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Calgary Real Estate News

How to choose the right Agent Part 3 – Things you need know before you list your home

Over the last two days we have talked about your Realtors networks and Passive vs. Active Marketing but there are a few things that you should know about listing your home that will set you up for success when you are ready to put your house on the market!

  1. Neat and Tidy

We know that you love your home, and you might have kids and kids can be messy, or maybe you have pets and sometimes pets smell. Realtors have homes, with all of these same things, I promise we don’t all live in pristine real estate marvels, in fact if you walk into my house I can promise you will be tripped by a hockey stick or a dog toy, BUT I cannot emphasize this enough, your home needs to be spotless for photos and for showings. it sucks, we all know this, it is hard to keep your home in show home shape, but it will not sell if it isn’t. Try and have it “show home” clean when you have your Realtor interview so that they can get a clear picture of what your home looks like on its best day!

2. Listen to your Lister

You are obviously going to have a conversation with your Realtor about the listing price of your home. Realtors have tools that they use to identify what your home should be listed at, these tools (called CMA, which we will talk about in a later post) combined with a savvy understanding of the current market conditions your Realtor can usually pin point pretty close what your home should be listed at and ultimately what it should sell for. One fatal flaw in home owners is that they don’t listen to this number, typically because they think their house is worth more. Some Realtors will push back because of knowledge and expertise, some will take the listing at a higher price tag, simply to get your listing… when this happens you can find yourself in a vortex of price dropping and haggling with offers when and if they come in. If your home is priced right (not too high or too low) it will sell. Don’t be afraid to ask questions about list price, but ultimately if your Realtor has stats to back the price point… take their advice.

3. Clear the Clutter 

This is your home, of course you would have personal touches, nik naks and frames. maybe some crazy feature walls, or novelty rooster collections. We know you love these items, we do too. BUT potential buyers don’t. Most people when viewing a home cannot look past the esthetic and see true potential of their own items in a home, in fact they have the same problem with empty spaces. This is why a staged home will always sell faster 10/10 times. You can start this by packing up any personalized items and clutter. particularly toys, and collections, photos and other chachkeys that can be distracting for the potential buyer. Think of it as a head start on packing for your move out!

4. Be flexible and realistic

Thinking about upcoming showings can be overwhelming and daunting, but showings are good, they are the pass that takes you right to the touchdown, showings is where your offer will come from. The worst part; showings aren’t typically a 9:00-5:00 job. Now, this is still your home, you call the shots. It is really important that you are as flexible and realistic when setting schedules with your agent. If you have a 2 year old, maybe any showings after 7:00pm aren’t acceptable, maybe you need 24 hours notice before a showing, these are normal requests and completely acceptable! it is your home after all. Set clear expectations with your agent, but be mindful that if they call you and someone wants to see your house in the next 3 hours and you say no… that could have been the person who wanted to buy it.

5.  Be patient, and communicate 

If you have questions about your listing, the market, the last showing… the weather you need to know that you should be asking! Your agent should be keeping you informed about your listing, but if you’re not getting what you need, call them! Some agents even have review software that will generate feedback immediately following a showing, really good agents follow up with the buyers agent to try and close a deal, or at the very least find out why they didn’t choose your home, and the Great agents bring in their own buyers… from that network we talked about!

Calgary Real Estate News

How to choose the right Agent Part 2 – Active Marketing

How important is marketing in Real Estate you ask? In short… it is incredibly important, in fact it can mean the difference between a sale and you sitting frustrated on your property for months, it can also be the difference in your listing becoming stale in the market because it sits for too long with little to no exposure.

I like to think that every Realtor has their own tips and tricks that they use to generate business, employ smart marketing techniques and do the very best for their client. The truth is, at the end of the day it breaks down to two types of agents. Active and Passive Marketers.

