Not a lot of change this month -- Still in a weak Sellers' Market overall

The housing market continues to favour sellers as we move into the summer months and have firmly left the spring market behind us. If you’re thinking of selling, this is a great time to do so! Not only will your home likely be listed on the market for a shorter period of time, but a few sellers are currently receiving multiple offers on their home. This is due to the unusually high demand for housing this year along with what has been a somewhat limited supply of homes available on the market.

However, even in a seller’s market, there are some things you can do to help improve your chances of selling your home and getting the best offer! Here are some tips for selling your home in a seller’s market:

• List Your Home on a Tuesday: Depending on the location, Tuesday is typically the very best day of the week to put your home up for sale. Most individuals have weekends free or can take a few hours off work during the week should they be interested in a home for sale! They browse...

City of Calgary, Oct. 1, 2021 – Residential sales totalled 2,162 in September, nearing the record high for the month recorded in 2005. Further gains in new listings likely supported some of the sales growth that occurred this month.

“While sales activity in the fall tends to be slower than in the spring months, the continued strong sales are likely being driven by consumers who were unable to transact earlier in the year when supply levels had not yet adjusted to demand,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “The market continues to favour the seller, but conditions are not as tight as they were earlier this year.”

Inventory levels in September eased to 5,607 units, keeping the months of supply below three months. However, there is significant variation depending on property type and the tightest conditions continue to be in the detached market, with under two months of supply. At the same time, the apartment condominium sector is not facing...

August 2021: Market continues shift toward more balanced conditions after torrid start to the year

Citywide sales in August reached 2,151 units, 37% higher than last year and 25% 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.

Read the full report on the CREB website.

The following data is a comparison between August 2021 and August 2020 numbers, and is current as of September 2021.

Click here to view the full City of Calgary monthly stats package.

Click here to view the full Calgary region...

City of Calgary, Sept. 1, 2021 –

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.”

The months of supply in August was nearly...

July 2021: Price growth slows as supply to demand balance improves.

July sales totaled 2,319 units, which is well above long-term averages and the best July on record. The pace of sales growth has eased over the past few months, but so too has the pace of new listings growth. This has helped prevent any further monthly gains in inventory levels, and while overall supply remains slightly higher than last July, it’s mostly due to gains in apartment and row product.

With 6,678 units in inventory in July, the months of supply rose to just under three months. These gains are leading to far more balance between sellers and buyers. However, there is a significant variation between product type, as the months of supply ranged from two months in the detached sector to nearly six months in the apartment condominium sector.

Read the full report on the CREB website.

The following data is a comparison between July 2021 and July 2020 numbers, and is current as of August 2021.

Click here to view...

Supply trends upwards but market still favours the seller while the market slows ever so slightly.

City of Calgary, July 2, 2021 –

Calgary’s housing market is showing few signs of letting up, as sales reached 2,915 units in June – a record high for the month. 

“It is taking time for supply to catch up with the demand in the market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. 

“Through the early spring market, many buyers did not have a lot of choice, but the recent improvements in supply are providing more options for those purchasers and supporting the strong sales we continue to see in June. At the same time, gains in inventory are taking some pressure off the market as it starts to trend towards more balanced conditions.”

New listings in June totalled 4,135, the second-highest level ever recorded for the month. This caused inventories to trend up to 6,918 units. While this is higher than longer-term averages, it was balanced by...

January 2021: sales activity signals strong start to the year

January sales were the highest they have been for the month since 2014, as housing market momentum from the end of 2020 carried over into the start of 2021.

Sales activity improved across all product types and across all price ranges.

“Discount lending rates are exceptionally low, which is likely attracting all types of buyers back into the market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“New listings in the market were also slightly higher than what was available over the past two months, which is providing more options to purchasers.”

Read the full report on the CREB Now website.

The following data is a comparison between January 2021 and January 2020 numbers, and is current as of February 2021.

Click here to view the full City of Calgary monthly stats package.

Click here to view the full Calgary region monthly stats package.

Housing market conditions continue to follow similar trends to last year, with gains in sales.

At the same time, there have been further reductions in new listings, inventory and more declines in prices.

January sales activity was 863 units, nearly eight per cent higher than last year’s levels. While sales remained well below January activity recorded before 2014, they remain consistent with activity recorded over the past five years.

“A persistent slowdown in the energy sector has resulted in a reset in many aspects of our economy. This includes the housing market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“We continue to see the slow adjustment to more balanced conditions, but it will take time before that starts to translate into price stability.”

Citywide unadjusted benchmark prices were $417,100 in January. This is slightly lower than the previous month and nearly one per cent lower than last year’s levels.

Benchmark prices eased, but there...

Oversupply is slowing, but a buyers’ market remains

City of Calgary, July 2, 2019 – New listings coming onto the market continued to decline in June, which is helping to reduce the oversupply of homes in Calgary.

Year-over-year, new listings saw a decrease of nearly 19 per cent. Sales activity slowed this month compared to last year by six per cent, but the pullback in new listings was enough to cause inventories to fall by 13 per cent compared to last year’s elevated levels.

