Demand for detached housing continues to rise

City of Calgary, June 1, 2017 – 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.”

For the first time since June 2015, prices in the detached sector did not decline on a year-over-year basis. Unadjusted detached benchmark prices reached $509,000 in May, one per cent higher than last month and May 2016 levels.

Against this backdrop, the number of new listings rose to 3,866 units in May, which is 17 per cent higher than last year’s total for the month. Despite this rise, year-to-date new listings have declined by one per cent over last year.

Like the detached market, the attached product has moved towards more balanced conditions. This has supported some recent directional shifts in pricing. However, monthly price declines had fallen by 4.7 per cent over peak levels and year-to-date benchmark prices remain two per cent below last year’s levels.

Apartment-style inventory levels totaled 1,780 in May, 11 per cent higher than last year’s levels and accounting for nearly 30 per cent of city wide inventory. Inventory gains were mostly under $300,000 and occurred across all districts except the North West. Apartment benchmark prices totaled $271,200 in May, 2.9 per cent below, and over 11 per cent below 2014 monthly highs. Apartment price adjustments have varied across the city, with the largest peak to declines occurring in the South East, South and City Centre district. This is likely related to the amount of new condominium construction in these areas.

The above data further illustrates how differently the market segments perform from one another. Whether you are buying or selling it is vital to know how your market segment is performing and how that affects your transaction.

For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are still several market segments with lower absorption rates to choose from.  If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Susanita de Diego

Download: Calgary & Area Real Estate Statistics – May 2017

City-wide prices hold steady as labour market improves.

City of Calgary, May 1, 2017 – Calgary’s housing market continued to show signs of stability in April. With 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.

While adjustments are still occurring in the apartment condominium sector, the detached segment of the market is improving across all price segments. “Detached product has not faced the same supply pressure as the apartment sector,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Detached supply from new construction didn’t surpass previous highs. That helped prevent steeper price adjustments in the detached sector when demand eased.”

“Improvements in the employment situation were necessary to prevent further declines in the housing sector,” said Lurie. “However, economic recovery is still expected to be slow, impacting the pace and quality of job growth. Based on current expectations this should translate into a more prolonged period of recovery in the housing market.”

Months of supply is trending down for all product types, but has remained elevated in the apartment sector, averaging 6.1 in the first quarter of the year compared to the 2.4 average in the detached sector.

For the first time this year the absorption rate for the City of Calgary Detached market segment decreased a little due to increased new listings. The City of Calgary Semi-Detached market segment continued to improve but the Row and Apartment segments absorption rates declined. The Detached market segment in both Airdrie and Cochrane declined but the Detached Okotoks market segment showed a significant improvement. This data shows how the real estate market performs differently in each market segment.

For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are still several market segments with lower absorption rates to choose from.  If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Susanita de Diego

Download: Calgary & Area Real Estate Statistics – May 2017

Housing market set for favourable lead into spring 

Detached prices stabilize as city-wide inventory trends down

City of Calgary, April 3, 2017 – After a long period of disconnect between supply and demand, Calgary’s detached housing sector is firmly in balanced territory. Sales were still 10 per cent below long-term trends in March, but above levels seen in recent years, while average inventory declined compared to last year, supporting price stability in the detached market.

Unadjusted detached benchmark prices totaled $503,900 in March, 0.4 per cent above last month and similar to levels recorded last year. Meanwhile, Apartment and attached prices continue to remain well below levels recorded last year.

“Market conditions are quite different in the apartment sector,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “The additional supply coming from the new home sector is not easily reversed and the added competition is continuing to weigh on prices in the higher density sectors of the market.”

Months of supply is trending down for all product types, but has remained elevated in the apartment sector, averaging 6.1 in the first quarter of the year compared to the 2.4 average in the detached sector.

It’s nice to see a continued improvement in the absorption rate in almost every market segment.

