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Edmonton’s mortgage market recently recorded a positive development as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. revealed that the three-year surge in the city’s delinquent mortgages has come to a halt.
Thanks to the rebound in the economy and increase in employment, delinquencies in Calgary, Edmonton and Saskatoon are now stabilizing. These factors also countered the recession in Alberta and Saskatchewan, which triggered higher delinquencies.
The Edmonton Journal reported that the percentage of mortgages in delinquency (ones that are written off or have scheduled payments more than 90 days late) increased to 0.54 at the end of 2017 from 0.32 in the last quarter of 2014, but slightly dropped to 0.53 in the first three months of this year.
The highest delinquency rate logged in Edmonton was for loans worth more than $400,000
However, average home values in Edmonton fell 3.6% in July compared to the same period in 2017, driven by a 6.2% decrease in condominium prices.
Average home in the city was priced at $370,046 last month. According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton, single-family houses sat at $436,825, while condos were worth $246,115.
The drop in prices over the year was blamed on slowdown in sales, which were down almost 3% for all types of homes in the period.
For reference, home listings during the time surged 12.6% to 10,094 units.
Association Chairman Darcy Torhjelm said though that overall market is cooling since summer selling season is set to end.
“Average prices are decreasing and that may continue in the rest of the year due to the high inventory levels. It is important for sellers to be prepared to negotiate more and expect to be a bit more flexible with their property prices,” he noted.
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