September Real Estate Sales Soar in Edmonton

George dubbya hit the panic button yesterday in attempt to sell his 700 Billion dollar bail out for wall street.  Here’s how I see it going down in George’s day. 

“Cheny.  What did the Bin Ladens say?  No huh…uh oh, what about the Iraqi National Congress?  No why those dirty…Oh what about our old pals at Haliburton?  What do you mean they’re too busy buying fire sale stocks to return your call?”

Obviously I’m poking a little fun a George dubbya.  Seriously though, Bush was quoted on his  address to the nation “We’re in the midst of a serious crisis. Our entire economy is in danger” (Actual quote).

So what does the Calgary Herald do (we're in Calgary at a conference)?  They run “Housing market feels fall chill”.  Way to go.  What a bunch of dufuses.  They’re a year late on that one and if they had a good REALTOR working for them in their real estate department they could have reported it then.   However, I don’t want to be part of the herd blowing their negative noses everywhere.

You know this is why we go away in September.  September always sucks for real estate.  The Edmonton Journal last year reported “Prices Plunge” in September because the average price slid 1%.   In December when it went up 1.4% they reported nothing. 

Sales in of single family homes in Edmonton look like they’ll be up almost 70% in Edmonton over last September.  However, don’t go crazy.  That just shows how brutal sales were last September.  People are saying it’s because of people taking advantage of the 40 year amortization and zero down before it’s not longer available.  My answer to that is “Bullshit”.  My expectation is that those sales are barely a blip in the overall scheme of things.  It’s more likely related to people seeking safer investments than the stock market and prices being more realistic.

You see if you own a home and it goes down in value you still own it and it will come back up.  Not tomorrow or the next month but eventually.  If you own stocks and they go down in value, the stock can be delisted when it becomes absolutely worthless.  You can keep everything in cash except that inflation eats cash like George Bush eats up ballots... Or you can stuff it under mattress only to have a relative steal it or have the house you’re renting  burn down. 

Surprisingly sales for September are up over August.   That’s a big deal considering September sales are usually lower than August.   Last word.  I expect sales in October to be higher than September but don’t take my word for it.