Red Deer Real Estate Blog

Weekly Sales numbers in Red Deer, AB. jump 30% from the previous week.

While the weekly numbers may not appear huge to you, they are significant.  Sales increased 30% from the previous week.  The last 3 weeks are 72% higher in sales volume than the previous 4 weeks.  A few months ago I would have speculated that the inventory would be increasing at a far greater rate than it is, and that the pressure on price would be greater in th eRed Deer real estate market.  That has not transpired.

Interest rates dropped not once but twice to a level that is incredibly low in my opinion.  Will they drop again?  I don’t know it is really hard to see that happening.  I think there has been a lot of positive indicators for buyers today and that there is plenty of opportunity to buy today.  If you can buy, why not now?

Last week was the first week we saw the number of listings coming on decline at a faster rate than the sales as noted in the above graph.

This morning I polled our Century 21 Advantage Realtors at our weekly meeting.  I have seen an increase in offers come thru the office, and how many have experienced multiple offers.  Yes Multiple offers, and 6 or 7 associates raised their hands.  Yes there are multiple offers happening even in today’s market.  If the price is right and you hesitate or are adamant on getting a better “deal” you could lose out on the best house for you.

We’re all concerned with buying at the lowest point in the market.  It may be premature but for starter homes or homes under $300,000 that point may have come and gone.  That price point is selling stronger than others.

Any questions feel free to call or email me, your comments are always appreciated.

Your Friend in Real Estate,

Patrick Galesloot

My earlier blog post I asked you 4 questions and to email me your thoughts. http://www.century21.ca/patrick.galesloot/Blog/2008_Red_Deer_Real_Estate_Market

• Where do you see house prices going long term?
• How long do you plane to live in that house?
• Should you wait?
• Can you afford to wait to buy based on past price trends?

In follow up I received comments that got me thinking some more about the questions and the responses. The response was a definitive “YES” real estate values will go up long term, but overall people are apprehensive about doing so in a “down” market.

There are different factors influencing your decision to buy and sell.

If you are a first time home buyer the numbers speak for themselves in my opinion. Long-term, home ownership is the way to go. Look at Grandma’s house. Grandma paid less for her house than you pay for a car these days in many areas. Grandma is probably mortgage free by now and accumulated hundreds of thousands of dollars along the way. If grandma were to sell today and have a handful of cash that cash, from her personal residence, is tax free. The single largest tax break for most Canadians is that we do not get taxed on capital gains on our personal residence.

So should you be trading up today? Absolutely! Increasing the size of your home and its value should be part of your retirement strategy. When you are 65 and ready to downsize into a 1 bedroom condo and a motor home, you could benefit from the same equity gains as grandma has. Can you afford to do so? It is best to consult your Realtor and your mortgage specialist.

• Do you have enough equity built up to leverage to trade up?
• How much equity do you have today?

You Need a Current Market Evaluation of your home. A great Realtor will help you analyze your situation and advise you of your options.

For the full article visit my Blog at www.patrickgalesloot.com or click here.

Patrick Galesloot,

The Red Deer Real Estate Guy.

July 2008 turns up the sales volume. While not the busiest month in 2008, it certainly was busier than July 2007. Residential sales were up 22% over last year. This is a sharp contrast to previous months in 2008. This makes me wonder “why?”.

Is this rush related to changes coming early fall from finance Canada? Should be no secret to most of us by now that the Finance Department will stop guaranteeing 40-year and zero-down-payment mortgage loans starting Oct. 15.

How buyers finance their home is not data that we as Realtors file and keep on hand for tracking. All we can do is pool one another as to the frequency that we experience writing or viewing offers to purchase that indicate “zero” down or disclose that they are amortizing over 40 years. From a buyers representative perspective I am not sure that it would benefit the buyer to disclose every detail either. If some one is buying a home and their only amortization that will work for qualifying is 40 years that may raise concern for a seller’s representative.

Probably the best people to poll would be mortgage specialists and see how many closings occurred with 40 year amortizations and “zero” down and whether or not those numbers are above normal.

We should be looking closely at August. Will the trend continue or will a dip follow the rise that occurred in July.

Your Friend in Real Estate,

Patrick Galesloot.