Calgary housing market prices hold, but sales fall.
City of Calgary, March 1, 2018- The new year opened predictably, with monthly figures close to the Januarys of the past three years.
Residential home sales declined in February, but a decline in new listings helped keep prices steady this month.
Sales totaled 1,094 units in February; 18 per cent below last year’s activity. Easing sales occurred across all property types this month, which outpaced the sales growth that occurred in January. After the first two months of the year, sales activity remains well below longer term averages.
“Housing market conditions are still adjusting to rising lending rates and changes in lending requirements. This process is expected to be bumpy, with demand adjustments leading the changes,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “However, it is important to remember that it is early in the process and the impact on prices will ultimately be dependent on the supply response.”
A decline in new listings was not enough to prevent further gains in inventory levels, but it offset some of the impact of slower sales activity. In the detached sector, activity in the $600,000 – $999,999 range recorded the largest gains in supply relative to sales. “This is a market where the fundamentals of a sound pricing strategy need to be understood by sellers. At the same time, savvy buyers typically have a clear understanding of how much of a mortgage they can get,” said CREB® president Tom Westcott.
“With all the recent changes, potential purchasers should be obtaining pre-approvals so they understand exactly what they can afford prior to making an offer on a home. It also provides them flexibility in this market.”
Year-to-date sales activity remained below long-term norms for all districts within the city, but year-over-year price adjustments ranged from over six per cent declines to four per cent gains, depending on district and property type.
After the first two months of the year, detached sales totaled 1,240 units. This is 12 per cent below last year and 22 per cent below long-term averages. When considering supply levels in the market, conditions have remained relatively unchanged, as months of supply continues to sit just below four months. Detached benchmark prices this year have averaged $501,100, similar to levels recorded last year.
The apartment condominium market continues to remain oversupplied, with months of supply averaging nearly eight months so far this year, which is higher than the average of seven months recorded over the same time last year. Elevated supply levels are preventing any price recovery, as the benchmark price has averaged $256,300 this year, three per cent below last year.
Semi-detached and row product continue to demonstrate different levels of oversupply, impacting price recovery. Semi-detached prices have averaged $417,300 so far this year, over one per cent higher than levels recorded last year. Meanwhile, row prices continue to ease and are averaging $296,050 over the same time frame.
For anyone who is interested in buying or selling during this interesting market period we would love to help!
Click below to view the how the following sectors performed for February 2018:
Download: Calgary Real Estate Statistics – February 2018
