“We generally see housing market activity increase at this time of year,” says Darcy Torhjelm, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “Despite the year over year decreases, the market is still growing relative to February 2018 in preparation for the spring buying season. Market growth should continue in the coming months.”

“More sellers are entering the market and are motivated to move their properties before the summer months, which provides the best selection of properties for buyers who are actively looking and taking advantage of the increased number of listings,” says Torhjelm. “It’s a great time to speak to a REALTOR® for professional advice on navigating the buying and selling process.”...

“The increase in the average days on market appears to reflect that buyers are taking time to consider their options before purchasing a new home,” Torhjelm said. “With the mortgage stress test rule changes and the latest interest rate change, it will be interesting to see how that impacts the 2018 market.” 

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Real Estate Now Using Augmented Reality Technology

With her new wine bar opening in Somers, N.Y. (Winchester County), Stephanie Small took a long time to decide on which countertop she should get.

She was concerned about the durability of the countertop as well as the price and what was troubling Stephanie the mast was that she couldn’t envision how the countertop would appear on the 16 feet long bar both from the inside and the outside through the window. She stated that she spent several hours attempting to visualize this and could not make it happen.

She had a friend that worked in the countertop industry for a company called Cambria, they are located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and manufacture countertops. Her friend told her that the company released a brand new augmented reality app, and that this was able to apply digital images to the real world that could be observed through...

“2017 was a steady year for real estate in Edmonton and many of the surrounding municipalities, where sales and prices were quite stable for the majority of the year,” said Darcy Torhjelm, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “For most of the year we continued to see home buyers take advantage of low mortgage rates and a slightly increased inventory, while sellers enjoyed solid prices for their properties.”

“Now that the holiday season is over and a new year is here, we expect listings and sales to begin to ramp up again,” said Torhjelm. “We encourage both potential buyers and sellers to talk to their local REALTOR® about their options in this market and what is right for them.”....

“2017 was a steady year for real estate in Edmonton and many of the surrounding municipalities, where sales and prices were quite stable for the majority of the year,” said Darcy Torhjelm, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “For most of the year we continued to see home buyers take advantage of low mortgage rates and a slightly increased inventory, while sellers enjoyed solid prices for their properties.”

“Now that the holiday season is over and a new year is here, we expect listings and sales to begin to ramp up again,” said Torhjelm. “We encourage both potential buyers and sellers to talk to their local REALTOR® about their options in this market and what is right for them.”.

...

For The First Time In Forty Five Years Canada Experiences Falls In Homeownership Rates

Are you put off from homeownership by the ever increasing real estate prices in Canada these days? Statistics Canada have released the latest census for 2016 and it clearly shows that homeownership rates are declining. The rate of homeownership in Canada is now lower than it has been for the past ten years and it is the Millennials that are suffering the most.

More Than 45 Years Since A Decline Like This

The Census 2016 records indicate that homeownership rates across the country are falling. Across the whole of Canada the homeownership rate stands at 67.8%. Compared to the 2011 Census this is a 1.73% drop. If you look at the figures over the longer term...

“Although the year-over-year growth in sales volume is encouraging, the surge is likely related to consumers trying to complete purchases before new restrictive borrowing rules come into force in the new year,” said James Mabey, Chair of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.

“There are fewer listings coming onto the market now as we end 2017,” said Mabey. “Looking forward to 2018, we will see higher inventory levels than in previous years, coupled with new mortgage rules that may slow the market, at least temporarily, as consumers adjust their expectations in response to the new lending rules. If this is the case, we may experience some market tightening in the new year.”

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“We continue to see stability in the all-residential average and median prices, and this stability has been primarily due to strong sales of single family homes, which are a staple of our marketplace,” explains James Mabey, Chair of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton

Average days on market for all residential properties was 61 this month, up 5.17% over last month and unchanged from last year. Single family average days on market was up to 55, condominiums were averaging 67 days on market, and duplex/rowhouses took an average of 61 days to sell in October.

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How Blockchain Technology May Change Real Estate

There is no doubt that Blockchain has had a significant influence on the financial services industry and you will be hard pressed to find a segment of it that has not been impacted by this technology. The use of Cryptocurrencies has strongly impacted currency exchange, remittances and payments of all kinds. There has been the introduction of Initial Coin Offerings (ICO’s) and this has strongly challenged venture capital, the investment in stocks and loans for start-ups.

There has been a significant impact from Blockchain on the Real Estate sector as well. It was unthinkable until recently that making transactions via digital channels was even possible for real estate and other high value assets. Transactions in real estate had always been performed in the “off line” mode through face to face interactions with a number of parties. But this has now been challenged through the use of Blockchain. Blockchain platforms now...

"Once the distractions of summer are over, the market usually picks up with buyers looking to move in to a new home before the snow flies", says James Mabey, Chair of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton. "However, it is possible we didn't see a strong performance for unit sales this September because the Bank of Canada raised interest rates twice this summer, putting some downward pressure on buyer purchase intentions. Despite this, consistent average sale prices last month throughout the Edmonton area (and across most property types) suggest the local market enjoys continued health."