The city of Calgary Detached market segment still continues to out-perform all other segments with a whopping 31%! Great to see a return to balanced conditions for the City of Calgary Detached market, which will hopefully lead the way for the other reported market segments.

For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are still several market segments with lower absorption rates to choose from.  If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Susanita de Diego

Download: Calgary & Area Real Estate Statistics – April 2017

City of Calgary, March 1, 2017 – After the first two months of the year, Calgary’s detached sector continues to drive a slow transition in the housing market. February sales totaled 1,342 units, which is still 19 per cent below long-term averages, but an improvement over the past two years.

As sales kept trending upward, detached inventory levels continued to ease in February. These conditions caused months of supply to fall to 2.4 months, putting less downward pressure on pricing. Unadjusted detached benchmark prices totaled $501,900 in February, which is one per cent lower than prices recorded last year, but slightly higher than January figures.

“The transition in the housing market appears to be underway,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lure. “However, it is important to note that this change is primarily being driven by improvements in the detached market and stability in the labour market.”

Wow! An improvement in the absorption rate in almost every market segment! The city of Calgary Detached market segment is still leading the charge. The City of Calgary Semi-Detached and the Cochrane Detached market are both showing strong signs of recovery in their absorption rates.

Unfortunately although the absorption rates are better for the remaining market segments all signs point to a much slower recovery.

For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are still several market segments with low absorption rates to choose from.  If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Susanita de Diego

Download: Calgary & Area Real Estate Statistics – February 2017

City of Calgary, February 1, 2017 – For the fourth consecutive month, housing inventory levels have recorded year-over-year declines. At 4,112 total units, January’s inventory was 18 per cent below last year’s levels.

“While housing conditions continue to favour buyers, a slow transition toward more balanced conditions is helping to ease downward pressure on home prices,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Conditions have improved over last year, but people need to remember that last year’s market was one of the weakest on record. Despite the appearance of a major shift in activity, the transition in the housing market is going to be a slow process.”

January sales totaled 947 units, 24 per cent above last year, but 21 per cent below 10-year averages for the month. Sales activity improved across all product types, but only when compared to the near record lows that occurred in January 2016.

The detached segment of the market is demonstrating the most improvement. Sales activity totalled 584 units in January, a considerable improvement over the 466 sales recorded last year. Inventories have also declined pushing the months of supply to 3.2 months well below the 5.4 months recorded in January 2016.

Despite an improvement in apartment sales, new listings in the apartment sector continued to increase, causing a rise in apartment inventories. The apartment sector continues to face elevated levels of inventory in comparison to sales, weighing on prices.

The apartment benchmark price totaled $269,900 in January, five per cent lower than levels recorded last year. This change represents a total decline of 11.5 per cent since the 2014 high.

While the City of Calgary Detached segment has shown improvement that is not the case in the MD of Foothills, Airdrie, Cochrane and Okotoks.

For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are still several market segments with low absorption rates to choose from.

If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Susanita de Diego

Download: Calgary & Area Real Estate Statistics – January 2017

2016 Ends The Year With Total Sales Down 15 Percent From The 1- Year Average in December

City of Calgary, January 2, 2017 – Ending 2016 with total sales down 15% from the 10-year average in December.

MLS sales for the year, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board, numbered 17,809 transactions, a 5.5 per cent decline from the year before. The benchmark price was $440,650, down 3.8 per cent from 2015. The decline in the market came on the heels of a more dramatic drop in 2015, when sales tumbled 26 per cent from the same period in 2014.

Taken together, the two years of contraction have resulted in 2016 sales levels that are the lowest Calgary has seen since 2010, said CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. December sales are 15 per cent below the 10-year average of 1,100 transactions for the month.

“There was a dramatic fall in 2015, and the additional fall in 2016 is keeping sales at levels that are well below ourlong-term averages,” said Lurie. Lurie explains that the market was actually weaker in 2016 than CREB had predicted at the start of the year, when it forecast a 2.2 per cent year-over-year decrease in sales activity. In 2016, Calgary’s unemployment rate continued to rise — from 7.4 per cent in January to 10.3 per cent in November, according to Statistics Canada.

