Dear Friends,

The first month of the new decade has already come and gone!

In this issue, we take you through a five year look-back at the Edmonton real estate market and ask for your 2020 forecasts on four key indicators: Home Prices, Sales, Time to Sell and Market Distribution.

If you’re buying or selling this year, remember that the right price, good advertising and beautiful staging can all help to ensure you sell fast for a good price… regardless of what the stats might be saying!

I hope to have the opportunity to work with you as 2020 continues.

 

Coming soon from the beautiful community of Ottewell. Custom built for its current family in 1962, this wonderfully appointed home was a neighborhood original. This four bed, two bath home offers vaulted ceilings that let the sun shine in, a wood burning fireplace to enjoy on cool winter evenings, a bright and well thought out basement with large windows and an oversized double garage with 220 power and gas to be the ultimate man cave. The large entry to the home has a feature wall of walnut and a mail drop cabinet to finish it off. Other finishes include Hunter Douglas blinds, oak trim and central air conditioning.

The owners have put great care and love into the landscape that has made them a Communities in Bloom participant year over year and they enjoy cards and small gestures of thanks from neighbors for making their street so beautiful. You can enjoy a wonderful summer evening with a custom brick bbq and a covered patio, enjoy park like surroundings and listen to the trickle of the pond.

Coming on to market February 14th! Stay tuned or contact me for more details. 

The results are in. The 2019 home price for Edmonton, based on sales, was $360,262. That was down 3.09 percent from $371,748 in 2018. Looking back, the price rose for three straight years from $367,055 in 2014 to $376,771 in 2017 before a weakened economy drove markets down slightly in 2018 and 2019. It’s difficult right now to predict what’s going to happen next. Some experts believe we’re at the bottom of the market (a great time to buy)! What do you think Edmonton’s home price will be in 2020?

With 16,557 Edmonton homes sold last year, 2019 was the worst-performing year in the last six. When sales volume is low and supply grows due to new listings, we typically call it a buyer’s market. If you’re selling, you might need to wait for a while before you find a buyer and then you might get a lower offer than what you’re hoping to see. Despite fewer sales in 2019, supply was also lower, tempering this dynamic. The sold-to-listings ratio actually rose by several percentage points.

For five years in a row in Edmonton, the Time to Sell has risen. In 2019, it took an average 64 days (more than two months) to sell a property. In 2014, when sales volume was higher and there were fewer listed properties to choose from, that number was 48 days. If you’re buying in Edmonton, the last few years of lower sales and higher supply have meant there’s been plenty to look at. If job growth and other factors improve, we could see that situation change, with lower supply and faster sales. What do you think is going to happen in 2020?

Look at the infographic and you’ll see that the vast majority of Edmonton’s home sales activity for 2019 occurred at prices below $800,000. The highest volume (3,596 sold) was in the $300,000 to $399,999 price range. Five properties were purchased for $2-$3 Million. Only two sold for more than $3 Million last year.

Thanks! We’ve been getting good feedback on our new Neighbourhood Profile feature in this monthly newsletter. We didn’t run it this month because we wanted to share 2019 data, look back over the last few years and get you thinking about 2020. The Neighbourhood Profile is back next month, though, so we ask: “Which Edmonton neighbourhood would you like us to profile next?”

 

 

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year!

Welcome to a new decade.

If this is the year you think seriously about finding your dream home, you’ll love this issue. We point out that dream homes come in all shapes, sizes, price points and neighbourhoods. It’s about connecting to the lifestyle you want, then making your home a perfect fit for the way you want to live. If you’re selling, we can stage your property as a dream home for its next inhabitants. It might not take much!

Check out the latest trends in interior design. We cover them here for you.

We’ve also added a new feature to the newsletter: A Neighbourhood Profile. If you like it, we’ll continue it in upcoming issues, giving you the lowdown on all the top locations.

Please reach out to me this month with any questions about buying or selling. It’s a brand new year.

All the best!

 

Coming soon... 10042 92 ST NW NW, Riverdale $529,900 If you are looking for homes and parcels in Riverdale or Aspen Gardens please contact me for details of listings I have coming on the market soon.  Read more

It’s an interesting topic. Everyone has their idea of what “dream home” means. They’re at every price point.

If you’re looking for yours in 2020, read on for tips. If you’re listing, make it someone else’s dream home by staging it that way!

Buying?

Dream homes are not one size or style fits all.

Can you picture your dream home? Try. It’s much easier to find when you know what it looks like!

If you need help getting started, think about the lifestyle you’re after and then imagine your new home at the epicentre of it.

You might want a family home that better suits your active lifestyle, for example. Maybe you’re renting and your dream is to own. Or it could be you’re ready to lock-and-leave as you travel to exotic destinations.

