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We love our home with its many memories and its spacious yard. But when the kids are gone, why do you need all that space? Do you want to keep up the yard and shovel snow?   What happens when the stairs in your home become difficult too climb and changing a light bulb almost impossible?

Many couples are reaching a point in their lives where their kids are gone and they no longer need or want the extra space and burden of a single family home.  

A condominium can be a great option for when your lifestyle no longer suits a house. However, there are many things to consider when thinking if a condo is right for you.

Here are a few things to think about:

How much storage do I need? You’ll need to let go of a lot of things when moving to a condo. Many condos do however have additional storage cages in the parkades or storage rooms on the same floor as the unit.

How much natural light do I want/need? Many condos have limited natural light depending on which direction they face and if they are a corner unit or not. Corner units facing south have the most natural light, but will usually cost a bit more.

Do I need 2 parking stalls? Many condos only have one stall that comes with the unit. A second stall can be expensive or not available at all.

Can I bring my pet? If you have a pet, make sure you know the pet restrictions, as not all buildings allow pets.

What amenities does the building have? A pool may sound nice, but they are expensive to maintain. If you like to garden, is there a community garden? Is there a guest suite for when out of town family comes to visit? Is there a party room to entertain the family? Most condos are too small to have the whole family over for holidays.

Location, location, location. Its as important when buying a condo as it is a house. Is there a suitable building in your preferred location? Can you find a building close to stores, pharmacies, clinics, movie theaters, and the other services that are important to you?  

How important is privacy and quiet to me? Condo living means living in the same building as many other people. You will see people in the halls and may even hear them when you’re in your suite. A concrete building minimizes noise, but you will still see and hear your neighbors.

Can I afford condo fees and potential special assessments? Condo fees are required to pay for the buildings common areas, utilities, insurance and management. Even in a well-managed building, condo fees tend to rise over time. And occasionally, even in a high quality building that is well managed, a special assessment is necessary to pay to fix or upgrade something.   If you’re on a fixed income, these costs may be a challenge for you

A condo can provide a great lifestyle when you are downsizing – freeing up your time to pursue other things other than taking care of your house and yard, or allowing you to close the door and travel worry free. But condos aren’t for everyone.

There are other options when you’re ready to downsize. Consulting with a REALTOR can help you decide if a condo is the right choice for you or if you need to explore other property options.
Source: McLeod Realty

I’m sure you’ve all heard we’re in a buyer’s market.  But what does that mean?  Home inventory is at its highest in Edmonton since 2008.  By the end of June total residential inventory for sale reached 2861, an increase of 8.21 over June 2017.  This means that buyer’s have more to choose from and may be able to get a better deal as seller’s compete for their business. 

Current Inventory All residential – 2861 (year over year increase of 8.2) Single Family – 1570 (year over year increase of 13.6) Condo – 994 (year over year increase of  .61)   June 2018 Sales All residential -1260 (year over year decrease of 11) Single Family – 763 (year over year decrease of 11) Condo – 363 (year over year decrease of 9) Average Selling Price (YTD) All residential -$374,539 (year over year decrease of 1.4) Single Family – $439, 046 (year over year decrease of 0.13) Condo – $238,550 (year over year decrease of 4.5) Days on Market All residential – 55 (year over year increase of 10) Single Family – 47 (year over year increase of 6.8) Condo – 65 (year over year increase of 6.6)
Source: McLeod Realty

Year over year all residential unit sales up 14

Edmonton, February 2, 2018: Total all residential unit sales in January 2018 in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) were up 14.23 relative to January 2017. Specifically, across each category when compared to January 2017, single family home unit sales were up 12.85, condominium unit sales were up 14.41 and duplex/rowhouse unit sales were up 22.08.

The average single family home unit price increased to $428,750, an increase of 2.89 compared to December 2017 and an increase of 2.20 compared to January 2017. The duplex/rowhouse average unit price was $348,613, which was an increase of 3.44 compared to December 2017 and a decrease of 2.06 relative to January 2017. The condominium average unit price was $227,707, which was a decrease of 3.62 month over month and decrease of 7.04 year over year. In total, the average all residential unit price was $359,134, a modest increase of 0.56 relative to December 2017 and an increase of 0.64 compared to January 2017.

