Summary:

More buyers purchased a home in April of 2016, than in April 2015. Days on market stayed relatively low and values are so far not following the path of depreciation some suggested back in January of 2016.

Numbers Sold:

 

Sales volume for April 2016 essentially matched for April 2015. One more home sold this year than last, a clear indication that ‘life goes on’ in the world of residential real estate, despite the current downturn in the economy.

Days on Market

Edmonton home buyers were continuing to take their time to select a new home. In April, home buyers were taking 9 days longer than last year to purchase. This is 3 days longer than March 2016, so it may point to a slowing market. However with average days on market at…

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1. You Will Be Responsible For Home Maintenance, Snow Clearing & Yard Work

Perhaps the main reason that potential home buyers balk at condo fees is that they don’t really understand what they are paying for. What does your fee buy? Apart from putting some money into a slush fund for longer term maintenance or unforeseen circumstances, condo fees pay for essential home owner services including: insurance, snow clearing, gardening and in many cases onsite management. And the most attractive part is that as a condo owner, you are sharing these costs with other owners, so your risk and expense is usually lower than if you were paying for all of the costs by yourself.

2. No Need to Save Extra

If you are not paying condo fees, you had better be a…

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In the past weeks we have seen potential home buyers commit what is perhaps the most fundamental mistake. They make low ball offers. The media has been buzzing about the economy here in Edmonton and it must have convinced some home buyers that they have much more leverage to negotiate than they actually do. Fact is, home values here in Edmonton are climbing. They are 11% UP on January 2016.

Here are 3 potential outcomes you risk creating when you low ball:

1. It destroys seller goodwill

Getting the seller to like your offer is part of the battle. If you are buying a home rather than an investment, chances are that it is, or was recently the seller’s home too. They might secretly still want to live there, or have many fond memories of the…

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We make a point of asking REALTORS® that showed our listings for feedback. Some of our clients value this service, whilst others don’t really care.

Many of our more experienced home sellers we work with ask about feedback as perhaps in the past, it proved helpful.

In years gone by when BOTH REALTORS® were legal representatives of the home seller, the REALTOR® that accompanied the buyer prospect had an obligation to share all that he or she knew about the buyer, together with their thoughts, motivations and circumstances.

That obligation is redundant.

These days the buyer Realtor® works ONLY for the home buyer!

Why should they share what their clients think? It could hurt their ability to negotiate effectively if the sellers knew that…

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1. Pick a Realtor®

Before you start looking at any homes meet with your Realtor®. Be open. Talk through your hopes, dreams and narrow down where specifically we are going to look etc. In Edmonton the law requires that your Realtor® explains the benefits of working exclusively with one specific Realtor®. Make sure you sign an Exclusive Buyer Agency Brokerage Agreement. (This agreement binds your Realtor® to work with you for a specific period of time. It also deals with how your Realtor® will be compensated. The agreement also provides your Realtor with the authority to assist you in purchasing ‘For Sale by Owners’. They may also go out and find you a non-listed home.

2. Decide where not what

First you must decide where you want to live not…

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Situation

Sandi and Don had previously tried a REMAX REALTOR® who was well known in the Haddow area of Edmonton where they lived. After around 6 months on the market, this proved to be unsuccessful.

Sandi and Don started to look around for alternatives to traditional REALTORS®.  They also wanted to save some money on real estate commissions as they needed to keep their money to buy a new home in Airdrie and be near their daughter and young family.

Result

Sandi and Don contacted Vital Home Realty. They chose our Superior Saver home selling program.

In total, we generated 3 offers, negotiated a sales price 96.3% of list price & saved our clients over $2300 when compared to traditional REALTOR® commissions.

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Summary:

The big story is that when compared to January 2016, Edmonton home sellers have enjoyed an 11% UPLIFT in values. The Edmonton housing market performed well in March, when measured against our 3 key metrics ie: sales prices, days on the market and sales volumes.

Sales Values

Edmonton home sellers enjoyed a 1% uplift in values over March 2015 for an average of $379,610 dollars. Readers should note that this figure is an impressive 11% UP over January. See this link for details: January Home Sales Report

Numbers Sold:

The market witnessed 99 fewer sales in March 2016 compared to March 2015. However volumes held up well. Approx. 1070 Edmonton home sellers witnessed success.

 

Days on Market

 

Edmonton home buyers…

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1. What Are Special Assessments?

Special Assessments are a fact of life and should be understood not feared, when looking to buy condos in Edmonton.

In some cases, they arise because of some known repair or deficiency for which the Condo Board failed to collect sufficient reserve funds. However, some issues just crop up unexpectedly and the Condo Board has no choice but to organize the repair and charge the expense amongst the owners.

Contrast the above scenario with owning a single family home. Our home in Edmonton suffered extensive basement flooding a few years ago. There was no provincial assistance program and the insurance policy did not cover water table ingress. The result? A bill for more than $30,000 that we had to pay entirely on…

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Situation

Vital Home Realty helped Xenia and Kent purchase a new family home. They then needed to sell their old home in the Grandin areas of St Albert.

Result

Xenia and Kent chose our Superior Saver home selling program. Vital Home Realty created 2 offers and we saved them thousands of dollars in real estate commissions.

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It’s truly staggering how much money homes sellers in Edmonton waste each year, because they are unable to differentiate one Realtor from another. If you are a potential home seller, don’t make the mistake of believing that ‘all Realtors are the same’.

Many home sellers pick a family friend or a relative to help them sell under a ‘traditional’ or ‘full’ commission program. If you do, you might needlessly give away thousands of dollars of your home's equity.

There are more effective, less expensive and credible options.

We suggest you ask the following questions BEFORE you hire any Realtor®

1. How long have you been a Realtor®?

Some Edmonton Realtors® have been around for decades. These folks might not be the best choice because they…

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