Market Conditions for Spruce Grove, 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: Spruce Grove is a city in the vicinity of Edmonton, Alberta. Like nearby Stony Plain it is surrounded by Parkland County.

With a population of 23,326, Spruce Grove is the 11th largest city in Alberta. The Horizon stage is a centre for performing arts here, and its Tri-Municipal Leisure Centre is a popular recreation facility. As it is 11 km west of Edmonton, many citizens travel there to shop. However, there are a great number of businesses on the west end that citizens commonly utilize.

The current mayor is Stuart Houston.

Spruce Grove is located near the province's geographical centre, at 30 kilometres (19 mi) from downtown Edmonton and 14 km (9 mi) from Edmonton's city limits. It is part of the Edmonton Capital Region.

According to the 2009 municipal census, the population of Spruce Grove is 23,326. This was a 19.6% increase from the official result of the Canada 2006 Census, 19,496. The city has a land area of 26.40 km2 (10.2 sq mi) and a population density of 883.6 /km2 (2,288.5/sq mi).

Two highways pass through Spruce Grove, Highway 16 and Highway 16A. Highway 16 has no traffic lights but has two exits into Spruce Grove, while Highway 16A has several traffic intersections. Travelling east of either of these highways will lead to Edmonton. Travelling west on Highway 16A will lead to Stony Plain, and going west on either highway will lead to Edson, Hinton, and eventually Jasper.

The majority of the streets in Spruce Grove use a standard naming system. Their names share a first letter with that of its subdivision. For example, all streets start with M in Millgrove subdivision; in Woodhaven, they all start with W. Only in the original subdivision of Broxton Park and the downtown core is this naming convention not utilized.

There is a railroad connection between Edmonton and Vancouver running through Spruce Grove. The majority of the rail road traffic is goods, however in the summer there is also passenger transportation between Edmonton and Jasper.

Edmonton Transit System offers a commuter transit route from Spruce Grove to Edmonton, peak hours only.



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