Soft Job Market and Restrictions on Lending Influenced 2018's Real Estate Market

City of Calgary, Tost Realty Group, January 2, 2019

As oversupply is still a pertinent issue, prices during December slowed by one per cent, and are currently situated at over three percent below this time last year. 

CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie stated last month that “Persistent weakness in the job market and changes in the lending market impacted sales activity in the resale market this year”. This definitely contributed to a heightened supply in the resale market, resulting in a decline in price. 

Sales in December sat at a total of 794 units, a 21 per cent decline over the previous year. Overall year-to-date sales in the city sat at a total of 16, 144 units, a 14 per cent dip from two years ago, and 20 percent below previously standing long-term averages.

The Inventory levels statistic...

Economic Conditions Continue to Challenge Vitality of Resale Market 

City of Calgary, Dec. 3, 2018 

Sales during the month of November sat at a total of 1,171 units, remaining below long-standing averages. 

For the year up to this point, monitored sales activity has rang in at 15,349 units, displaying a 14 per cent decline over last year, and nearly 20 per cent below standing averages. 

During November, New listings eased by seven per cent compared to last year. Due to this substantial shift in new listings, further inventory gains have been prevented. Overall inventory is currently at 6,501 units, remaining slightly above the 5,683 units in inventory seen last year, and 32 percent higher than in a typical November.  

Throughout the month of November, the citywide benchmark price was $422,600, hovering near one percent lower than last month, and at 3 percent lower than levels...

Oversupplied Market Ultimately Weighs on Prices 

City of Calgary, November 1, 2018 

Inventory levels are elevated when compared alongside sales, which is causing Calgary housing prices to ease a bit more. 

Benchmark prices in the entire city during October totalled $426,300, which is a downward trend for the fifth month in a row. This resulted ultimately in a year-over-year decline of 2.9 percent. 

Chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie of CREB claimed avidly that job growth in the city remained a dire concern, as unemployment levels remain well above expected. The overall cost of ownership continuing to rise also will ultimately provide a burden of weight on the housing market and demand. 

Overall sales and inventories totaled 7,345 and 1,322 during the month of October. Typical monthly levels usually hover around 5.6, and while there is a bit of slowing in listing growth, this ultimately prevents further inventory risings. Currently the...

Expanding Calgary’s Livable Space Through CFB Calgary Redevelopment 

Development plans throughout Calgary often have interesting histories, but one of the most interesting and comprehensive development stories can be traced back to 1996 when the federal budget called for closing CFB Calgary and other bases throughout the country. Not only did this decision change how Canadian Forces bases were used, but it also created a significant amount of land that could be put to use for different purposes. It was from this change in the federal budget that many of Calgary’s new residential developments were born. 

Making the Decision to Close CFB Calgary 

While the 1996 federal budget called...

After the wedding ends and the party is over, it is time to start thinking about a place to call home, your first martial home of all your own. While some newlyweds choose to rent, some prefer to own their new home together.  Weddings can be so expensive , just ask any bride to be and she will te

ll you the budget is nearly always higher than anticipated leaving many newlyweds over extended and in marital debt after the wedding.  With all that debt from the wedding , what options are there for the purchase of a home in terms of down payments ?  See...

What to Expect When Buying your First Calgary Condo 

Your journey in purchasing a condo for the first time can be both challenging and exciting. You have to be all prepped up for all types of soul-searching and decision-making. After all, this is one of the biggest investments of your life and you don’t want to end up making the wrong choice. 

By now, you might have countless questions running through your mind. Here is some relevant information to point you in the right direction: 

Know what you want.

There’s no stopping urban renewal the Calgary real estate scene.   Old makes way for new and many established neighbourhoods are experiencing a renaissance.  The demand for new, modern homes for sale in inner-city neighbourhoods grows every day and there are so many reasons why.

From a zoning point of view, the City of Calgary’s sustainability plan dictates that developers create residential density.  Housing people along transit corridors and within walking distance to work and essential services is good for the environment and creates healthy communities.  Part of the plan was to stem the flow of suburban sprawl, as Calgary is one of the largest cities in North America per square kilometre but without the population...

We’re not immune to disasters in (think 2013) but we are so lucky we don’t have mud slides or wildfires that send us fleeing from our homes in Calgary in the middle of the night.  Whether you were an unfortunate victim of flooding early five years ago, or if you watch the nightly news with trepidation and empathy, we are all thinking about what’s important.  Real estate is important – possessions are important and we all go to extraordinary lengths to protect our assets.   If you own investment properties in Calgary, there are a variety of things to think about when it comes to mitigating damage – no matter how minor. 

If you are a landlord with rental property in Calgary, or if you are a renter in Alberta, it’s important...

While drilling down into some of the new statistics that the Calgary Real Estate Board recently released, we discovered something very interesting.   The district of Calgary West  which is loosely defined as everything west of Crowchild Trail, north of Glenmore Trail/Highway 8 and south of the river or Trans-Canada Highway, is one of the city’s most stable market areas. That’s in all housing types, from single-family to attached, town homes and condos.  Calgary West showed the strongest annual growth in 2017 with only City Centre to look up to.

The Proof is in the Numbers

As the following chart will show, the communities in Calgary West survived the recent downturn as the best for single-family homes and was the runner-up for apartment condos.  As we all have...