A blog cannot deal with all aspects of a subject and is not intended to replace professional advice. It's purpose is to highlight information and identify areas of possible interest. Anyone wishing to discuss this blog or to make any comments or suggestions about this blog is invited to do so by either posting comments or emailing me directly.
City of Calgary, Nov. 1, 2021 – There were 2,186 sales in October, a record high for the month and over 35 per cent higher than longer-term averages. Year-to-date sales are on pace to hit new record highs and are currently 61 per cent higher than average activity recorded over the past five years and 42 per cent higher than 10-year averages.
“Moving into the fourth quarter, the pace of housing demand continues to exceed expectations in the city,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie.
“Much of the persistent strength is likely related to improving confidence in future economic prospects, as well as a sense of urgency among consumers to take advantage of the low-lending-rate environment.”
New listings have improved relative to last year, but stronger sales caused further easing in inventory levels, which remain 16 per cent lower than last year and longer-term averages for the month. Supply levels have struggled to keep pace with demand, but...
Citywide sales in August reached 2,151 units, 37 per cent higher than last year and 25 per cent higher than long-term trends. Sales have slowed from the record-setting pace seen earlier this year, but on a year-to-date basis, the eight-month total of 19,516 sales is higher than annual sales figures recorded over the past six years.
“Sales have far exceeded expectations throughout most of the pandemic, driven mostly by demand for detached homes. At the same time, supply could not keep pace and conditions shifted to favour the seller, something that has not happened in over six years,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie.
“With more buyers than sellers, prices rose, providing opportunity for many of the move-up buyers in the market. Over the past several months we have seen some adjustments in supply relative to sales, helping move us toward more balanced conditions.”
Are you as excited as we are for the coming new year? Here are the latest housing market updates for areas covered by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB)!
As noted in CREB’s latest media release, year-to-date residential sales in the city remain just above last year’s levels due to improvements in the attached sector so far this year.
However, November sales activity eased over last year’s levels, mostly due to pullbacks in the apartment sector.
Meanwhile, new listings eased enough relative to sales to cause inventories to ease and the amount of oversupply to come down slightly compared to last year’s levels.
According to CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie,
“Achieving more stable conditions will take time. Sales activity has been settling in at lower levels and is likely being influenced by the economic conditions and uncertainty weighing on our market. While the amount of supply in the market continues to ease, the persistent oversupply continues to...
I pulled the current Calgary MLS® System statistics a few moments ago.
So, how is the market?
Well, for having just officially starting summer (whereas the "summer market" for Calgary real estate started in May), the market remains quite a bit slower than "normal" — if there is still a "normal" for the Calgary market. The last 10 years have been exceptionally slow with the occasional blip up or down along the way.
Here is the breakdown as of this morning:
Total Calgary MLS® System within Calgary for residential properties for sale:
9,282 properties available in inventory
1,895 properties marked sold in the last 30 days
That makes 4.9 MONTHS of inventory - a really soft BALANCED market
DETACHED homes:
5,039 properties available in inventory
1,211 properties marked sold in the last 30 days
That makes 4.2 MONTHS of inventory - a really soft BALANCED market
Stable prices in detached sector signal balanced conditions despite increased inventory.
Calgary’s housing market in June saw a modest improvement in sales along with an increase in new listings.
However, demand gains have not kept pace with the amount of new listings coming onto the market. This caused inventory levels to increase to 6,659 units, which is 11 percent higher than last year’s levels.
Despite the recent shift in inventory this month, second quarter activity continues to demonstrate improved supply-demand balance and price stability. City wide benchmark prices totaled $441,500 in June. This is a 0.5 percent gain over last month and nearly one percent higher than last year... - Source: CREB®
Source: Used under standard YouTube licence terms.
Fueled by the detached sector, Calgary home prices trended up for the fourth consecutive month, but remain below 2014 highs.
“The economic climate is supporting detached housing market recovery,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.
“Improved demand and easing supply has created more balanced conditions and ultimately some modest price gains. While it will still take some time for prices to recover, the transition in the detached segment is an important first step to stabilization across all segments of the housing market.”... - Source: CREB®
Source: Used under standard YouTube licence terms.
City-wide prices hold steady in April as labour market conditions pick up.
It’s not a completely new look at this point, but it’s definitely newish.
With recent improvements in the labour market and a balanced detached sector, city-wide benchmark prices reached $439,600 in April, similar to the previous month, but 0.90 per cent below last year’s levels.
“More jobs means less uncertainty for people who are sitting on the fence,” said CREB® president David P. Brown. “There also tends to be fewer people who need to sell when employment improves, and that can prevent inventory gains and further price reductions in the market. It’s a good scenario for sellers who are entering a spring market that’s in better shape than anything we’ve seen in recent years.” - Source: CREB®
Source: Used under standard YouTube licence terms.
Legal and safe secondary suites in Calgary appear on The City of Calgary’s registry. These suites have been inspected, and have met the numerous safety requirements under Alberta’s building code at the time the work allowed under the building permit was completed. Only suites that meet these safety requirements appear on the registry, and have been issued a numbered sticker that corresponds to their address. A map of all such suites is available in the link below.