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Month over month, unit sales volume was flat or down across all categories, which is typical for the month of August.

“Price conscious buyers appear to be turning their attention to semi-detached product as opposed to condominiums for the best value. Changes to mortgage rates and qualifying rules seem to be keeping the entry level market a bit quiet and those that are taking advantage of the amazing selection are very value conscious” says James Mabey, the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair.

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With Open Data about Edmonton you can Discover all manner of things

Back in 2010 Edmonton began making its data public. An official city policy was passed on public data in 2015 and this has lead to people, schools and businesses making requests for precise data sets.

The city’s Open Data platform allows people to find out amazing things such as Edmonton’s best yards, types of 311 complaints per neighbourhood and even which book is requested most at its libraries.

Open Data was in receipt of around 160 requests last year and was able to fulfil data sets for around 154. In the past, information has either not been available or privacy concerns prevented requests from being fulfilled.

Soumya Ghosh is the director of Smart City and commented that the size of the data wasn’t important but its application was. Ghosh...

“It’s typical for unit sales to slow in July, which is shown in the year-over-year comparison,” says James Mabey, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “Inventory is still strong for buyers, and marginal adjustments in year-over-year prices indicate a stable market for sellers.”

“Sellers must remain patient but mindful of their positioning in the market with many options for buyers to consider, so consulting with their REALTOR® to remain competitive is essential,” says Mabey.

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A Brief Look Into The Growth Of Edmonton

If you are looking for one of the fastest growing cities in Canada, then Edmonton is the city that should definitely be on your radar. Reports from the city show that Edmonton is becoming one of the fastest growing cities in Canada the best thing about all of this is that this growth is not expected to slow down anytime soon.

According to the information in the 2017 Annual Growth Monitoring report, Edmonton is facing some challenges with this rapid expansion.

Before we move on here is a quick definition of what the Annual growth report is. The 2017 Annual Growth Report is a report that gives an overview of different information such as the growth, demographics and various developments which are happening in a particular area.

With this report,...

Average prices for duplexes/rowhouses and condominiums were stable in June.

“Affordability and value are key drivers across all property segments. Buyers can be discerning, but with stable prices and potential interest rate increases around the corner it is important for buyers to get off the fence”, says James Mabey, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “Patience is a virtue, however, as a seller if you are getting good feedback, but aren't attracting an offer it may be time to refresh with your REALTOR® whether a price correction may be necessary."

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Investing or paying off a mortgage faster is one of the biggest questions many people want the answer to. It's a question most people struggle with on their quest for financial freedom. The truth is the answer to this question depends on different factors. Each situation is different, and you must understand your situation before you make a decision. If you'd like more information on whether you should invest your money or whether you should pay off your mortgage faster then you'll find this information valuable. In this post, we’ll take a look at why it might be better to pay off your mortgage first in some situations, how to do it and why it might sometimes be a better option to invest your money first. 

Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage Faster?

For many people, the dream is to get out of debt and start living their lives. Waking up...

"We are in the middle of our busiest season for real estate,” says James Mabey, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “More sellers are entering the market and are motivated to move their properties before the summer months, which provides the best selection of properties for buyers who are actively looking and taking advantage of the increased number of listings typical for this time of year.”

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3 Hi-Tech Gardening Tools To Take Your Gardening To The Next Level

Technology is becoming a regular convenience in our everyday life. Many of the things we couldn't do years ago we could now because of technology. One of these things is gardening. With the new technology on the market today, gardeners have the ability to use their smartphones to enhance their gardens. Hi-tech gardening tools take the hassle out of gardening. How? By allowing you to use sophisticated plant monitoring technology and tools. If you live in Edmonton and you’d like to take your Edmonton home gardening efforts to the next level this post is for you. 

Plant Sensors

Plant sensors allow you to track the humidity, light levels, soil moisture, air temperature and the level of nutrition in the soil. A plant sensor lets you know the status of your garden especially if you have other responsibilities in your life that take you away from your garden. If you have an Android or IOS phone, you can receive...

Six Ways To Transform Your Home Into A Smart Home

As technology moves forward, we are beginning to see significant advancements in smart home technology. Smartphones and smart technology give us the ability to do many of the things we couldn't before. With smart real estate technology, we have more convenience in the home. More people are seeing the benefits of turning their homes into smart homes. If you are interested in turning your Edmonton home into a smart home, then the six steps in this post will help you to do so.

 What Is A Smart Home?

A smart home is a home that uses integrated automated systems that allow homeowners to control different functions in their home with their smartphone, laptop and tablet devices.

1. Smart Lighting

Lighting is a critical part of you home, and with smart lighting, you can control the lights in your home with your smart device. Smart lighting is perfect for setting the mood in your home especially if...