To see this incredible home call Linda Kitchin or Harvey Cohen

Royal LePage Solutions         (403)270-0270         realtors@kitchin.ca

To see this incredible home call Linda Kitchin or Harvey Cohen,

Royal LePage Solutions, (403)270-0270         realtors@kitchin.ca

Improved activity across all sectors

Calgary, May 1, 2012 – For the month of April 2012, year-over-year sales activity improved across all sectors in the city.  Calgary residential sales total 2,200 for the month, a 26 per cent increase over levels recorded last year. 

“The growth in full-time employment, combined with improving migration levels, is translating into improved demand for housing,” says Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB® chief economist. “While sales growth does seem exceptionally strong, it is important to keep in perspective that the sales activity in Calgary is returning to levels more consistent with the long-term average.”

The single-family market continues to tighten, with months of supply dropping below three months.  Sales growth continues to outpace new-listings activity, placing downward pressure on inventories.  As the market tightens, single-family homes are selling quicker, and there has been some upward pressure on pricing.  The MLS® Home Price Index for the month of April recorded a year-over-year price increase of 5.5 per cent for a total benchmark price of $449,500.

“While the balance between demand and supply in the single-family market has shifted towards sellers’ territory, there are several components that make today’s market different from five years ago,” says Bob Jablonski, president of CREB®.  “The main difference is there is still significant supply for consumers in surrounding towns and the condominium market in the city, and the new-home builders do have the ability to absorb some of the excess demand,” Jablonski adds.

After the first four months of the year, the condominium apartment sales totaled 1,133, a 2.2 per cent increase over the same period last year.  Tighter supply in the single-family market has translated to improved demand for condominium apartments, and consumers active in this market have a sufficient amount of supply and new listings to choose from. 

New condominium apartment listings for the month of April rose by 5.9 per cent compared to last year, and remain at similar levels on a year-to-date basis.  As the gap between inventories and sales narrows, the months of supply continues to trend toward levels that are more consistent with a balanced market.

While the condominium apartment market moved into more balanced territory, index prices remain relatively unchanged.  The condominium townhouse market is trending in a similar fashion to the single family market, and recorded a year-over-year index price increase of 2.7 per cent.  Overall for the month of April, the condominium townhouse and apartment markets recorded a benchmark price of 294,500 and 248,300, respectively.

“While sales activity and the level of new listings continue to remain below long-term trends, the spring market is definitely on the rise over the previous year,” says Jablonski.  “As confidence in the local housing market continues to build, we anticipate a rise in demand, followed by improved listings from those waiting to see some price appreciation prior to listing their home.”

To see this incredible home call Linda Kitchin or Harvey Cohen, Royal LePage Solutions,

(403)270-0270         realtors@kitchin.ca

Improved activity in the last week of the month boosted city sales

Calgary, April 2, 2012 – City of Calgary residential sales continued to rise in March 2012, reaching 2,167 units, an increase of 12.6 per cent over last March.

“The rise in activity is related to the continued improvement of our economy and consumer confidence, as some concerns regarding the global economy have eased,” says Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB® chief economist.

After the first quarter of 2012, sales are up by 7.3 per cent over the same time last year. While the increase is significant, when compared to historic activity, residential sales continue to remain below the long-term trend. Monthly new listings remain slightly lower than last year, whereas year-to-date figures show 7.2 per cent fewer listings have come onto the market in the first quarter of this year.

“While the number of listings for the first quarter of 2012 remains low compared to last year, the level of decline has lessened,” says Bob Jablonski, president of CREB®; “therefore pointing to the fact that those people who have been on the fence are starting to list their homes, and this trend is expected to continue.”

The year-over-year decline in new listings, combined with improving sales, has pushed down inventory levels to 5,092 units from 5,866 last year, as well as months of supply. However, as Jablonski notes, “it is not uncommon for the months of supply to decline in March as we transition from the winter season to the spring season.”

Recently, the tightening supply has brought about much discussion of multiple offers on houses. “It is important to note that multiple offers can happen during any market with a well priced listing or a unique property,” says Jablonski. “New listings coming onto the market at a good price are generating a lot of activity, but year-over-year index price growth for the typical home in Calgary in March was 2.9 per cent, which is considered a normal range. Also, the sales-price to list-price ratio does not reflect levels recorded during the peak of the market, when there were supply shortages,” Jablonski adds.