Most people have heard the terms “Buyers' Market”, “Sellers' Market” and "Balanced Market", but do you know what they really mean and how they're determined?
There are many factors which affect the real estate market — interest rates, employment, investment growth, legislative changes and new construction, to name just a few. All of these factors influence the real estate market in some way.
In a Buyer’s Market, there are more homes for sale than there are buyers. This could be a result of high unemployment, fear of interest rate increases or other factors which make people think twice about purchasing a home for the first time or moving up into a larger home.
The advantage buyers have in a Buyers’ Market is that they can typically take a little more time and look at more options before buying. Buyers also have more options because sellers are more anxious to sell. Overall, home prices may remain somewhat stable or go down in...
Thinking or buying or selling a home in the Calgary area? Whether this is your first time or your tenth, I am here to help. But until we have an actual agreement in writing that defines our relationship, I can't help you with a specific real estate transaction.
I completely understand the relationship between home buyers or home sellers and their real estate agents has to be based on trust, mutual goals and understanding – that's why I always keep my clients' interests first and foremost. The real estate process requires negotiation of sometimes very complex issues: once we mutually commit to working with each other, I am always committed to working in my clients' best interests.
As a licensed real estate professional helping buyer clients, I'm obligated to help you secure the very best price possible, with the most favourable terms for you, in the timing that you define. In helping seller clients, I'm obilgated to market your home to the best of my abilities...
At this time every year I receive emails and calls from consumers and past clients asking for an updated Comparative Market Analyis (CMA) to help determine if the City of Calgary's Tax Assessment is accurate or if it should be appealed. Well, the first answer is that real estate agents cannot do market evalations for anything but determining the value of a home in the current market for the purpose of buying or selling. We cannot provide CMAs for the purpose of appealing your taxes. The reason for this is that most real estate agents and brokers are not certified or licensed to provide appraisals. And, the methods we use to calculate market values are not appropriate for calculating either an appraised value nor an assessed value for tax purposes. Real estate agents and brokers consider current and future market demand for a CMA, while the other methods cannot.
While the values may or may not be similar, they are actually quite different.
It sure is a crazy real estate market here in Calgary these days.
In line with that, we're seeing some crazy things that some buyers are trying to add to a purchase contract AFTER it has been agreed to and signed. Here a few examples:
A "pre-possession walk-through" of the home at a mutually convenient time. An okay idea if it had been written in at the offer stage, however there is no benefit in doing so since the existing standard contract terms fully protect the buyer. And it's not a great idea to try to add this term after the fact. There is absolutely no upside for the seller to agree to that term. The use of this term is used specifically for when work that had to be completed had to be inspected -- of course adding a properly worded hold-back clause would be necessary at the same time or the term is a complete waste of time.
A term added regarding protection for the buyer should a home be destroyed prior to closing date. That is already covered in the standard...
Real estate analyst, Barbara Corcoran explains how to go about buying a condo for your son or daughter and why it's far better than living in the dorm. We'd be glad to chat with you about how to make this is a great real estate strategy for you. If you'd like to get started, contact us today.
Source: Used under standard YouTube license terms.
A casual and candid conversation about how the flood has affected real estate transactions in Calgary and surrounding area.
Lowell Martens, Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Real Estate (Mountain View), Camil Morley, Associate Broker/Manager of RE/MAX Real Estate (Mountain View), Lou Pesta, Q.C., Senior Associate, Walsh LLP, focused on the devastation and how it has impacted our city and the possible ramifications on pending sales that are closing in the near future.
What impact will this have on the buyers' and sellers' ability to close in these transactions?
What are the insurance claim processes that individuals and companies have to undertake whether it be a single family dwelling or condominium complex?
Source: YouTube - Used under standard YouTube license terms.
An article in today's Calgary Herald, spoke of the increases in resale market activity and a price growth in the resale housing market for August 2012 over August 2011.
Many a REALTOR® are bound to sing the same old songs of, "Prices are on the rise, and houses are selling fast! Buyers should offer closer to asking price! Sellers should price above the last few houses to sell!" I know I got an email from a designated broker - an hour ago - claiming just that.
Of course now that the Calgary Real Estate Board has an economist on staff, we're seeing a few qualifications to these "news" articles. You'll actually read in the article that we are "it still has a way to go to catch up to the peak pricing of a few years ago," (2007) and "even though there’s growth, we’re not at typical levels of activity" for the Calgary area market. This translates into - we are still in a precarious position as far as the resale housing market. A small change in the economic climate...
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Housing Market Outlook for 2012— Calgary
This Outlook report for Calgary is published semi-annually and offers forecasts and analyses of trends in the new, resale and rental housing markets. For the new home market, housing starts and price changes are examined in detail, while the resale section presents sales activity, average prices, and listings. Analysis of the rental market focuses on vacancy rates, average rents and related forecasts. An overview and forecast of key economic indicators is also detailed, along with other factors affecting the local economy and housing market.
Data is supplied by Pillar 9™ MLS® System. Pillar 9™ is the owner of the copyright in its MLS®System. Data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by Pillar 9™.
The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.