  • Passive Marketing

Every Realtor does this, and some pawn it off as highly effective marketing tools, but at the end of the day they are waiting for the business to find them. Waiting for the buyer to call. Passive marketing is listing the home on MLS, putting it on a website, (that may or may not generate google ad words). There is nothing wrong with passive marketing, and every Realtor should do it because there is always the online buyer who shops around and can and will find you on MLS, but it isn’t exceeding expectations and it isn’t going above and beyond.

  • Active Marketing 

Active marketing is when the rubber meets the road. We talked in my previous post about SELRES_9462f936-7d9e-4c3b-a82d-5fcb73a642d1NetworksSELRES_9462f936-7d9e-4c3b-a82d-5fcb73a642d1and this has a lot to do with that. Active marketing is when your Agent is actively searching the market for a buyer for your home. They can do this through their network, through lead capture services that they can deploy through various social media channels, and their website. Your Realtor should create a brand for your home. Does your Realtor use a professional photographer? are they a professional photographer? do they do home staging? what do they charge for home staging? All of these tools tie together and make your home sale something extra special, not just another MLS number on the proverbial YYC Real Estate shelf. Now, marketing costs money! The right kind of marketing costs lots of money! This is why you hire a Realtor, so you don’t have to navigate this alone. Always make sure to ask what the price tag is attached to any marketing plan when you are discussing commissions, offering photos and home staging is great, but ensure you know what that will cost you in the end. We will talk about where your money is going in a later post!

Kevin D’Costa Fun Fact! Did you know that I am an accredited staging professional RE. Did you also know that I offer this service to all of my clients? The best part, you rarely have to run out and buy thousands of dollars worth of furniture, usually just some minor esthetic and décor items are enough!

The point I am trying to make is this; When you’re interviewing a Realtor do not be afraid to ask them what exactly they are going to do for you? how are they going to market your home? Now that you know if you get the “I have a great webpage and I will list it on MLS” are the wrong answers, you can ask for more. expect more!

Calgary Real Estate News

Canadian Home Sales Fall To Lowest Level In 3 Years: CREA

January activity was down in three-quarters of all local markets and virtually all major urban areas.

Canadian home sales fell 14.5 per cent between December and January, marking the lowest sales level in three years as the housing market was hit last month by a double whammy of tighter mortgage rules and lending rate hikes.

Data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association Thursday suggested that January activity was down in three-quarters of all local markets and virtually all major urban areas, especially in Ontario’s hot spot in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The decline was less significant on an annual basis, with sales falling 2.4 per cent.

Sales climbed to a record monthly high in December, according to CREA’s figures, ahead of the stress test that requires all potential buyers qualifying for a mortgage to show that they can manage interest rate increases.

“The decline in January sales provides clear evidence that the strength in activity late last year reflected a pull-forward of transactions, as rational homebuyers hurried to purchase before mortgage rules changed in 2018,” said Gregory Klump, the association’s chief economist.

The federal banking regulator introduced tougher rules for uninsured mortgages beginning Jan. 1 that require a stress test for borrowers with a more than 20 per cent down payment. They now have to prove that they can service mortgage at a qualifying rate of the greater of the contractual mortgage rate plus two percentage point or the five-year benchmark rate published by the Bank of Canada.

The monthly decline “is largely payback” for buyers rushing to sign deals in the last three months of the year, ahead of the new rules, said Robert Kavcic, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, in a note.

January sales on par with 10-year monthly average

The January market also dampened due to the Bank of Canada’s decision to raise interest rates to 1.25 per cent, up from one per cent. It was the bank’s third increase since last summer, following hikes in July and September.

The central bank’s interest rate increase impacts variable rate mortgage holders, but those who opt for fixed mortgages also saw a rise in the five-year fixed rate amid rising bond yields and a stronger economy.

CREA noted that January home sales are on par with the 10-year monthly average and that a large decline in new listings prevented the market balance from shifting in favour of homebuyers. The average price of a home rose by 2.3 per cent when compared with last year at just over $481,500.

Interestingly, new listings plunged.

The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 63.6 per cent in January. A ratio reading above 60 per cent generally indicates a sellers’ market.

