Upward-sloping supply curve

Listings have been running higher because the price sellers think they can get is inflated. In addition to low interest rates the market improved in 2009 because sellers understood that they needed fairly substantial discounts off peak price and buyers could find better value (relatively).

It no surprise that listings have increased as asking prices have. Consider a benchmark house I have previously covered. Approximately 1700 sqft 2-story house with double attached garage and bonus room in a newer south east Edmonton community of Ellerslie. In October 2009 I did a comparison of one that was priced at $374,900. I noted that the price to rent ratio was high at 220, but with the financing available at the time the buy vs. rent was closer.



Now the least expensive house that matches the same criteria is this $410,900 1701sqft two story. In this environment people are coming out of the woodwork to sell.



There are other similar houses asking more. Asking prices in general will need to fall to move the inventory that is accumulating.

Edmonton Comfree Sales

Comfree recorded 146 sales for the month of October in Edmonton. There is currently 21 months of inventory on Comfree with 3108 active listings at current sales rate.

21 months.

Compared with September's total of 201 sales are down 27%.
Compared with last October's total of 354 sales are down nearly 60%.

Comfree moved less than half the homes as they did the same month last year.

October Report

With current inventory at 3108 Comfree has over a BILLION dollars of inventory and 52 million dollars of sales in October.

Note that they do not include the mystery stats "sold to listing" or "sales success".