Downside:

* Residential sales through the Edmonton and Area Multiple Listing Service® in August were lower than the number posted in July
* There were a total of 1,673 sales last month as compared to 2,277 in July (a monthly record)
* The average* SFD sold for $366,788 in August, down 1.6 percent from the previous month (July).
* Condominium prices were down in August; dropping less than one percent

Upside:

* The Good News is that the 1,673 sales total for August 2009 was an increase up from the 1,541 home sales of August 2008.
* Prices for Single Family Dwellings climbed steadily all year and peaked in July at $372,741.

“There is a balance between buyers’ and sellers’ expectations explains our president of the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Charlie Ponde.

The average days-on-market was 48 in August; up two days from July. At the end of August there were 6,445 residential properties active on the MLS® System.

Forecast:

As the Market Place and Historical data imply a downward trend i.e. the combined Average Residential Price was $318,321 in August 2009; down 3.3% from $329,207 in August 2008,

We anticipate the prices and the number of sales to begin to dip further into the fall of 2009 – see Historical YTD Graph below: