My Calgary Realtor® Blog

One of our goals is to keep our clients informed with local reports, to keep you in the loop about market conditions and trends. If you’d ever like to discuss one of these articles, feel free to call us on (403) 615-8611.

Calgary Realtor® Blog - Monday September 28, 2009  Fort McMurray Beats Calgary, Edmonton For Priciest Housing Market

A survey report recently released by Coldwell-Banker has declared that Fort McMurray is the priciest residential real estate sector in Alberta, CA.

This report, "The 2009 Coldwell Banker Home Price Comparison Index," selects the most expensive and most attainable real estate options in 345 markets throughout North America. This report studied the average value of homes which fell under the following criteria:

* 2200 sq. ft
* single family
* four bedrooms
* 2-1/2 bathrooms.

The average price of a home fitting these specifications in Fort McMurray was $638,000. This far surpassed the averages in Calgary and Edmonton, which were $525,525 and $432,250 respectively. These areas are generally thought of as more expensive.

Despite this spike in the prices, these types of homes are selling relatively well, because they are sought after by upper-middle class workers and people who are going through changes in their lives. In fact these buyers have caused a surge in the real estate market in Canada, thus helping to improve the economy in Canada.

Other markets surveyed were:

* Vancouver, $1.26 million, 10th highest in North America
* Toronto, $824k
* La Jolla, CA, 1st highest at $2.13 million

The survey also found that Singapore has the highest priced market outside of North America, valued at $1.9 million.

Calgary Realtor® Blog - Thursday September 17, 2009  Market Update

We have been in a balanced market since June, and since then we have had some price increases. The builders are raising their prices again, and the average time on the market for a house in Calgary is 42 days down from the 62 days on the market we experienced back in January. Most industry experts feel that we have seen the bottom and are on our way up again, although I do not believe we are going to see the gains that we have seen in the past. I think the effects of the slowdown in Calgary’s job market are yet to take their toll on the Real Estate sector.

The good news is if you are considering upgrading the timing could not be better, as the spread between starter homes and move up homes is smaller then it has been in the last few years. The bad news is Apartment style condos have been over built in the city, and are taking a long time to sell.

Stay Up To Date: Know what is happening in your neighborhood! Every month we will send you a list of homes, similar to yours, that have sold in your area. This service will help keep you up to date on the value of your biggest investment. Send me an email with some basic information on your home (Area, square footage, garage ect) and we will get started right away.

Sunday, September 6, 2009 - Modest Recovery for Canada Housing In an unexpected change of pace in Toronto’s housing market, sales of new homes slid back 17.8% as compared to June. Analysts watching the housing market believe that several factors have contributed to these shifting numbers. Throughout Canada, unfavorable weather conditions have affected the commencement and progress of new housing projects. In addition, labor woes in Toronto introduced glitches in the completion of many condominium complexes in the city. The most unusual factor, however, is that home-buyers seem to be gravitating towards older properties.

The situation, however, is not all bleak for new homes. The upshot of this sudden demand for resale homes (and their limited supply) is that many buyers have been propelled towards the new home market. Yet, the high number of unsold new homes predicts a modest outlook for the construction and sales of new homes.

Industry optimists put July’s overall sale numbers at encouraging levels compared to April. Also, a 40 percent increase in building permits issued since the winter as well as a similar increase in home sales since then, offer positive indicators for the market. Yet pre-recession figures are improbable, they caution.

Calgary Realtor® Blog - Tuesday, August 18, 2009 - July Calgary home sales declining, but still better than 2008

Over the last four weeks, Calgary home sales have dropped significantly. Despite this drop, sales last month were still higher than sales levels from one year ago, says the Calgary Real Estate Board.

The number of houses sold in July 2009 was 1,585, which is a fourteen percent decrease from June sales. Nevertheless, it is still a twenty-one percent increase from exactly one year ago. In addition, this July, only 702 condos sold. However, even though this number is five percent lower than the sales totals from June 2009, it is thirty-one percent higher than July 2008.

The housing market is still improving despite the drop, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board president, Bonnie Wegerich. She stated that these numbers are good sales amounts for a month where we generally see a summer decline.

Home prices have continued to be constant throughout the past few weeks. The average price among single family homes sold in July was $436,782, which is down two percent from June and approximately four percent lower than July of last year. Also in the past month, condos sold for a median price of $285,032, which shows almost no difference from the median prices of June.

Calgary Realtor® Blog - Wednesday, July 29, 2009 - Owner Defiant in Calgary Brewery Study

Members of the local community are becoming worried after the owner of the property the Calgary Brewery sits on failed to show up for a meeting that was arranged to spark community awareness of his intentions. Now the Alberta government has brought his plans to a halt with a request that a historical impact study be done on the buildings. If the findings of the study conclude that the buildings are too important to be town down, Mathison’s plans for the property will come to an end.

Mathison has been causing a delay of his own by refusing to respond to the letter requesting the study sent by the Alberta Cultural ministry. Also causing tension in the matter is the fact that the government of Alberta is insisting that Mathison pay for the study out of his own pocket, adding insult to injury. Now the city is saying that he cannot touch the buildings until the study has been completed, putting the entire situation into the middle of a large conundrum.

Mathison wishes to demolish several of the structures on the property, including the original 1892 brew house and boiler room, the 1903 storage cellars and the 1905 brew house. None of the buildings are visible to the public from the outside of the property and Mathison claims the buildings pose a liability to him, as they are falling apart and no longer structurally sufficient.