“January 2018 unit sales were strong, coupled with an increase in year over year listings of more than 15, which is typical for this time of year,” said Darcy Torhjelm, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair.

Compared to January 2017, listings were up 15.28 to 2,133 properties total, which was a 98.63 increase month over month. Overall inventory increased 2.97 month over month and 7.05 year over year. Days on market reflected the winter season, with increases across all categories compared to December 2017. For single family homes, the average days on market was 67. Duplex/rowhouses increased to 72 average days on market and condominium average days on market was 90.

“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.”

View Detailed Market Statistics >>

Source: REALTORS Association of Edmonton

 
Source: McLeod Realty

For any active agents in the market who serve Edmonton I’d say that most will agree 2016 was the year where you worked 3 times harder to put a deal together than in quite a few years. But few are saying or identifying why it’s such a challenge. Buyers still want to buy and sellers still want to sell. What’s changed?

We’ve had lots of things affect our market this past two years, and likely they will continue to present challenges to us. I won’t beleaguer the question or try to point the finger, my point now, more than ever is the importance of discussing Value. The best verb to define Value is: “estimates the monetary worth of (something).” Now when an agent is working with a buyer or seller, each party is trying to negotiate the best possible deal. We have what I have learned to call honest negotiating, and dishonest negotiating. Does a roof leak, did the identical home across the street just sell for 5 less, or, are you finding no effort is being made to find fault with a property, and now the comment being presented during your negotiation is “we just think it’s overpriced”. When pressed, the comments become even more vague and filled with false generalizations about the state of the market. 

Let me explain where I’m going, this past year I began marketing some very upscale brand new homes in Mckernan Edmonton near the University of Alberta, the positive comments were great but I was inundated with a mass of the same comments; “You guys are nuts”, “It’s not worth half that”, “that much… here…” and the one I hear all too often “aren’t you aware of how bad the economy is”.

It becomes hard not to eventually start thinking you’re wrong, maybe we did miss the boat? However something ironic happened to me this weekend, I saw a builder trying to market similar new homes in the Westmount community of Edmonton. What I read was interesting.  These nice new homes are $200,000 less per home than the above homes I was discussing, and the comments on Facebook bore a striking resemblance to what I was hearing. These are direct quotes from the builders Facebook ad; “ugly”, “774,900 way overpriced”, “I hate these houses they look cheap and don’t fit in with older communities” and the one that highlights where I’m going “This why I can’t find a house. Way over priced $$$” forgive the last one, as I said it’s a copy and paste, the incomplete sentence has a hidden meaning”.

So let’s go back to talk about my message, value. With a growing sense of entitlement the new value as I see it is that something is overpriced or bad only after a buyer discovers their inability to afford it. So to change this, I have started having a different conversation with people, it’s a conversation of Cost. What makes up all the individual costs that goes into a house. So for those that have not broken out the cost let’s take an example of a popular new home, good location, redeveloped site with lots of bells and whistles:

Land: $230,000 + Legal: $3,500 + Permits: $5,000 + Demolition: $15,000 + Servicing: $45,000 + Surveys: $3,500 + Design: $15,000 + Construction: $400,000 + Financing: $28,000 + Marketing & Sales: $20,000 = $765,000. Sure makes it seem the builder I was talking about may not come out doing too well, does it.

This is not an exhaustive list but the purpose is to get you to think about the hidden costs more than the new signs, the modern colours and the fact the costs to develop in a mature neighbourhood is significantly more than in a new suburban subdivision. Last year I eventually had to turn off a twitter war I was watching a friend have about not being able to find a place in Vancouver. Now his timing was bang on, but the underlying message I got was that he really felt he was entitled to have what others had, just because he wanted to live in the same area, when he could’t then the conversation went to why buying real estate is a bad investment.

What I now see in our market is as much as everyone wants infill and gentrification of older neighbourhoods, the tearing down of dilapidated buildings to make way for new, the moment something becomes un-affordable, it’s value is thrown into question. So when you’re looking for a new home and you can’t have it all at once, the recommendation I have is look to add value, and if something isn’t affordable, before disregarding the hard work of the builder, the home owner, the trades… try to understand they did just that, added value. 

 
Source: McLeod Realty