The number of newly-listed homes was at the lowest level since spring 2009. About 85 per cent of all markets had fewer listings. The Greater Toronto Area led the decline, with large percentage drops also in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island and the Okanagan region, as well as parts of Ontario.

“Interestingly, new listings plunged,” Kavcic said, highlighting a 21.6 per cent drop in listings from December 2017 to January 2018 that he said allowed the market balance to tighten up at the national level.

The highly anticipated report confirmed expectations for how the market would react to the new mortgage rules, Michael Dolega, a senior economist with TD Economics, wrote in a note.

He expects some near-term volatility to continue as buyers and sellers absorb the fall out from the new rules and rising rates. But, Dolega said “some stabilization” should occur by the middle of the year.

“Thereafter we expect activity to remain weighed down by rising interest rates, but with markets largely in balanced territory prices should remain well supported,” he said.

The new mortgage rules created uncertainty and confusion for homebuyers, said CREA President Andrew Peck in a statement.

“At the same time, the changes do nothing to address government concerns about home prices that stem from an ongoing supply shortage in major markets like Vancouver and Toronto. Unless these supply shortages are addressed, concerns will persist.”

-Huffington Post

Calgary Real Estate News

Allied Properties REIT continues Calgary buying spree – Art Central and Fashion Central buildings transformed

Calgary has become an attractive place for commercial real estate investment for Toronto-based Allied Properties REIT.

In fact, the bulk of the company’s Canadian acquisitions in 2013 took place in the city and its president and chief executive says Allied foresees continued growth in its Calgary portfolio.

“The consolidation in Calgary has been very successful for us,” said Michael Emory, president and chief executive of Allied, who was in Calgary this week. “We wouldn’t have expected going in, to be honest, that we’d be able to put together such a good concentration of properties so quickly. But we have. It’s gone very well. We like the market . . . We’ve really been pleased with what we’ve been able to accumulate here.”

Allied’s first acquisition in Calgary was the downtown Lougheed Building in the second half of 2010. Today, it owns 19 properties in Calgary with 915,834 square feet of rentable area. In January, it announced the acquisition of two additional properties which are scheduled to close later this month, increasing the number of properties to 21 and the rentable area to just over one million square feet.

“Basically what Allied does is acquires office property that is either in or very close to the core. That’s number one. Number two, has very distinctive internal and external attributes. And third, is available to our tenants at lower overall occupancy costs. It’s anywhere from 35 per cent to 50 per cent lower than the cost in the conventional office towers,” said Emory.

“If we look at 2013, the bulk of our growth was actually in Calgary and so far this year we’ve announced three acquisitions, two of them are in Calgary. We’ve announced about $90 million in acquisitions and about $60 million are here . . . Our coming here has given the owners of these kinds of assets the opportunity to achieve liquidity and they’ve taken advantage of it. I hope to see continued growth . . . and we’re very keen on the Calgary market.”

A couple of Allied’s downtown Calgary properties are undergoing transformation. The Art Central building, which was acquired in 2011, is set for demolition to begin in July to make room for an office and residential skyscraper.

Fashion Central, which was also bought in 2011, could have its name changed after the concept of several retailers under a fashion theme – by the previous owner – has not worked out.

Fashion Central has 27,183 square feet of rentable area, 18,408 square feet of which is used by retail tenants and 8,775 square feet by office tenants. There are six retail tenants on the main/street level and five retail tenants on the lower level.

“It really wasn’t working well on the second level for retail users. There wasn’t enough traffic prepared to go up to a second level in order to give the retailers the volume of activity they needed,” said Emory. “What we have done is we took the retailers who were up there, who wanted to stay in the building, down to the main level and the level below. Then we basically made from the second floor up office space and it’s a very high-end, high-calibre office environment.”

The change in focus for the building has Emory contemplating a change in the building’s name. A possibility is to call it the Alberta Block, which is the historic name of the building, but Emory said the REIT is in discussions with tenants on their input.

