate agent to help you compile a list of dream homes and go out shopping before even thinking about selling your old one. And when you find the right home, you will require that the seller signs a contract ‘Subject to The Sale of Existing Home’. Right?

Not so fast. Unless you are searching for something very specific and unless you can own 2 homes simultaneously, you cannot move house this way. Here’s why:

1. The odds of you selling quickly and for full market value are not high. Only about 50% of homes listed on the Edmonton MLS® System sell in term and in a crowded market such as now, (February 2016)…

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All we hear about in the Edmonton area is that folks are losing jobs, that there’s no optimism in the Alberta economy and therefore the housing market must be dead. Right?

Not so fast. We like to measure activity in the Edmonton real estate market based on 3 key criteria.

  1. How many homes sold in January compared to the year before?
  2. How long did it take for homes to sell in January compared to the year before?
  3. How much did homes sell for in January compared to the year before?

The results might surprise you. Let’s take a look.

Numbers Sold 

This is encouraging. There was no shortage of buyers. The number of houses sold in January compared to last year is 5% UP.

Days on Market

Sellers this January were having to…

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Perhaps you have tried to sell your house or condo before with a traditional real estate agent, maybe you have been trying to ‘sell by owner’ or perhaps this is your first time trying to sell. If your home or investment is in the metro Edmonton market, you would be well advised to ask yourself the following questions:

1. How Motivated Are You? - Selling a home in any market is time consuming and stressful. In 2016 we expect values to trend down and most homes will remain unsold. If you just want to ‘test the market’ we would advise that you don’t even try. If you fail to sell in a timely fashion, you risk stigmatizing your home in the eyes of the best buyers.

2. How Much Preparation Will You Do? - If you expect full market value and to sell…

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