Reported by Teresa Mardon, REALTOR, C.E.T., TOP 5% Edmonton Real Estate Board Yearly since 2001, Royal Lepage Director's Platinum Award!
Updated November 3, 2009.
Current Market Rating: 2
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Current Price Trend: 3
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November 3, 2009 Normal seasonal variations aside, figures for October continue established trends with no new surprises evident. Sales volumes virtually mirror those of Octobers from years past, although prices remain strong with both September and October recording the second highest price levels on record, bested only by 2007 when we were mid-bubble. The Inventory/Sales ratio indicates we're still in a Buyers' Market, and in fact trending deeper in that direction, but I think we can draw some conclusions from the trends taking shape. Market demand remains stable, and excess inventory is slowly being absorbed. Most importantly, prices are stable around existing levels while inventory levels are falling, (as a footnote, inventory levels are usually decreasing in the last few months of the year, typically reaching a low in December). This year however, inventory supply is lower than either of October 2007 or 2008. So, what is sustaining housing at near seasonal record price levels when we are in such a Buyers' Market? The answer is all-time low interest rates and to a much lesser extent, stimulus spending. Pent-up demand held over from the dark days of late 2008 played a bit part but has now largely spent itself. Prevailing market interest rates of course have a direct bearing on housing affordability. The last RBC "Housing Affordability" report was issued in September, 2009 and showed the costs of owning a house in Alberta were third lowest in the country, behind only Quebec and Atlantic Canada, (http://www.rbc.com/economics/market/pdf/house.pdf). The percentage of average family income required to buy a standard detached bungalow in Alberta exactly equals the average Affordability Index calculated since 1985. As we've noted in previous articles, Bank of Canada has more or less explicitly stated it won't increase rates at least until April 30, 2010. For several reasons the federal government does not want to see the Canadian dollar strengthen more against the U.S. dollar, so their hands are pretty much tied in terms of increasing rates - any rate rise would have a profoundly undesirable effect. We can therefore expect to see pretty much the same thing for prices for the next little while. This is good news if you're considering selling. If you're thinking about buying, perhaps one should dwell on whether a purchase would be affordable - in other words view a house as one of life's necessities rather than as an investment. Any current discussion of real estate price trends should recognize the impact of the TD Bank's recently released and much studied "Answers to Some Key Questions About the Costs of Combating Climate Change". Despite the fact it hit the press like a bombshell, I found the report remarkably well balanced, although none of the obvious political issues were addressed. The inescapable conclusion is that if Canada is to reach its intended target, (reduction of overall greenhouse gas emissions to 20% below 2006 levels, by 2020), most of the burden will fall on Alberta. In short, our economy would be devastated and the effect on our real estate market profound. See the full report at: http://www.td.com/economics/special/ca1009_climate.pdf It is unclear how, or if, our government would find the political will to inflict this much economic damage on one province. While the TD Bank should be commended for bringing this important topic into the public forum for debate, we should remember no government commissioned or sponsored this report, (or indeed, even commented on its conclusions), and we should therefore not rush to judgment just yet.
Location Characteristics: St. Albert is a city in Alberta, located northwest of Edmonton, on the Sturgeon River. It was originally settled as a Metis community, and is now, other than Edmonton itself, the largest city in the Edmonton area. St. Albert first received its town status in 1904 and was reached by the Canadian Northern Railway in 1907.
Originally separated from Edmonton by several miles of farmland, the 1980s expansion of Edmonton's city limits placed St. Albert immediately adjacent to the larger city on St. Albert's south and east sides.
St. Albert was founded in 1861 by Father Albert Lacombe O.M.I, who built a small chapel: the Father Lacombe Chapel in the Sturgeon River valley. This chapel still stands to this day on Mission Hill in St. Albert and is the oldest building in Western Canada. The original settlement was named Saint Albert by Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Taché O.M.I. after Lacombe's name saint; Saint Albert of Louvain. Although Lacombe had originally intended to found the mission at Lac Ste. Anne, the soil proved infertile and he moved the settlement to what would become St. Albert. The location offered several advantages, notably its easy access to supplies of wood and water, its excellent soil, it being a regular stopping point for First Nations peoples on their travels, and its proximity to Fort Edmonton, where the priests could purchase necessary supplies and minister to Catholic workers. A few years later, a group of Grey Nuns would follow Lacombe from Lac Ste. Anne.
During the late 20th and early 21st century it was mistakenly assumed that the community had been named after St. Albert the Great. This was due to incorrect information in the 1985 history of St. Albert; The Black Robe's Vision, published by the amateur historians of the St. Albert Historical Society. This led to the City of St. Albert erroneously promoting St. Albert the Great as the community's patron saint and even erecting a statue of the wrong saint in the downtown area. This misconception was not corrected until 2008. The original chapel has since become an historic site staffed with historical interpreters and is open to the public in the summer season.
Also in St. Albert is the St. Albert Grain Elevators Park. There are two historic Grain Elevators there; one constructed in 1906 by the Alberta Grain Company, the other was built later in 1929 by The Alberta Wheat Pool company. There is also a reproduction of the original 1909 railway station housed at the Grain Elevators Park, the reproduction was contructed in 2005. On Madonna Drive stands the Little White School House which is open to the public. Arts and Heritage - St. Albert maintain this site as well as the Grain Elevators and other heritage buildings and sites under restoration in the City. In June 2009, the City Council approved a multi-staged plan for the heritage sites. The plan features the restoration of the grain elevators and the opening of both a Métis and French Canadian farm on adjacent lots by the River.
According to Statistics Canada 2001 Census, St. Albert had a population of 53,081 (subsequently it grew to 54,588 in 2003,56,310 in 2005 and 58,501 in 2008). The growth rate from 1998 to 2003 was 10.8%. A total of 19,037 private dwellings were enumerated in the city, which has a land area of 34.61 km2 (13.36 sq mi), resulting in a population density of 1,335 people per km² (3,457.6/sq mi).
In 2006, St. Albert had a population of 57,719 living in 20,938 dwellings, an 8.7% increase from 2001. The city has a land area of 35.04 km2 (13.5 sq mi) and a population density of 1,647.4 /km2 (4,266.7/sq mi). St. Albert has placed in the top 5 of "Most Wealthy Cities in Canada" based on average net income per citizen, since 2000.
About Teresa Mardon:
Teresa Mardon, is a licensed agent in the province of Alberta. She has received numerous awards, in her real estate career. She has continuously been in the TOP 5% for the Edmonton Real Estate board since 2001, she continues to stay on track for this honour. She has also received the Royal Lepage Directors Platinum Award and Royal Lepage Award of Excellence
These reports reflect the views and opinions of their authors and are not necessarily the views and opinions of Realty Times.