“If the retail tenants think it’s important to continue to name the building Fashion Central, we will,” he said. “If it’s a matter of indifference to the tentants then we’d prefer to change it to the Alberta Block . . . It’s a bit of a misnomer. It isn’t Fashion Central. There are other parts of downtown that might legitimately call themselves Fashion Central. This building can’t really carry the name to be very honest.”

Susan Thompson, business development manager of real estate for Calgary Economic Development, said the older-type buildings typical of Allied Properties portfolio provide tenants with a “funky character space that some smaller creative businesses like.”

“Obviously that’s going to attract a certain type of company,” said Thompson. “They’ll love that price point. And they’ll love the look and the feel of that space.”

 

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Calgary Real Estate News

High demand lifting Calgary region housing market – Outlook strong for increased starts, sales and prices

A high level of demand will continue to lift housing starts, MLS sales and average house prices this year in the Calgary region, according to a report released Thursday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The agency’s first quarter 2014 Housing Market Outlook said housing starts in the Calgary census metropolitan area will reach 14,100 units in 2014 before declining to 13,500 in 2015. They were at 12,584 last year.

The report said a record level of migration in 2013 will help lift MLS sales from 29,954 in 2013 to 31,300 units in 2014 and to 32,100 in 2015 and the high level of demand is expected to be met by more supply which will help lift the average price from $437,036 in 2013 to $449,000 in 2014 and to $460,000 in 2015.

“Calgary has experienced a large inflows of people and employers are projected to continue to expand their payrolls. This will be an active year for the Calgary real estate market,” said Lai Sing Louie, the CMHC’s regional economist for the Prairie and Territories Region in Calgary.

The level of MLS sales is below but approaching the record of about 33,000 transactions in 2006.

“Tight conditions in the resale market will have some buyers looking to the new home market to meet their needs this year. By 2015, it is expected that supply levels in the new home market and a wider selection of listings in the resale market will help moderate new construction activity.”

CMHC is forecasting the rental vacancy rate in the Calgary region to climb from 1.0 per cent in 2013 to 1.2 per cent this year and to 1.5 per cent in 2015. It also forecasts the average rent for a two-bedroom apartment to rise from $1,224 in 2013 to $1,280 this year and to $1,320 next year.

“Calgary’s housing market is one of the strongest in the country, and is expected to remain so for the foreseeable future,” said Ben Brunnen, an economic consultant in Calgary. “The increased demand for housing is being driven by strong fundamentals such as robust population growth, low vacancy rates, high rents, and growing wages. These underlying conditions provide confidence that the price and sales growth we’re seeing right now are economically sustainable.

“Looking ahead, with the low Canadian dollar and stronger housing demand in the U.S., watch for price appreciations in the cost of new housing, which could put increased pressure on Calgary’s housing market.”

The Calgary and Alberta housing markets will be buoyed in the coming years by strong net migration numbers. CMHC estimates net migration to the province in 2013 will be 103,000 people followed by forecasts of 71,000 in 2014 and 63,000 in 2015.

In Alberta, after reaching 18,431 units in 2013, single-detached starts are projected to increase to 19,100 in 2014 and remain near this level at 18,800 in 2015. After increasing to 17,580 units in 2013, multi-family starts in Alberta are projected to rise further to 18,000 units in 2014 and then moderate to 17,600 units in 2015, said the CMHC.

In the resale market, MLS sales are projected to rise from 66,080 units in 2013 in Alberta to 68,500 in 2014 and to 70,100 in 2015. The average MLS price in the province will increase from $380,969 in 2013 to $391,100 in 2014, and then rise to $401,000 in 2015.

 

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Calgary Real Estate News

Calgary ranks fifth in highrise construction in North America

Calgary is ranked fifth overall in North America for the number of highrises and skyscrapers currently under construction.

A ranking compiled by Emporis, an international provider of building data, said Toronto is North America’s highrise boomtown with 130 projects on the go.

The report, released Tuesday, said New York City was second at 91, followed by Montreal (25), Vancouver (23) and Calgary (22).

