Market Conditions for Morinville, Alberta Reported by Teresa Mardon, REALTOR, C.E.T., TOP 5% Edmonton Real Estate Board Yearly since 2001, Royal Lepage Director's Platinum Award! Updated May 3, 2012.

Current Market Rating: 3 1 2 3 4 5 Buyer's Seller's

Current Price Trend: 3 1 2 3 4 5 Falling Rising

All statistics reported here are courtesy of the Edmonton Real Estate Board, (see my website at www.TeresaMardon.com).

April's results were somewhat muted in terms of unit sales. At 1,713 this was the second lowest April in the last eight years, below only 2011. We are however up 5.3% over April, 2011 and up 1.4% over March. Market activity typically experiences a bit of a lull in April, then reaches its peak for the year in May, so let's see what this month brings. The last three years have all peaked under 2,000 units, which is contrary to prior years.
On a positive note prices experienced a bit of a bump, reaching an average sale price of $337K. Since the boom year of 2007, this figure was exceeded only in 2010. We're up 3.1% over April of last year and up 0.6% over March, 2012.
All housing categories were up in value, the leader being duplexes/town houses which increased 5.9% over March. This group comprises only 5.9% of the total market so the effect of any price movements here does not have a big overall effect.
April's end of month active inventory is the lowest for this month in several years. Although sales were quiet, they were not sufficiently down to force the market back into a "Buyers Market". The ratio of Sales to Active Listings remained above 0.20, (below this marker is considered to signal a "Buyers Market"). As well, "Average Days on Market" was 50 days - below 60 is said to indicate a "Balanced Market". Sellers should note this statistic is cyclical, and over the last few years, a "Balanced Market" has been evident only during the spring season.
Edmonton Northwest enjoyed the largest year-over-year April price gain at 22.2%; Edmonton Southwest came in second at 6.5%. The largest gain over March also goes to Edmonton Northwest at 17.9% - it appears most of their annual increase occurred in April.
The number of new homes being constructed has been more than sufficient to house our recent population growth, at least partially accounting for the muffled resale market. Gone are the heady days of five years ago when housing was considered as much an investment vehicle ripe with possibilities for value appreciation, as it was a place to live. Some sellers still have a little trouble with that concept, and insist on over-pricing their houses accordingly. It would be well to remember that for every house sold in Edmonton and environs, there are 4.5 that sit unsold - competition is fairly stiff. Back in 2007, that figure was more like 2.0 and in some months houses were selling faster than they came on the market. Those bidding wars you've been reading about are occurring pretty much only in Toronto right now, and involve off-shore buyers, a phenomenon we haven't seen much of in Edmonton. Even Vancouver prices have been modestly correcting of late, where they have experienced five consecutive months of decline. Calgary's housing market has remained steady, much like our experience in Edmonton.



Location Characteristics: Morinville is a town in central Alberta, Canada. It is located 34 km (21 mi) north of Edmonton on Highway 2.

Morinville was settled by Father Morin, an Oblate missionary, who brought many French settlers in the late 1800s, followed by several German pioneers—hence its many French and German families such as Hittinger, Riopel, Boissonnault, Tailleur, Houle, Labonte, St. Laurent, Maisonneuve, Bokenfohr, Krauskopf, Rustemier, and Meyers.

The monument located in the St. Jean Baptiste Park lists the many names of pioneers and settlers to Morinville. Once situated on the street at 100 Avenue and 100 Street, the monument was moved to its present location in 2000, as it was a safety hazard and very difficult to enjoy with all the traffic at the intersection.

The Roman Catholic church of the St. Jean Baptiste Parish was built in 1907. The church, along with its adjacent but now inoperative convent Morinville Convent, was declared a historical site in 1975. In 2005, the grounds of the church were landscaped with a clock tower, new grass, trees and shrubs, in celebration of Alberta's 100th anniversary as a province.

In 2006, Morinville had a population of 6,775 living in 2,401 dwellings, a 3.6% increase from 2001. The town has a land area of 11.34 km2 (4.4 sq mi) and a population density of 597.4 inhabitants per square kilometer.

Seven percent of Morinville residents still speak French, most of whom are elderly. All public business is conducted in English. And French is declining, as witnessed by the formerly French mass at the Catholic Church on Sundays turning bilingual.


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