“So far, the housing market has generally behaved as expected this year. Sales activity remains just below last year’s levels, prices have eased and supply is starting to adjust to the lower level of sales,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“However, it is mostly product priced under $500,000 that is trending towards more balanced conditions.”

While the market still favours the buyer – with 4.3 months of supply – the amount of oversupply has...

Things are looking better in June! Here are the latest housing market updates for areas covered by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB)!

In CREB’s latest market report, it appears that sales activity has improved for second consecutive month.

Sales growth in May was met with a decline in new listings. This combination eased the pressure on inventory levels, which finished the month at 7,467 units, a decline of 12% compared to last year.

Improving sales relative to inventory levels caused the months of supply to ease to just under four months. While still oversupplied, this is an improvement from the five months of supply recorded last May.

According to CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie,

“While sales activity remains low based on historical activity for May, the easing prices have brought some people back to market, while also preventing some others from listing their homes. This has started to push the market towards more balanced conditions. If this trend continues,...

Curious to know how the markets fared at the start of the year? Well here are the latest housing market updates for areas covered by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB)!

As found in our most recent media release, 2019 kicked off with slow sales, and the market remains at a sluggish pace.

The number of new listings entering the market remained comparable to last year, but those levels far surpassed sales activity. This is resulted in further gains in inventory levels. Elevated inventories relative to sales caused months of supply to rise to nearly seven months.

According to CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie,

“The slow start to the year does not come as a surprise, as concerns about job losses and the state of the energy sector weigh on consumers. We anticipate that the slow market conditions will persist throughout much of the first quarter.”

2019 Outlook

It should also be noted that CREB has released their 2019 Real Estate Forecast. According to the forecast summary, the...

Hello there, 2019! Here are the latest housing market updates for areas covered by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB)!

In their latest media release, CREB has highlighted that job market weakness and lending restrictions was a common thread in 2018’s housing market.

As of December 2018, an oversupply continues in Calgary’s housing market. Prices for the month were lower compared to both the previous month, as well as the previous year.

According to CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie,

“Persistent weakness in the job market and changes in the lending market impacted sales activity in the resale market this year. This contributed to elevated supply in the resale market, resulting in price declines.”

Regarding sales, a total of 794 units were recorded for the month, which shows a decline of 21% compared to December 2017. Overall year-to-date sales in the city totaled 16,144 units, which is 14% lower than the total in 2017, and is also almost 20% below long-term averages....

We’ve made it to December, and here are the latest housing market updates for areas covered by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB)!

In their most recent market update and official press release, it appears that challenging economic conditions continue to impact the resale market within CREB.

Sales activity has shown a 14% decline for the year so far, and is nearly 20% below long-term averages.

According to CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie,

“Recent challenges in the energy sector have weighed on consumer confidence over the past month. Combined with weakness in the employment market and further gains in lending rates, this is impacting ownership demand. Higher inventories and weaker sales are resulting in buyer’s market conditions and price declines.”

CREB President Tom Westcott also stresses the importance of being aware of the latest market trends, as he adds,

“In any market, affordable product is always desirable. For buyers, it may mean being able...

As a mid-fall update — with just one week left in the month of November! I pulled the current Calgary MLS® System statistics a few moments ago.

It's VERY CLEAR — the annual decrease in listings for the December holiday season has already begun. If you were waiting for the best selection of homes to choose from, don't wait any longer!

So, how is the market?

Here is the breakdown as of this morning:

Total Calgary MLS® System within Calgary for residential properties for sale:

• 7,098 properties available in inventory
• 1,153 properties marked sold in the last 30 days
• That makes 6.2 MONTHS of inventory — a strong BUYERS' market

DETACHED homes:

• 3,838 properties available in inventory
• 663 properties marked sold in the last 30 days
• That makes 5.79 MONTHS of inventory — a BUYERS' market

ATTACHED homes (townhouses and 1/2 duplexes):

• 1,836 properties available in inventory
• 264 properties marked sold in the last 30 days
• That makes 6.95 MONTHS of inventory...

I pulled the current Calgary MLS® System statistics a few moments ago. (Yes, today instead of waiting until tomorrow. Why? Quite a number of listings will expire tonight with it being the end of the month, while many agents typically wait until Monday before entering their new listings into the MLS®.)

So, how is the market? Well, for having ended the winter market and coming into the spring market tomorrow, it is quite a bit slower than "normal" — if there is still a "normal" for the Calgary market. The last 10 years have been exceptionally sold with the occasional blip up or down along the way.

Here is the breakdown as of 13:00 today:

Total Calgary MLS® System within Calgary for residential properties for sale:

• 5,510 properties available in inventory
• 1,194 properties marked sold in the last 30 days
• That makes 4.6 MONTHS of inventory - a really soft BALANCED market

DETACHED homes:

• 2,626 properties available in inventory
• 714 properties marked...

The RE/MAX 2018 Housing Market Outlook for Calgary has been released today.

If you have questions, or want help deciding if now is the time to begin the home ownership journey in Calgary or Airdrie - contact me and we'll answer your questions.