Once you’ve given some thought to your lifestyle and the home that’ll best suit it, think about your budget. The good news is there are dream homes at every price point. It’s all about the fit.

Consider the most appropriate square footage, floorplan and number of rooms. Give some thought to the type of neighbourhood you want to live in.

Selling?

If you’re listing because you want to move – position your property as someone else’s dream home!

Who is the buyer that’ll see it that way? If you understand your home’s key strengths -- based on what people want -- you can enhance them for the sale. This doesn’t mean extensive renovations. You might not get your money back. It means great staging, though.

Stage it yourself or let us help you attract the right buyer. Consider updating colour schemes, furniture and layouts. Give our Interior Design Trends article in this newsletter a quick read.

Whatever you do around presentation, make sure it’s priced right when it hits the market and you’ll have a better chance at selling it quickly.

Make it happen this year!

Talk to me in January about finding your dream home in 2020… or selling your property to fulfill someone else’s dream. I’ll buy the coffee.

If you want to live in an Edmonton neighbourhood with the best of all worlds, you should take a look at Strathcona.

Here, it’s an easy drive downtown or to the University of Alberta and a nice walk to the North Saskatchewan River Valley or the Mill Creek Ravine.

The real estate is a mix of older, character homes in great condition (some 100 years old) and modern apartments and condominiums, high- and low-rise.

At the centre of it all is hip, artsy Old Strathcona with its historic town feel and bustling, main artery, Whyte Avenue. Whyte’s famous for its art galleries, pubs and night clubs, trendy boutiques, theatre venues, international restaurants and coffee shops.

It’s a world class festival hub in the summer, with all kinds of live music and entertainment. As of 2019, Strathcona’s roads and sidewalks are getting re-surfaced and decorative, new streetlamps are being installed. The improvements are scheduled for completion in 2021.

We’ve been hearing a lot about “the next decade of interior design.” That’s too far ahead for us. Everything changes too fast.

Here’s what we expect to see in 2020 that we like:

• The home gets back to being a comfortable retreat where you can just chill inside calm, relaxing spaces with less clutter and more ambiance.
• Expansive whites and earthy greens and browns re-connect us with a soothing, natural aesthetic.
• Lighting becomes better and brighter, spotlighting and showcasing feature walls with materials like wood, rock and cork.
• Enviro-conscious living takes over with tech-smart, energy-saving abodes where recycling rules.
• Open floorplans are improved with chic, industrial partitions that create functional flow.
• The kitchen remains the hub for both families and entertainers.
• The cactus makes a comeback.
• Velvet is dusted off, too, re-introducing plush, luxurious affordability.
• Ceilings break free, embracing new, integrated design concepts.

 

 

The beautiful Aspen Gardens gem is getting ready to welcome new owners. November has been busy and my inventory has been bought up but I have more coming in Aspen Gardens and Riverdale.

Are you a seller contemplating the best time to sell?

Housing supply typically shrinks this time of year making the choices for buyers a little bit more limited in turn creating a more competitive market which is a strong positive for a seller in what has been a buyers market.  Buyers who are shopping during these winter months also tend to be serious buyers in the market place and will be apt to make a buying decision a little more quickly. 

If you've been debating whether or not to sell your home and the right timing for YOU give me a call as I would be happy to discuss the market conditions in your area and talk about the best strategy for you.

Dear Friends,

Halloween has come and gone, with all the outfits for little ghosts and clowns tucked away again for another year. Next up is Christmas, a magical time in Edmonton when the river valley is frosted with fresh snow and nights twinkle with starlight. In the meantime, it’s November, a time for dreams.

On November 11, we take time to remember our dreams and those who died fighting to protect them. It’s a day when we think about those who have fought, and continue to fight, for our country. In Edmonton, there are quite a few events to choose from. I encourage you to attend, if you want to remember what it takes to win, how tough the battles and the losses can be… and what we’re prepared to do to protect our country, our values and our freedom.

Everyone has dreams, although the day-to-day world can get in the way, sometimes! Yes, the journey is what’s important but it’s good to remind ourselves of exotic and exciting destinations that beckon. With that theme in mind – the prize within the dream -- we’re happy to introduce a new feature, the Luxury Property Report.

We take you inside some of the most extravagant properties on the planet for a look at their features as we enter a new decade of real estate, the (Roaring?) 2020s. The Luxury Property Report begins with a global perspective and then zeroes in on the Edmonton marketplace to identify premium realty, high-end neighbourhoods and pricing considerations if you’re chasing the dream.

As usual, in this newsletter, we’ve got the stats and the inspiration to help in your search for the perfect home, whatever your current price range.

And as always, if you, your friends or family are looking to buy or sell real estate, please keep me in mind.