An alderman was given a private tour of the building by Mr. Mathison and claims that while the buildings are in rough shape, they could be salvaged and used in a different manner. A leading historian from Calgary claims that the buildings are the perfect spot for historical rejuvenation, and that the spot provided a large amount of the towns’ employment in its early days. The building has not produced beer since 1994, when it was sold by beer producer Molson.

While Mathison seems defiant, he will legally be left with no other choice other than to let the study take place or to leave the structures unaltered. In the end the decision will be left up to the group that executes the study.

Calgary Realtor® Blog - Wednesday, July 15, 2009 - Calgary Housing Market is Looking Up

The real estate market in Calgary is heating up, a good sign for economic recovery. For the sixth month in a row, the sales of single-family homes and condominiums racked up gains of 10 percent or more over last year, even as the recent buyer’s market in Calgary lost some of its momentum. The Calgary real estate board reports that sales of single-family homes in Calgary metro were up 28% from June 2008, with total domestic properties sold numbering 1,837. Sales in May were 1,583, so June’s figures were up 16 percent from just the month before.

Bonnie Wegerich, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board, has commented, “Pricing remains relatively affordable.”
The change in status in the Calgary real estate market comes from a combination of factors: Calgary is experiencing a greater demand for homes, and at the same time, a concurrent scarcity of listings. Supply and demand are poised in balance, for the time being.

The Calgary Real Estate Board June 2009 report, shows that turnover time for single-family homes and condominiums selling in Calgary metro is a little more than two months. In contrast, January’s report saw a glut of 11 months inventory time.

Calgary real estate market analyst Richard Cho is optimistic about the turnaround, and sees the June sales increase as positive. In his position with the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, he sees positive signs of the movement of the market toward more balanced conditions.” According to Cho, price declines over this period last year as well as low mortgage rates will keep moving the market toward a better balance and help both buyers and sellers.

Single-family prices are down 6% from last year, but are up from last month; single-family listings are down from last year (19% less) and remain about the same as last month.

Prices for Calgary condominium are rising right now, even though they are still almost ten per cent less than last year. At the same time, new listings for condos were down, both from the previous month and from June of last year. Actual sales of condos in the Calgary metro area were 33 percent higher than at this time last year.

The Calgary real estate board finds the growth in the housing market encouraging. “But,” as Bonnie Wegerich said, “there are still some economic fundamentals needed before we will see a full recovery in the housing market.”

Calgary Realtor® Blog - Sunday, June 28, 2009 - Local Sales Start Comeback - Market Entering Recovery Mode

The comeback in Canadian home sales is being championed by a large level of transactions in the more pricier neighbourhoods throughout the country, which is helping to lift the national price average, according to a recent report by CREA.

According to the report, realtor® sales in the 25 most active boards totaled almost 50000 units during the last month, which was lower that 1% of the activity in May 2008.  It is also being said that the declining market has been leveling off since the beginning of the year.  Don’t blink comes to mind, because if you did you may have missed the recovery.  The pace of this recovery has been somewhat staggering, largely due to low mortgage rates, the decrease in property values, and the pent-up demand from people waiting out the market from last year. The great leveler could be the rising unemployment rate, which may stop us from seeing another property boom in 2010, as foreclosures are continuing to rise as well. 

In Calgary, property sales went up by 11.3% last month, with the average property value dropping by 8.7% from 2008.  New listings were down quite substantially, down a total of 32.2%.  A view of the province as a whole shows that sales were up from this time last year, up 4.6% to be exact.  Alberta wide, the average property value of a realtors® listing was down 5.8%, with new listings falling 25.5% as well.  This is quite positive all told, as this is the first steady level of increase in quite some time.  This is giving Calgary Realtors® hope that the market is close to it’s bottom.

Canada wide, the average property price increase by 0.4% last month, leveling out at an average of $319,757.  This represented a record in value, which is pretty amazing considering the condition the market was in late last year.  Over the past 4 months, the market has recovered at a staggering pace, light years from where it was at the start of 2009.

Calgary Realtor® Blog - Wednesday, June 17, 2009 - Looks Like The Unsettled Local Market Is Turning Around

Most indications are that the Calgary real estate market has experienced it’s bottom, according to most realtors® and associations.  The year started with decreases in sales, but the market has rebounded the months since.  Out on the west coast, as an example, Vancouver activity was down almost sixty percent at the beginning of the year whereas it has improved to an increase of 17 percent last month compared to 2008

Canada-wide activity has been going up since February.  During the spring, sales have gone up approximately 11 percent. The awful portion of the economin slump happened at the end of last year and crept it’s way into the start of 2009.  It was looking pretty bad at that stage, which made consumers very prudent.  But with the rates on mortgages at lows not seen for many years and the price of properties also declining has led to consumers feeling more confident.

So is the worst over?  I think so, but it’s a little too soon to talk about terms of another boom in property prices. With more upbeat reports expected to come next month, we can expect the volume of sales to increase.  This is a little more than seasonal norm, but with average home prices still lower than 400 thousand dollars and the interest as low as they are, we can expect the sales volume to increase once again.

The activity of the last few months is somewhat due to demand that has been bottled up since late 2008, and most Calgary Realtors® can see that this may even off over the course of the summer months.  One thing to remember is unemployment figures have been steadily increasing throughout the year, and Calgary is not immune to this.

In Edmonton and Vancouver some portions of the market are experiencing multiple bidding situations, and some realtors® are saying they have been busier this year than ever.  This type of market hasn’t hit Calgary quite yet, but the summer months are still young.

Want more local information?  Why not visit our Airdrie Homes and Property Report.

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