New Year, Familiar Trends
Re/Max has release their annual ‘Housing Market Outlook Report’ forecasting what 2015 has in store for Canadian markets, as well as the after-effects from the past year.
All regions of the nation are presently showing gains in price, and many showed increases in all categories of inventory. Edmonton and Calgary, alongside Toronto and Vancouver, have been highlighted as major areas of growth. Expectations based on current trends are for housing prices to either plateau or rise moderately, with no expectations of any decreases on the horizon.
Factors to be accounted for in 2015 include a projected GDP rise of 2.5%, as predicted by the Bank of Canada, along with minor increases in employment rates and wages, as well as a nationwide population increase of between 260-285,000 new permanent residents. These economic elements are all expected to have a positive impact on upcoming real estate trends.
Economic factors to consider in 2015. Credit: Remax Outlook Report
We can see these major trends echoed in the Edmonton market specifically, as well as the contribution of it’s own unique factors, such as an increase in westward migration. The report estimates around 30,000 new residents have settled into Edmonton’s census metropolitan area in the past year, increasing housing demands by about 10%. This pressure on supply has caused buyers to consider higher price points, and caused exponential growth in the condominium market.
Along with condo sales and development, the other burgeoning Edmonton market not to be ignored is the luxury homes category, which saw sales records broken each year for the past three years. According to the document,
“the Realtors Association of Edmonton reported a 29 per cent increase in sales over $1 million compared to last year.”
The popularity of homes over $1 million are the trend to be watching in the new year. There is also an expectation for headway on mixed-use community developments with “residential, retail and commercial components” which will be considered priority for the new, younger demographic of citizens as the provinces average age continues to decrease. Sale prices in the city are predicted to steadily climb, about 4 %, with similar levels of inventory expected to be maintained.
CLICK HERE to view properties available for sale in your area. The extensive 38 page report can be viewed HERE in its entirety as a PDF.