Single family homes continue to record strong activity, with sales increasing by 10.3 per cent at the end of the first quarter. Meanwhile, quarter totals for listings of single-family homes remain 8.3 per cent lower, resulting in a tightening of supply. The benchmark price reached $433,500, while the MLS® Home Price Index points towards a price growth of 3.6 per cent compared to last year.

The apartment condominium market continues to exhibit lower sales, with 782 sales recorded in the first quarter of 2012, a decline of 2.1 per cent compared to last year. However, March sales activity did post a 7.2 per cent gain over last year and is closer in line with typical March sales in this sector. New listings recorded a year-over-year improvement of 9.1 per cent for the month of March, but still remain 2.3 per cent lower than last year at the end of the first quarter. Despite the monthly rise in new listings, inventories continue to decline. Overall market conditions continue to favour the buyer.

The condominium apartment and townhouse benchmark price for the month of March was $247,800 and $293,600, respectively. While the apartment index price has remained relatively stable compared to last year, the condominium townhouse index recorded a modest improvement of 1.96 per cent over last year.

“The single family market continues to lead the housing growth in both sales activity and pricing, and the condominium market appears to have turned the corner as well,” Jablonski concludes. “Overall, the Calgary real estate market continues to move in the right direction, with all indicators pointing towards stable growth and a move towards typical levels of activity.”

Improved activity in the last week of the month boosted city sales 

Calgary, March 1, 2012 – Sales activity improved across all residential sectors this month compared to a year ago, according to CREB® data released today.  Calgary and area sales growth pushed February total residential activity up by 11.6 per cent compared February 2011, mainly due to increased activity in the surrounding towns.

“City sales were boosted by a lot of activity in the last week of the month,” says Bob Jablonski, CREB® president. “This points towards the improvements that we expect to see in our spring market activity.”

Single family sales and condominium townhouse sales were the bright lights in the city of Calgary, while condo apartments continue to lag in volume of sales. There were 1,284 single-family homes sold in February 2012, a 10.9-per-cent increase over last-year figures, and a 5.6-per-cent year-to-date increase. Condo townhouses gained 11.4 per cent year-over-year in February sales.

“More selection and a wider range of prices have drawn consumers to the condominium townhouse and single family markets,” says Jablonski.  “As is the case with all property types, we saw modest price improvements compared to February last year, but overall levels remain below peak pricing.”

Meanwhile, condominium apartment sales totaled 248 for February 2012, an 11.7-per-cent decline over last-year figures.  Despite the 12.7-per-cent year-over-year decline in new listings, inventory levels rose to 1,031 units. 

Fewer new city listings are coming to the market, with a year-over-year decline of 10.2 per cent.  Inventories also fell by 8.5 per cent over last year’s figures, with a total inventory of 4,736 for the month.  The opposite is true in the surrounding towns, where listings recorded a year-over-year improvement of 12.1 per cent and no significant change in inventories.

“The lack of new listings in the city compared to the surrounding towns provides insight into the improved activity in the surrounding areas, as those who are actively seeking a home in the surrounding towns are not limited in their choice by lack of new listings in the market,” Jablonski says.

Within the city of Calgary, the decline in new listings, combined with improving sales, contributed to reduced inventory levels, pushing absorption rates for single-family and condominium townhome markets into balanced territory.  However, the condominium apartment inventories rose and sales activity weakened, keeping the market in buyer’s territory.

Pricing showed modest improvement in February 2012 over January, with the single-family MLS® Home Price Index increasing by 1.0 per cent after several months of relatively flat pricing. Single-family prices rose by 3.2 per cent over February 2011.  While prices continue to remain below peak levels, the improvement points to stable price growth.

The apartment index rose by 2.1 per cent over January figures, and increased by 0.7 per cent over last year’s levels. Prices remain well below peak levels, but are trending into positive territory, pointing towards recovery in this market. Overall index levels for townhomes remain similar to levels recorded in January 2012.

“While the apartment market continues to lag the other sectors in the city, the balanced conditions in the total city market point towards stable pricing,” says Jablonski. “There do appear to be some positive headwinds. Following several months of decline, prices appear to have stabilized lately and recorded some modest gains in February,” Jablonski concludes.

Despite the variances in the specific property types, all indicators in the Calgary region continue to point towards stable growth in Calgary’s overall housing sector.

The housing market pointing towards price stability

Calgary, February 1, 2012 – Home sales in the City of Calgary are off to a slow start as buyers show continuing caution, according to figures released today by CREB®.

“Overall, the market is behaving as expected for the winter season,” says Bob Jablonski, president of CREB®.