One aspect common to all the cities in the ranking with the exception of Houston, said Emporis, is the majority of the highrises under construction are residential buildings.

It said New York remains the city with the most completed highrises in North America with 6,069.

Emporis said the ranking consists of highrises, defined as multi-storey buildings of at least 35 metres in height or of 12 to 39 floors if the height is not known. Highrises of 100 metres or more, or that have at least 40 storeys, are considered skyscrapers.

 

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Calgary Real Estate News

2014 looks strong for Airdrie real estate market

The Airdrie housing market had a very strong year in 2013 with pricing returning to the peak levels of 2007.

Now looking to 2014 the Calgary housing market is expected to continue growing, which should push Airdrie housing prices up further as well.

As homes get less affordable in Calgary, buyers will look for less expensive options and head out to the smaller centers.

With our location and with so many amenities, Airdrie is often many buyer’s No. 1 choice as their place to call home. To put some perspective to the affordability, we’ll look at benchmark pricing (benchmark means the typical home).

For a look at what is considered typical please see our blog dated Jan. 6 at airdrieliving.ca

Through the third quarter of 2013 the typical home in Calgary was selling for $470,600 while in Airdrie the typical home sold for $365,900 for a difference of almost $105,000. However, in Airdrie we all know that two storeys are king and what builders will continue to build.

So it certainly makes sense to look at benchmark pricing for the typical two-storey home as well.

The typical two- storey home in Calgary sold for $508,400 and in Airdrie sold for $402,200 for a difference of more than $106,000.

With these kind of savings on the largest investment most people will ever make, it is easy to see why so many buyers are willing to move out of the city and why Airdrie continues to grow by 11 people a day, with half of them coming from Calgary.

To add to rising prices, in 2014 the Calgary real estate board is predicting an increase of 4.3 percent for the city of Calgary with the first half of the year being stronger than the second half.

This along with interest rates expected to climb slightly, Airdrie’s affordability will remain high compared to Calgary, which should also continue driving prices up here.

Another key factor for the Airdrie market will be housing starts.

If starts increase, this will help alleviate some of the pressure on resale homes.

However, if starts remain around the same then we will continue to see a low number of available homes on the market, which again could push prices up even further.

While I wish I had a working crystal ball and could tell you exactly what’s going to happen, that is just not the case. We live in a world of ever changing factors and in Alberta we are of course dependent on oil.

If oil goes up then housing prices will probably go up, if they go down then pricing will likely all relative. If you sell when prices are high chances are you will buy when prices are high.

Same goes when the market is low. So when people ask me, ‘when is it the best time to list my house?’ my answer is always ‘when you want to sell because you never know when the right buyer for your house is out there looking and if you are not on the market they will not find you.’

So regardless of pricing make the decision based on your needs.

So the good news is all factors are leading towards a strong 2014.

-Airdrie Echo

Calgary Real Estate News

Calgary area new home prices on the rise to record level – Single-detached average forecast to reach nearly $600,000 this year

A number of factors has pushed new home prices in the Calgary region higher with a forecast of the average absorbed price for a single-detached property to rise to nearly $600,000 this year, which would be a record.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. measures prices in the new home market when a property is “absorbed” which means the unit is no longer on the market as it has been sold or rented.

The federal agency is forecasting the single-detached average absorbed price in the Calgary census metropolitan area to increase to $598,000 this year from a forecast $583,000 in 2013 and $580,135 in 2012.

Doug Whitney, vice-president of sale for Crystal Creek Homes and president this year of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Calgary Region, said a number of factors will lead to higher new house prices this year.

He said the industry is seeing pressure on its own prices for materials such as drywall, concrete, heating, insulation – a lot of the components that go into building a home.

“There’s an uptick in the U.S. housing construction industry. So there’s a little more competition for materials,” said Whitney. “It’s a supply and demand thing. They’re a bigger market than we are and they’re starting to come alive. It’s going to drive up those basic costs for us here.”

He said most of the builders have been absorbing a lot of the cost increases from 2012 and 2013 but with the current sellers’ market in the resale sector, characterized by low supply and high demand, that will also impact decisions made by some builders on prices this year.

