Thursday, September 06, 2007

What Does Plummet Mean?



Decrease rapidly in a value.

Looking over my Google alerts the last few days Edmonton's prices have fallen anywhere from $115 to $10,000 to $14,000. Which goes to show that if you depend on day-to-day news reports you may find yourself on "hysteria lane".


I understand that Edmonton's market is bigger and stronger than a 6 month buyer's market because the economics are strong and the city has international appeal. So much so that the city was awarded Best Place For Business Investment In The West These awards aren't given to cities on the verge of a bust cycle.

"With Alberta's economy still red hot, oil prices remaining high, and $150 billion worth of oilsands projects, upgraders and related work in the pipeline, no one is forecasting anything like an '80s-style housing crash, of course.In fact, quite the opposite."Read More

Carolyn Pratt president of Edmonton Real Estate Board said "buyers have more choice" due to the increase in listing on the MLS.ca also that "it all has to do with inventory, and it will take time to get that inventory down."

If anything, this is a time to buy were you can have time to negotiate your "price or terms" as you like - nothing like the frenzy we saw 6 months ago.

One investor bonus is that in trying to attract buyers some sellers are making their properties assumable. The great thing about assumable mortgages is that they often require less than the 20~25% the bank asks for new mortgages; which means you can buy more "house" for less bucks.

Even with this "slashing" an "plummeting" of prices, property values in Edmonton have risen 27% this year already. Not quite my definition of plummet.

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