The year-over-year volume of residential sales in the City of Calgary dropped, but the inventory of available homes declined even faster in January 2012.

The City of Calgary residential market recorded 1,078 sales in January, nearly one per cent below the same month in 2011. This is in part related to the drop in new listings, which declined by 8 per cent over January 2011, causing inventory levels to continue to contract over 2011.

“A lower number of sales is not uncommon for the month of January,” says Jablonski. “The number of sales is offset by the number of listings, ultimately pushing the housing market towards a balanced market territory.”

The single-family market recorded a one-per-cent drop in sales over last year levels, while the condominium market recorded a one-per-cent gain.  However, the decline in new listings in the single-family market was much higher than the condominium market, with a year-over-year decline of 11 per cent and 6 per cent, respectively. 

“As presented in our housing forecast report, a slow start to the year is anticipated, as consumers continue to be cautiously optimistic regarding purchasing and/or listing their home,” says Jablonski.

The average price of single-family homes in January 2012 was $438,683, a 3-per-cent drop over last year, and over December 2011.  Meanwhile, median prices in the single-family market remain relatively stable over last month at $395,000, while posting a 1-per-cent gain over the previous year. 

“The price changes are related to the composition of what was sold.  The rise in the median price was likely due to the increase in the number of homes sold in the $450,000-$549,999 category, as this category recorded a significant jump in activity in January.  The decline in average price is due to the rise in sales in the under-$300,000 category, as well as the decline in the number of homes sold in the upper-price ranges,” Jablonski explains. 

The condominium market continues to favour the buyer; however, this market is trending towards balance.  The average and median price of condominiums for the month of January 2012 were $268,526 and $245,000, respectively.  This corresponds to a 7-per-cent decline in average prices and a 4-per-cent decline in median prices.

“Last January, there was a significant jump in sales in both the $600,000+ price range and the under-$200,000 price range in condominiums.   For January 2012, while sales under $200,000 remain strong, there has been an increase in activity in the $200,000-$299,999 price range, mostly at the expense of the condominiums priced above $400,000. This explains the significant decline in condominium prices,” Jablonski concludes. 

2011 a year of steady improvement for the housing market

Calgary, January 3, 2011 – According to figures released today by CREB® (Calgary Real Estate Board), Calgary residential sales in 2011 increased eight per cent over last year, with 18,568 sales for 2011 compared to 17,267 in 2010.

Recovering from tepid sales activity in the first half of 2011, early improvements in employment and migration resulted in a pickup in housing demand in the second half of the year. By the end of June 2011, year-to-date sales activity had only increased by two per cent compared to the second half of the year, where residential sales improved by 15 per cent.

“While sales activity in 2011 remained below the long run average by 17 per cent, monthly figures point towards the trend of this gap narrowing,” says Sano Stante, president of CREB®.

2011 single family sales totalled 13,186, a nine per cent increase over last year.  While sales increased, listings remained low, with an annual total of 24,245, six per cent lower than 2010 levels.  The decline in listings relative to sales pushed down inventory levels to 2,761, resulting in four months of supply.

Meanwhile, the condominium market recorded declining sales for nearly half of the year, but favorable pricing and improved economic conditions pushed sales up by double digit rates for the second half of the year.  2011 condo sales totalled 5,382, a 4 per cent increase over the previous year.  The rise in sales was complemented by an annual 12 per cent decline in listings. This helped to tighten the condominium market, causing inventories to decline to 1,287 and months of supply to remain just above four months.

“The demand recovery in the condominium market lagged the single family market, as price adjustments in both the single family and condominium markets resulted in more selection for consumers,” Stante says. “For the first time in several years, consumers had additional selection of single family homes at a lower price range, which directly competed with the condominium market.” 

Single family average price in 2011 reached $466,402, a one per cent increase over last year.  While there have been some strong monthly increases, primarily due to sales in the upper end skewing the prices, overall prices have remained fairly stable.  Meanwhile, the year-end median price of 405,000 remains at levels similar to 2010.

Condominium prices have remained persistently low in 2011, while some of the monthly figures have been boosted by high end penthouse sales. By the end of 2011, the average price of $287,172 remained one per cent lower than the previous year.

“Throughout 2011, elevated levels of inventories have limited price growth as consumers benefited from sufficient supply of housing to choose from; however, as these inventories drop to levels more consistent with a balanced market, we can expect some moderate price growth moving forward,” Stante concludes.