Bedrock Homes giving away $50,000 at Eskimos game
Average price of resale homes in city, region stabilizes at $370K in September
Edmonton Eskimos fans could celebrate more than just a victory over the visiting Calgary Stampeders this weekend, as Bedrock Homes will give away $50,000 in cash during the Eskimos game at Commonwealth Stadium Saturday.
During the past few months, people have entered the Bedrock Homes Cash-door Contest at Bedrock show homes, Edmonton Eskimos home games, and online. From those entries, nine people have been randomly selected to participate in the grand finale at the Eskimos’ final regular season home game against the Stampeders. The 10th and final qualifier will be selected that night from the football crowd.
The 10 qualifiers and guests will enjoy dinner and watch the Eskimos game from a VIP luxury suite at Commonwealth Stadium before they are brought down to Brick Field to “open their doors” and reveal the grand prize winner of $50,000.
“We wanted to give someone the chance to open a door to something that could change their life,” said Cam Ferchoff, vice president of Bedrock Homes. “Whether that’s a down payment on one of our homes, buying a new car, paying off student loans or taking the trip of a lifetime, it’s about creating an opportunity that might not otherwise be there.”
The Bedrock Homes Cash-door Contest accepted entries until Oct. 23. Visit www.cashdoor.ca for more information, including full contest rules and regulations.
EDMONTON-AREA AVERAGE HOME PRICES HELD STEADY IN SEPTEMBER
The Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) residential average sale price stabilized in September after a late-summer slide.
According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton, the average sale price across all residential categories in September 2017 was $370,252, down 0.85 per cent from August 2017 and 1.06 per cent from September 2016.
“Once the distractions of summer are over, the market usually picks up with buyers looking to move in to a new home before the snow flies,” said James Mabey, chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
“However, it is possible we didn’t see a strong performance for unit sales this September because the Bank of Canada raised interest rates twice this summer, putting some downward pressure on buyer purchase intentions. Despite this, consistent average sale prices last month throughout the Edmonton area (and across most property types) suggest the local market enjoys continued health.”
Single-family detached sales had an average price was $430,644, which represented a month-over-month decrease of 1.75 per cent but a year-over-year increase of 0.17 per cent.
The average duplex/townhouse sale price fell by 3.52 per cent month-over-month and 5.55 per cent year-over-year.
The average condo sale price was $252,313, up 2.91 per cent from August 2017 but down 0.31 per cent year-over-year.
EDMONTON HOUSING STARTS JUMP 32 PER CENT YEAR-OVER-YEAR
According to statistics from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), Edmonton housing starts increased by 32 per cent in September 2017 compared to September 2016 as growth in multi-family construction outpaced the decline in singledetached units.
Multi-family starts increased because of strong performance in the apartment segment despite elevated inventory levels.
Year-to-date housing starts in the Edmonton area were also up by 25 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Edmonton’s figures bucked the national trend, as the CMHC reported that Canadian housing starts totalled 214,821 units in September 2017, compared to 220,573 units in August 2017. The trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.
“Housing starts are trending lower in September after increasing for eight consecutive months,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Nevertheless, new home construction remains very strong, as the seasonally adjusted number of starts was above 200,000 units for four straight months.”
HABITAT’S RESTORE OUTLETS HOSTING INFORMATION SESSION FOR VOLUNTEERS
Habitat for Humanity ReStores are retail outlets that sell new and gently used building materials and home improvement items to fund the organization’s administration costs. There are four ReStore locations across Edmonton, including the recently opened ReStore South at 4004 – 99 Street, but they cannot operate without volunteer assistance.
Habitat for Humanity will host a volunteer information session at ReStore West — located at 16811 106 Avenue — on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 11 a.m. to noon. The session will include information about Habitat for Humanity’s efforts, ReStore’s role in the organization, new and current volunteer opportunities, and work experience requirements.
Please RSVP if you plan to attend the information session by registering online at www.hfh.org/volunteer or contacting Ryan at 780451-3416 (ext. 234) or rwiden@hfh.org.