“Economic conditions were far weaker than what was anticipated at the beginning of the year,” Lurie said. The benchmark price for a detached home in Calgary fell 3.2 per cent in 2016 to $502,242, while the benchmark price in the apartment/condo category fell six per cent to $277,217. But Lurie said prices have been protected somewhat by the fact that supply was very tight when the recession began and new listings remain sluggish — in fact, the number of new listings in 2016 contracted by 4.7 per cent.

The City of Calgary Detached market segment continues to out-perform the other market segments with 20.08% of the available inventory selling in the month of December which is traditionally the slowest sales month of the year. This is a huge improvement compared to December 2015 when only 15.36% of the available inventory sold.

For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are several market segments with low absorption rates to choose from.  If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Hope this helps!

Susanita de Diego

Download: Calgary & Area Real Estate Statistics – December 2016

City of Calgary, December 1, 2016 – Coming off a month of stronger sales activity, November’s housing market returned to previous trends. Year-over-year monthly sales totaled 1,227 units, which is nearly three per cent lower than last year and 17 per cent below long-term averages. “November was the first full month with CMHC’s new lending rules in effect,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “As suspected, the gains in last month’s sales were temporary. Stringent conditions for borrowers are converging with the current economic climate and weighing on demand.” While supply levels eased in November, the decline in sales resulted in a slight rise in months of supply. This caused benchmark home prices to contract even further. City-wide prices totaled $436,200 in November, a 0.6 per cent decline over the previous month and nearly 4.1 per cent below last year’s levels.

Detached home prices totaled $498,300 in November, making it the first time since early 2014 that the monthly benchmark price dipped below $500,000. Despite this price change, the detached resale sector has still fared better than most of the high density sectors, as it has not faced the same city-wide inventory pressure coming from the new home market.

Year-to-date detached sales have declined by three per cent compared to last year, but have also seen some modest improvements in recent months in the high end of the market, which is likely a by-product of larger price adjustments.

While overall sales activity continues to slow in the attached segment, there was a sharp contrast in the number of transactions for row and semi-detached product. Year-to-date semi-detached sales have improved over by nearly 3 per cent over the previous year, mostly due to gains in the $300,000 to $399,999 and $600,000 to $699,999 range of the market. However, row sales have declined by over 12 per cent over the same time frame.

The market segment that has seen the largest price correction is the “row” segment, making this a great time to invest.

The best time to buy is when there is a lot of inventory from which to choose. For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are several market segments with low absorption rates to choose from. If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Hope this helps!

Susanita de Diego

Download: Calgary Real Estate Stats November 2016

City of Calgary, November 1, 2016 – For the first time in two years, sales activity in October resembled normal levels. City-wide sales totaled 1,644 units, which is an increase of nearly 16 per cent over last year.

“The shift in sales activity this month is likely related to the new mortgage rule changes, inventory gains in the lower price ranges and further price adjustments,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “The combination of all these factors may have encouraged some purchases to take advantage of the market conditions, particularly in the lower price ranges. However, with several factors at play, the monthly shift in demand may be temporary and will need to be monitored over the next several months.”

Sales activity rose across all product types in comparison to last year, but the largest gain in sales occurred in the detached sector at 18 per cent. There was a noticeable shift in sales activity by price range in October. In the detached market, homes priced between $300,000 and $400,000 saw the largest improvement in sales, while attached and apartment sales growth was mainly occurring in the lower price ranges.

“This year has been a challenge for many sellers,” said CREB® president Cliff Stevenson. “So when we have a rise in sales, it means more buyers got into the market and more sellers got out, which is a positive for consumers on both sides of the transaction.”

Despite the monthly rise, year-to-date sales activity in all sectors remained lower than last year’s levels and well below longer term trends. In fact, year-to-date sales activity has totaled 15,642 units, which is 6.3 per cent below last year’s levels.