“Probably one of the biggest components that builders have to be aware of is the upward pressure on land prices, which is a huge component in the price of a home,” added Whitney.

“So if it’s costing a developer more to bring land to market, or if there’s a shortage of (land) and they’re charging more, the house price is going to be higher,” said Whitney.

Teresa Centanni, area sales manager for Douglas Homes in the Kinniburgh community in Chestermere, said prices are going up for a number of reasons including a strong economy, attracting more people moving here, which is driving up housing demand. Also, there is a low inventory of active listings in the resale market these days.

She said homebuyers like the idea of a builder’s warranty on a new home and having the ability to have some input on the home’s specifications before it is built.

“We already had a price increase on September 1. Our trades increased their prices due to the flood (in June) and there’s going to be another three to four per cent price increase they’re predicting for March, April. We’re trying to do our best to keep our prices.”

According to the CMHC, the number of single-detached absorptions in the Calgary CMA until the end of November was 5,622. It’s the latest data the agency has for the market. In 2012, there were 5,429 absorptions which was up from 2011 at 4,733.

The following is the Calgary CMA single-detached absorbed price for each year back to 2000, according to the CMHC: 2000, $225,996; 2001, $239,454; 2002, $242,525; 2003, $267,106; 2004, $285,321; 2005, $315,796; 2006, $353,662; 2007, $474,511; 2008, $581,800; 2009, $547,795; 2010, $514,466; 2011, $547,670; 2012, $580,135; 2013 (forecast), $583,000; and 2014 (forecast), $598,000.“We’re starting to see growth in prices for new homes. There’s a number of factors contributing to this,” said Richard Cho, senior market analyst in Calgary for the CMHC. “One is our economy has been growing so with that we’re seeing stronger demand for housing. Also, with the supply in the resale market coming down as well, we’re seeing more people look to the new home market for their housing needs.

“Also, with the new home price, we’re also seeing more pressure on costs, materials, labour. That’s also contributing to the increase in the home price.”

He said labour market conditions, demand for materials and land costs are expected to maintain upward pressure on home prices this year.

As a comparison, the following is the average yearly MLS sale price for single-family homes in the city of Calgary, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board: 2000, $194,202; 2001, $201,137; 2002, $221,028; 2003, $237,081; 2004, $251,558; 2005, $287,125; 2006, $400,081; 2007, $471,852; 2008, $460,057; 2009; $442,828; 2010, $461,420; 2011, $466,509; 2012, $481,259; and 2013, $517,887.

 

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Calgary Real Estate News

Calgary MLS listings significantly down from last year Pushing prices upwards

The single-family home inventory of 1,515 MLS listings is the lowest level to begin a year since 2006 and it’s the second fewest active listings in a decade to begin a year, says a Calgary realtor.

According to research by Mike Fotiou, associate broker with First Place Realty, there were 2,236 active listings in the city’s overall real estate market to begin the month of January, down 17.9 per cent from a year ago.

In January of last year, there were 1,267 fewer homes for sale in Calgary, representing a 31.8 per cent reduction in listings from the 3,989 the city had to start 2012.

“Calgary’s market has worked through the glut of inventory we experienced after the boom in 2008 when speculators expecting house prices to continue their meteoric rise were left holding multiple properties,” said Fotiou. “Record levels of net international and interprovincial migration in Alberta over the past couple years has resulted in high demand for housing. In Calgary’s resale market, continued strong sales have kept inventory low despite a rise in new listings.

“The new home sector has benefited as buyers looking for quick possession turn to builder spec homes. We’ll likely see more construction this year as new home builders step up to meet demand.”

As of Sunday, Calgary Real Estate Board data indicates total active listings in the city at 2,302, down 17.46 per cent from a year ago while the single-family inventory has dropped by 18.39 per cent to 1,549.

