Posts from August 2015

Cooler nights and falling leaves all suggest summer in the city is quickly drawing to a close. Edmontonians are acutely aware just how little of the season we get to experience but also how to best take advantage of what we do get. If you feel like you’ve dwindled the summer away, fear not, we’ve compiled a list of not-to-be-missed events happening all week long. So take advantage of the last days of August, grab grandma, the dog, and the kiddos, and make the most of hot summer in the city!

Today: Movies on the Square. The City of Edmonton in collaboration with Direct Energy has been putting on free movies all summer long. You’re just in time to catch the last one of the season. Pitch Perfect 2 will be screening tonight, outdoors, in Churchill square. Entertainment in the square begins at 7 and movies begin at dusk. Bring a lawn chair!

Movies on the Square at Churchill Square

Wednesday: Qualico Patio Series. Enjoy the view over Broadmoor Lake as you lounge on the patio at Festival Place, taking in the sights and sounds of two spectacular and eclectic music acts in an intimate setting. This week features country locals ‘The Moanin After’ contrasted with the Cuban stylings of ‘The Marco Claveria Project’. Don’t forget about the beers and BBQ to boot!

Qualico Patio Series at Festival Place

Thursday: John Janzen Family Bonfire. Bring the family down to the river valley from 7 to 8:30 pm and shake off that looming Autumn chill with a free bonfire at the nature centre. Discuss topics like bees, birch, and bats with knowledgeable staff members. Once again, bring a lawn chair!

John Janzen Nature Centre

Friday: Eskimos VS Argonauts. Show some hometown pride and see if the ‘City of Champions’ moniker holds up when the Edmonton Eskimos take on the Toronto Argonauts this Friday at Commonwealth Stadium. The Eskimos, currently ranking second after Calgary in the West Division, will start Rookie quarterback James Franklin at Friday’s game. This will technically be his first start in the CFL, an occasion not to be missed.

James Franklin of the Edmonton Eskimos. Image courtesy of Esks.com

Saturday: Dogs with Wings Fundraising Fun Day. A farewell to summer party is being hosted by Dogs with Wings, an outstanding organization striving to train and provide assistance dogs for persons with disabilities. Their event is free but they will be accepting donations on site and all proceeds from sales will go to the organization. Free activities include a petting zoo, bouncy castle, crafts, dog demos and more. There will also be a huge garage sale on site! A jam-packed day of fun with the family while raising money for charity? Sounds like a win-win!

Dogs with Wings Assistance Dog Society

Sunday: The Great Big Family Picnic. At the Devonian Botanic Garden from 11-3 on Sunday, take a jaunt outside the city to spend some quality time in the great outdoors with friends ad family. You are welcome to bring your own food, and there will be lunch for purchase at the grounds. Naturalists will be hosting activities at Calla Pond, as well as children’s crafts, and family games.

Japanese Garden at the Devonian

Monday: Ghostly Walk Through Old Strathcona. The last night of August deserves to go out with a bang, or rather a Boo! Why not say farewell to the season with an eerie stroll around the cultural heart of Edmonton. An experienced veteran of storytelling will take you to buildings, houses, and shops, all with ghostly legends in their history including hauntings, murders, and mysteries. Tours begin at 9pm and are a bargain at $10 per person.

Ghost Tour Group Gathers at Orange Hall

Due to 2015’s ongoing rise in sales inventory there has been a foreseeable lowering of real estate prices this past July. While June saw continued rises in homes on the market, only a moderate price dip meant figures still remained higher than compared to the same time last year.

The EREB’s latest market report published last week indicates that July finally saw the impact of inventory catching up to list and sale prices. While all average residential prices were down in month over month comparisons, the most significant impact was to single-family homes, with other categories remained largely unaffected.

EREB reports have indicated that, while still falling somewhat, average prices have likely remained stronger than expected due to the abundance of high priced properties, which began impacting the market last year. So far this year 73 homes have been sold on the market all with price tags over the million dollar mark, which is the same figure as we saw by this time in 2014.

Residential list price ended up averaging $372,910, dropping 1.4% from June. Single-family homes were the biggest catalyst in that average, showing a 1.8% decrease down to $436,948. Contrarily, duplex/row houses saw an increase of 1.4% to $356,237 and condominiums, at $256,708, saw a negligible 0.4% rise. When compared to year over year averages prices were still 3.3% higher than July of last year, despite pressures cause by inventory surpluses.

“This small dip in prices is expected due to our higher inventory and lower sales numbers. We continue to be surprised by how strong prices have been this year compared to last when we had higher sales and very tight inventory. The ‘wait and see’ attitude of buyers seems to be diminishing, but people continue to be cautious,” explains Geneva Tetreault, Chair of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton.

By the end of July, inventory in the city’s census metropolitan area had reached 7,226 properties, which was only slightly higher than the 7,177 listings on the market at the end of June. However this is a significant upswing when compared the same time last year, with inventory in July of 2014 at 5,609.

Another result of the current market environment has been an increase in average days on market, indicative of a slowing in residential sales. July sales dropped 9.8% from June, and 2.8% in year over year comparisons. The average home spent 50 days on the market in July, up from 46 in 2014. While row houses spent the fewest number of days (43), followed by single-family dwellings (48), the largest slowing was seen in the condominium category, averaging 54 days on the market.

“We have seen the biggest drop in condominium sales year to date at 14%. That drop coupled with an increase of condo listings of 17% explains why condos are taking longer on average to sell. Some of these buyers may be moving over to duplex/townhouse options which is the only residential category showing an increase of sales of 6% year to date.” Tetreault continues, “We are seeing the effects of many condominium projects that broke ground when inventory was coming onto the market recently. Condominiums continue to offer the best price point for those entering the housing market and the ease of care and smaller size that appeal to an older demographic.”

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