While increased activity in the lower price ranges had a greater impact on the average and median price, benchmark prices once again edged down in October. The city-wide unadjusted benchmark price totaled $438,900, or 0.34 per cent below last month and four per cent below last year’s levels.

What I find most interesting about the latest data is that we usually see the market begin to soften at this time of year. Again, each market segment has performed differently but it seems that the number of sales compared to the number of available homes in the detached segment has settled into a recovery pattern.

The best time to buy is when there is a lot of inventory from which to choose. For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are several market segments with low absorption rates to choose from.  If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs, please contact us. We would love to help!

Hope this helps!

Susanita de Diego

Download: Calgary Real Estate Stats October 2016

City of Calgary, October 1, 2016 – The segment of Calgary’s housing market with the greatest influence on the overall market is showing signs of pricing stability. The detached benchmark price totaled $503,400 in September, which is 3.3 per cent below last year, but the second consecutive month at this price level. While overall economic conditions remain soft, for now the detached sector is demonstrating some steadiness in terms of pricing. “The decline in demand has caused many to anticipate steeper price declines for detached homes,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “That hasn’t happened in large part because detached supply levels haven’t climbed as sharply as many expected. There was a limited amount of supply in the overall market when this cycle began, and while levels did rise and remain somewhat elevated, they were well below previous highs.” The level of detached new listings also eased compared to last year, helping push down year-over-year inventory levels for the second consecutive month.

“Consumers are really starting to come to terms with the current environment,” said CREB® president Cliff Stevenson. “Most sellers have adjusted their expectations at the same time that many buyers are realizing the prices are reacting very differently in different segments of the market. We’re just not seeing the price declines that buyers have been expecting in all segments of the market.”

It is really interesting to see how different market segments are reacting to the downturn. The absorption rates for detached homes in the bedroom communities of Airdrie, Cochrane and Okotoks are very different with Airdrie continuing to out-perform Cochrane and Okotoks and even the City of Calgary!

Despite the Detached Benchmark Price holding at $503,400 for two months it is important to note that the absorption rate for Detached homes in Calgary has declined every month since June. The best time to buy is when there is a lot of inventory from which to choose. For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are several market segments with low absorption rates to choose from.

If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Hope this helps!

Susanita de Diego

Download Calgary and Area Real Estate Statistics – September 2016

City of Calgary, September 2, 2016 – Overall sales activity was down again in August, totaling 1,567. However, this figure does not reflect the big differences in activity between the detached sector, versus the high density apartment and attached segments of the market. “While overall sales have eased for detached homes, so too has the amount of new listings on the market preventing inventories from reaching previous highs and limiting the downward pressure on pricing,’ said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “This is not the case in both the attached and apartment sectors which have recorded inventory levels near August highs.”

The detached benchmark price totaled $503,200 in August, 3.3 per cent below last year, but similar to levels recorded last month. Meanwhile, condominium apartment prices continue to decline totaling $274,900 in August, 7 per cent below last year and are at levels comparable to figures reported at the end of 2013.

Price declines were higher in the apartment sectors, due to the more pronounced imbalance between supply and demand. On average, apartment inventories rose to levels well above historical norms. At the same time, sales are at their weakest level since 2003 causing months of supply to average over 6 months so far this year.

It is really interesting to see how different market segments are reacting to the downturn. The absorption rates for detached homes in the bedroom communities of Airdrie, Cochrane and Okotoks are very different with Airdrie continuing to out-perform Cochrane and Okotoks and even the City of Calgary!

The best time to buy is when there is a lot of inventory from which to choose. For those who are considering taking advantage of the low interest rates to invest in real estate there are several market segments with low absorption rates to choose from.  If you are interested in an investment strategy specific to your needs please contact us. We would love to help!

Hope this helps!

Susanita de Diego

Download Calgary and Area Real Estate Statistics – August 2016