The lack of listings, combined with continued demand, has pushed prices upwards. Calgary’s resale housing market finished 2013 with all-time records in average sale prices for total MLS ($456,703) and single-family homes ($517,887).

Records were also set in 2013 for the median sale price for total MLS at $401,000 and for single-family homes at $450,000. The median price rose by 5.53 per cent from the previous year for total MLS and it was a 7.14 per cent hike in the single-family market.

Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at CREB, said it’s only a week into January so it’s difficult to see what the trend will be for sales and listings during the month.

“What we had been seeing throughout last year is that in the second half of the year those listings were actually starting to improve. The level of new listings,” she said. “Now, overall the inventory levels are still relatively low compared to what they had been in previous years.

“I would be concerned if I still saw those active listings basically declining and new listings declining. That would concern me more than what I am seeing now. Because we’ve seen new listings start to rise, that actually means that decline in active listings is starting to improve.”

On a historical basis, she said, active listings are still trending higher than the lows the real estate market experienced in 2006 during the housing market boom.

“That’s a good sign. We’re not as tight as we were back then,” said Lurie.

“Looking forward, active listings they have been declining. Will they continue to decline? It will depend on if we continue to see these new listings rising. If new listings keep going up, this should help alleviate some of the supply pressure in the market. That tends to happen as prices increase. Another thing to note is you’re starting to see some increased activity in the new home sector which should start to ease some of the pressure on the resale market.”

 

City of Calgary MLS Market
Year
Sales
New
Listings
Sales to
new listing ratio
2004
22,842
35,230
0.65
2005
26,833
32,962
0.81
2006
27,426
37,539
0.73
2007
26,611
44,644
0.60
2008
19,084
45,244
0.42
2009
20,668
32,588
0.63
2010
17,218
36,944
0.47
2011
18,494
34,068
0.54
2012
21,204
31,844
0.67
2013
23,489
32,153
0.73

 -Source: Calgary Real Estate Board

 

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald
Calgary Real Estate News

Calgary home values close to boom levels, despite flood impact

 Calgary home values are nudging 2007-08 property boom levels, with sharp declines in flood-hit neighbourhoods unable to check the city’s real estate growth.

The city’s 2014 property assessments, released Friday, showed values of properties outside areas badly damaged by the June floods have risen six per cent since last year.

Citywide, the typical home is now worth $430,000, up from $410,000 in 2013.

That’s the highest level since 2008, when the boom lifted the median price to a record $447,500.

“We have certainly seen a really strong increase, and certainly a resetting of some of those values back before some of the financial crisis happened,” said city assessor Nelson Karpa.

Many communities saw assessments rise more sharply than the six-per-cent median, particularly those in northeast Calgary and those hugging Nose Hill and Fish Creek parks.

Elbow Park and Roxboro were the only neighbourhoods where assessed values dropped.

Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) economist Ann Marie Lurie said the citywide rise was likely being led by a surge in demand for single family homes.

“A single family home under $500,000 have been selling quicker and their prices are increasing.

“We have finally pushed above those unadjusted (for inflation) levels. We’ve pushed above those peaks that we saw in 2007 (for single family homes).”

The trend was likely stronger in parts of the city which registered value increases above the six per cent average, she said.

“It could be that those areas have more homes on that lower end of the (single family) market.”

Value increases for condos and townhouses still trailed single family properties, she said, despite strong recent performance.

Price growth for single family homes in 2013 was 7.8 per cent, CREB figures showed, compared to 8.7 per cent for condos.

However, condo prices in the city took a bigger hit after the 2007 boom, Lurie said, and were yet to recover to that peak.

Calgary property taxes are based on the assessments. The city council set this year’s property tax hike at five per cent, but all homeowners whose property assessment rose by more than the six per cent average will pay a greater increase and people with lesser value rises or drops will face a lesser one.

Realtors often warn that assessments aren’t a substitute for actual market value. Assessors normally don’t visit homes, and they only consider neighbourhood home sales up to the previous June 30 — which means they’re already six months behind sales trends.

Residents and business owners can review assessments and appeal by March 4.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald