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Posted in calgary real es, cir realty, market stats, market watch, r, real esate in calgary

After a strong start to 2020, economic conditions have dramatically changed, as COVID-19 is impacting all aspects of society.

The economic impact is starting to be felt across many industries. This includes the housing market.

March sales activity started the month strong, but quickly changed, as concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 brought about social distancing measures. This had a heavy impact on businesses and employment.

“This is an unprecedented time with a significant amount of uncertainty coming from both the wide impact of the pandemic and dramatic shift in the energy sector. It is not a surprise to see these concerns also weigh on the housing market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.


By the end of March, sales activity had fallen 11 per cent compared to last year. This is 37 per cent lower than long-term averages. The drop in sales pushed March levels to the lowest recorded since 1995.


“The impact on the housing market will likely persist over the next several quarters,” said Lurie. “However, measures put in place by the government to help support homeowners through this time of job and income loss will help prevent more significant impacts in the housing market.”


New listings dropped by 19 per cent this month. This decline in new listings compared to sales caused supply levels to ease and helped prevent a larger increase in oversupply. Overall, the months of supply remain just below five months, similar to levels recorded last year.


Prices were already forecasted to ease this year due to oversupply in our market. In March, the citywide benchmark price was $417,400. This is nearly one per cent lower than last year’s levels. The reduction in both sales and new listings should help prevent significant price declines in our market.


However, price declines will likely be higher than originally expected due to the combined impact of the pandemic and energy sector crisis.


HOUSING MARKET FACTS

Detached

  • Detached sales eased by 15 per cent this month, driven by pullbacks in all districts except the North, which remained flat compared to last year.
  • The decline in sales was met with a larger decline in new listings, causing inventories to fall by 17 per cent and keeping the months of supply slightly lower than last year’s levels.
  • Detached benchmark prices have remained relatively unchanged compared to last year at $480,800. Price declines this month continue to be the highest for the City Centre, North East and West districts.

Apartment

  • With 217 citywide apartment sales in March, this was the only category to record a year-over-year gain. Much of the gain was due to improving sales in the South, South East and North West districts.
  • New listings this month did ease, helping support a small decline in inventory levels.
  • Persistent oversupply has resulted in continued downward pressure on prices. In March, the citywide benchmark price eased by more than two per cent compared to last year for a total of $243,700.

Attached

  • Both semi-detached and row sales declined this month compared to last year. Like the other property types, there was also a significant reduction in new listings.
  • The decline in new listings helped push down inventory levels for both property types, but it was not enough to prevent a rise in the months of supply.
  • However, this segment was oversupplied prior to the recent changes, impacting prices. As of March, prices remained nearly one per cent lower than last year’s levels for both semi-detached and row properties.

    REGIONAL MARKET FACTS

    Airdrie
    Like many other areas, Airdrie saw a decline in sales activity, along with a reduction in new listings and inventory. The reductions in supply and demand helped prevent any significant changes to the months of supply. While the full impact of the COVID-19 crisis has not yet played out in the housing market, March prices remained comparable to last year’s levels.

    Cochrane
    Both sales and new listings fell this month compared to last year, causing inventories to fall to the lowest levels in five years. Like many other markets, Cochrane remains oversupplied, with easing prices.
    The March benchmark price was $398,700. This is nearly two per cent lower than the previous year.

    Okotoks
    Trends changed this month, with flat sales and a decline in new listings. The decline in new listings was enough to cause a significant reduction in supply levels and the months of supply fell below five months.
    Prices are trending down on a monthly basis, but remain comparable to last year’s levels, with a March benchmark price of $405,000.
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Posted in calgary real estate, first home, homes, real estate news
My First Home - Lanny McDonald

Iconic status was off in the future for the 22-year-old winger. The bushy moustache had yet to grow out and become a trademark.


“We bought our first home year three in Toronto,” said Lanny McDonald, reminiscing. “We’d just gotten married. The house was out in Port Credit. Mineola Street, I believe. A bungalow that had a bonus room up above the garage and it was the scariest thing in the world. Oh my gosh. I think it cost $125,000. We were making a good living, certainly no complaints, but buying a first house is frightening. Luckily, it turned out to be absolutely awesome."


“Darryl (Sittler) lived just down the way, on Mississauga Road. Wendy (Sittler) and (my wife) Ardell became great friends. Darryl and I would drive into the games and practices together. We had a great time in that first house. But that commitment … signing your name? Oh my God!”


For McDonald – the Hockey Hall of Famer and 1989 Stanley Cup champion whose iconic No. 9 was retired by the Calgary Flames in 1990 – his number-one priority in a home never changes.


“For me, it has to have the biggest kitchen and family room, attached if possible, because that’s where everyone spends the bulk of their time,” he said. “You’re hanging out over the kitchen counter with the kids. Enjoying a few drinks with friends. There’s laughter, there's conversation. The family room/kitchen area is the hub.”


The McDonalds have owned homes at four different addresses. “We purchased two houses in Toronto,’’ he said, “then we go to Colorado and rent the first year-and-a-half. So I talk with the owners, looking for a little security lifestyle-wise, and they say, ‘You’re not going anywhere. You’re here for life.’ Great. We buy a new house out in a new area and, you guessed it, I’m traded to the Flames two-and-a-half months later! We hadn’t even finished the yard.”


Since arriving in Calgary in November 1982, the family has resided in Springbank, renovating their property four times rather than packing up to relocate.


“It’s been fabulous,” he said. “All our kids went though the school system in the area. The boys played hockey. And now our grandkids have moved back from Montana and they’re attending Springbank and The Edge. Talk about coming full circle.”


Through the intervening years, an older McDonald, now chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame, has occasionally returned to his residential roots on Mineola Street.


“They’ve bulldozed all the houses there and built mansions,’’ he said, laughing. “I wish we still had the lot because you’re probably talking about $2-to-$2.5-million homes now. I mean, $125,000 sure won’t buy you much there today.”

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Posted in calgary real estate market, mar, market sta, market u

This month saw a double-digit gain in sales, but last February was one of the slowest levels of activity since the late ’90s.

With the extra day this February, monthly sales totaled 1,197 units.  A combination of these two factors resulted in a 23 per cent improvement over last year, but sales remain well below longer-term trends and consistent with the lower levels reported over the past five years.

“However, this should not diminish the fact that conditions are still improving,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“Calgary is continuing to see slow reductions in the amount of oversupply in the market, from modest changes in demand and reductions in supply. This needs to occur before we can see more stability in prices.”

The overall unadjusted benchmark price was $416,900 in February. This is similar to last month, but nearly one per cent below last year’s levels. Overall, prices remain nearly 11 per cent below the monthly high recorded in 2014.


HOUSING MARKET FACTS

Detached

  • After the first two months of the year, detached sales improved by nearly 12 per cent. Improvement did not occur across all districts, as sales continued to ease in the City Centre, North East and North West districts.
  • Driven by pullbacks mostly in the south and west districts, new listings declined by one per cent in the city so far this year.
  • Improving sales and easing new listings helped reduce inventory levels and reduced months of supply to just below four months in February. This is a significant improvement over the more than five months recorded last February.
  • The benchmark price continued to trend down this month for detached homes, but the pace of decline is easing. Citywide detached prices remain less than one per cent lower than last year’s levels, but price movements vary significantly by district, ranging from a three per cent decline in the City Centre to a two per cent increase in the South district.

Apartment

  • For the second month in a row, improving sales were met with gains in new listings. This is causing inventory gains.
  • Sales levels were high enough to cause the months of supply to ease, but the persistent oversupply in the market continues to weigh on prices.
  • February benchmark prices eased compared to the previous month and is over two per cent lower than last year’s levels. The overall benchmark apartment price of $244,700 in February is nearly 19 per cent lower than 2014 monthly highs.

Attached

  • After the first two months of the year, rising attached sales and easing new listings caused inventories to decline.
  • February months of supply is now below five months, an improvement compared to the past two years.
  • Conditions continue to favour the buyer, but improvements have helped reduce the downward pressure on prices. However, divergent activity continues based on location, as prices declined across most districts, but improved in the West, South East and East districts of the city.
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Posted in calgary real estate market, cir realty, market stats, market update
While lower Months of Inventory will lead to more balanced markets and stabilized pricing, we have noticed that the properties being sold have had an increased average price of 4% in Alberta to $375,649 from $361,131 in January 2019. Since the current Months of Inventory, and the number of sales in January do not support a market where we would see significant movement in price, it is primarily due to movement in the higher price ranges that is having this effect on pricing. The 6.3% increase in the average price for sales in Edmonton, and a 4.8% increase in the average price for sales in Red Deer had a big part in that jump upwards for the Province.
 
The sales activity in the higher price points is consistent with the showing activity that we have had for CIR's listings.  The month over month showings have continued to rise and we anticipate this to continue into Spring. The showing activity that has had the largest gains, is in the $500,000 to $800,000 price points, the move up markets. We have been anticipating the move up markets to start performing better as the lower price points had picked up activity in 2019.
 
The activity that we are seeing is closer to normal for the ten year averages, but is still a bit lower than average.  It appears that people are adjusting expectations to the "new normal", and confidence is continuing to return to the markets. Since Alberta's economy continues to outperform most of Canada for weekly earnings and opportunity, we are seeing the net migration into the Province continuing to increase. This has resulted in the rental markets continue to tighten, which will end up driving buyers and investors into the markets as well as help our move up markets as the first time buyers enter the market. We are also watching the unemployment rate which was seeing a drop through the Fall months of 2019, but has since started rising again in December and January.  There appears to be a lag of six months in the Real Estate markets to the employment markets, so we will continue to monitor the migration and employment trends.
 
All of this said, we are very happy with the results in January 2020. While the Province had an increase in sales of 4%, CIR Realty experienced an increase in sales of 15.6%!  Our agents continue to focus on educating clients on making good decisions to help them achieve their goals in Real Estate.
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Posted in Bankview, Bankview condo buildings, calgary developments, condos for sale, new condo buildings in calgary
New Proposed Bankview Development

For the past few years there has been talk about developing the property of The Nimmons Residence one of Calgary's historic houses. Located in Calgary's Bankview neighborhood, The Nimmons Residence is a 120 year old house that sits along side 14th street at 19th ave nestled in around low rise apartment buildings. A new proposal by Calgary's Brava Developments calls for the house to be moved to the opposite corner of the lot to make way for an 'L' shaped multi-family residential building.


Designed by Casola Koppe Architects , the residential building dubbed, Nimmons Court would be a 5 storey, 84 unit building that would flank The Nimmons Residence on the north and west sides, with the Nimmons Residence moved to the southeast corner of the property. The building is a modern styled design that juxtaposes the Queen Anne Revival styled Nimmons Residence.


With Nimmons Court in it's early stages, I will be sure to return to this project as progress continues.

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Posted in c, calgary communities, calgary real estate, CIR Realty, inner city calgary neighbourhoods, secondary suites
Secondary Suites

Secondary suites make homeownership more affordable for cash-strapped buyers

Homes with secondary suites have been a hot topic in Calgary for years, but their appeal for homebuyers looking to generate extra revenue is only growing amid adverse economic conditions.


It is important to find out whether the secondary suite in a home is legal before making any purchase, which can be done by going to the City of Calgary’s website, www.calgary.ca/suites.

If a suite is illegal and a neighbour complains about noise or parking from a tenant, then a bylaw officer can come out and shut you down, meaning you’d have to tell your tenants to leave.


The best place to buy a home with a suite is typically near large employment centres, such as commercial or industrial areas, hospitals, universities, or downtown, as these are the areas where tenants want to live.


When it comes to homeowner demographics, baby boomers or other empty nesters like the rental income a secondary suite can provide, while younger homebuyers often use the added income to be able to buy a home in the first place.

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Posted in calgary, calgary communities, calgary real estate, CIR Realty, market update, real estate
January Market Update


The improvement of the Calgary housing market continued in December with further stability capping off a stronger second half of the year.

New figures from the Calgary Real Estate Board show that activity returned to levels close to those seen in the past five years with annual sales up 1%.

“Price declines, lower mortgage rates and some modest improvements in full-time employment helped support some demand growth in the city. Reductions in supply are also contributing to the slow adjustment to more stable conditions in the housing market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

Annually, the attached homes segment was the star performer with sales up by nearly 7% for a total of 3,780 sales. Apartments just outpaced year-ago levels with 2,672 units sold, while detached sales were broadly in line with those of a year earlier.

Price pressures
Overall prices in 2019 declined by 3% year-over-year, marking a 10% decline since the 2014 slowdown in the energy sector.

“As oversupply in the market continues to ease, we should start to see more stabilization in prices. However, conditions continue to favour the buyer and this is weighing on prices,” added Lurie.

For December, attached sales were up 14% to 220, apartments gained 27.6% to 134 sales, and detached sales increased 1.6% to 504.

December’s unadjusted benchmark prices were $418,500, just slightly lower than November and 1% below last year’s levels.

Detached benchmark prices were $480,100 in December contributing to the 2019 average of $484,808, three per cent below last year’s levels.

December semi-detached prices were $388,200 and row prices were $283,000. Both segments saw annual price declines in excess of three per cent and remain well below previous highs.

 
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The Ins & Outs of Wrapping Materials


Sometimes your recyclables require a little more TLC to ensure that what you are setting out for recycling actually gets recycled, and to prevent problems in the processing facility. Here are some common holiday wrapping materials that people often wonder about:


WRAPPING PAPER: While most wrapping paper can be included with your paper recyclables, please remove ribbons and bows, and exclude any wrapping materials
that are foil-lined. Tissue paper used to wrap presents or fill gift bags can also be included in your paper recycling bag or bin.


GIFT BAGS: Paper gift bags can be included with your paper recyclables. Be sure to remove handles, metal grommets and decorations such as bows and ribbons. Similar to wrapping paper, gift bags with
foil lining or non-paper decoration are not recyclable as they are not compatable with the recycling process.


GREETING CARDS: Greeting cards should be included in your paper recycling, but if your card plays music or a recorded greeting be sure to remove the electronic circuitry and battery first.


GIFT BASKETS: Neither cellophane wrap used with gift baskets, nor the basket itself are able to be recycled at this time, but paper basket filler is okay to include in your recycling.


PACKAGES: Cardboard boxes used for shipping gifts should be broken down so that they lay flat and bundled with other boxes before being put out to the curb. Bubble wrap and foam packing peanuts are not accepted.


Ensuring that only accepted items are included with your recycling means that more material will be recycled. Your extra efforts make a huge difference.

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December Market Update


December 2/2019: Calgary Housing Market Still Favours the Buyer 

City of Calgary, December 2, 2019 – Year-to-date residential sales in the city remain just above last year’s levels due to improvements in the attached sector so far this year.

However, November sales activity eased over last year’s levels, mostly due to pullbacks in the apartment sector. 

Meanwhile, new listings eased enough relative to sales to cause inventories to ease and the amount of oversupply to come down slightly compared to last year’s levels.

“Achieving more stable conditions will take time. Sales activity has been settling in at lower levels and is likely being influenced by the economic conditions and uncertainty weighing on our market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“While the amount of supply in the market continues to ease, the persistent oversupply continues to weigh on prices.”

As of November, the citywide unadjusted benchmark price was $419,100. This is just below last month’s levels and two per cent lower than last year’s levels. 

Market conditions continue to vary depending on price, location and product type. For example, prices have ranged from a year-to-date decline of nearly eight per cent for row product in the East district to a two per cent increase for semi-detached product in the North district.

Larger price declines are often caused by high supply in the new-home and resale markets relative to demand.

 

HOUSING MARKET FACTS

Detached

  • Detached sales improved in November over last year’s levels, mostly due to growth in the $400,000 – $500,000 range. However, sales in November and overall activity remain low by historical standards.
  • Despite some recent gains in sales activity, year-to-date sales remain comparable to last year’s levels and 20 per cent below longer-term trends. However, detached sales have improved in both the North West and South districts this year.
  • Improving sales, combined with further declines in new listings, helped reduce inventories in this sector compared to levels recorded last year. However, supply levels remained elevated based on seasonal comparisons.
  • Like some of the other sectors, the detached market is slowly moving toward more balanced conditions. However, it is still oversupplied, and this trend continues to weigh on prices.
  • The detached unadjusted benchmark price was $481,500 in November, slightly lower than last month’s levels and two per cent below last year’s prices. 

Apartment

  • Apartment sales pulled back this month, causing year-to-date sales to remain comparable to last year’s levels and 21 per cent below long-term averages. 
  • The monthly decline in sales was mostly driven by pullbacks in the City Centre, North West and South East districts. However, on a year-to-date basis, sales activity improved in the North, West and South East districts.
  • New listings rose across most districts, causing city-wide inventory gains this month. Much of the gains were a result of a rise in new-home listings filtering into the resale market. Despite the monthly shift, year-to-date new listings and inventories remain lower than last year’s levels.
  • Weaker sales, combined with rising inventories, pushed November months of supply to over seven months. This is higher than last year’s levels of more than five months. 
  • Persistent oversupply in this sector caused prices to ease. The year-to-date benchmark price declined by more than two per cent.

Attached

  • Year-to-date sales remain more than six per cent higher than last year’s levels and just below long-term averages.
  • New listings eased this month compared to last year and sales improved.  Inventories continue to ease from the monthly highs recorded last year. While the attached market remains oversupplied, the market continues to improve over last year’s levels.
  • November semi-detached prices eased by two per cent compared to last year. The largest year-over-year declines occurred in the City Centre district. 
  • Row prices eased by nearly four per cent compared to last year. Annual declines ranged from more than seven per cent in the North East district to nearly two per cent in the North West and East districts.

 

REGIONAL MARKET FACTS

Airdrie

  • Sales activity continue to improve in November compared to last year. This caused year-to-date sales to rise to 1,146 units, an increase over last year and consistent with long-term averages. 
  • The rise in sales continued to be met with a pullback in new listings, resulting in inventory declines. This helped reduce the months of supply and November levels are much closer to balanced conditions.
  • Easing oversupply has helped reduce the downward pressure on prices this month. However, it was not enough to offset earlier declines. The year-to-date benchmark price in Airdrie was $332,345, three per cent below last year’s levels.

Cochrane

  • November sales eased compared to the previous year, but it was not enough to offset earlier gains, as year-to-date sales remained just above last year’s levels. 
  • The notable adjustment this month was in new listings, which eased enough to offset any declines in sales. This caused further inventory reductions compared to last year. While the months of supply did not shift much this month, year-to-date levels have eased from the previous year and remain just above longer-term averages.
  • Despite supply reductions, the market remains oversupplied, which continues to weigh on prices. In November, prices the benchmark price was $394,200, lower than last month and more than four per cent below last year’s levels.

Okotoks

  • November sales continued to improve over the low levels of activity recorded last year. The steady gains have caused year-to-date sales to rise above last year’s levels but remain below longer-term averages.
  • Inventory levels have also been easing, thanks to a rise in sales and reduction in new listings. While the market remains oversupplied, these adjustments are supporting moves toward more balanced conditions.
  • Prices in this market have been slower to adjust. In November, the unadjusted benchmark price was $412,100, lower than last month and over two per cent lower than last year.
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Posted in calgary, calgary communities, calgary real estate, inner city calgary neighbourhoods, south west calgary communities
The 10 Most Expensive Communities in SW Calgary


These are the 10 most expensive Calgary communities in the southwest quadrant, based on year-to-date (YTD) residential average sale price.


1. Bel Aire
Established: 1960
Population: 390
Dwellings: 159
Median pre-tax household income: $401,839
New listings (YTD): 20
Number of residential sales (YTD): 4
Residential average sale price (YTD): $2,000,000
Residential benchmark price (YTD): N/A


2. Britannia
Established: 1956
Population: 690
Dwellings: 313
Median pre-tax household income: $268,603
New listings (YTD): 40
Number of residential sales (YTD): 19
Residential average sale price (YTD): $1,807,237
Residential benchmark price (YTD): $1,342,380


3. Bayview
Established: 1967
Population: 751
Dwellings: 248
Median pre-tax household income: $260,339
New listings (YTD): 22
Number of residential sales (YTD): 9
Residential average sale price (YTD): $1,613,722
Residential benchmark price (YTD): $939,800


4. Elbow Park
Established: 1910
Population: 3,342
Dwellings: 1,195
Median pre-tax household income: $296,866
New listings (YTD): 112
Number of residential sales (YTD): 51
Residential average sale price (YTD): $1,506,287
Residential benchmark price (YTD): N/A


5. Roxboro
Established: 1923
Population: 422
Dwellings: 154
Median pre-tax household income: $565,835
New listings (YTD): 7
Number of residential sales (YTD): 3
Residential average sale price (YTD): $1,476,667
Residential benchmark price (YTD): N/A


6. Upper Mount Royal
Established: 1904
Population: 2,478
Dwellings: 1,070
Median pre-tax household income: $214,282
New listings (YTD): 89
Number of residential sales (YTD): 27
Residential average sale price (YTD): $1,401,889
Residential benchmark price (YTD): N/A


7. Mayfair
Established: 1957
Population: 432
Dwellings: 156
Median pre-tax household income: $307,108
New listings (YTD): 7
Number of residential sales (YTD): 2
Residential average sale price (YTD): $1,190,000
Residential benchmark price (YTD): N/A


8. Elboya
Established: 1947
Population: 1,754
Dwellings: 771
Median pre-tax household income: $106,887
New listings (YTD): 38
Number of residential sales (YTD): 8
Residential average sale price (YTD): $1,142,250
Residential benchmark price (YTD): $815,720


9. Pump Hill
Established: 1967
Population: 1,640
Dwellings: 562
Median pre-tax household income: $165,266
New listings (YTD): 32
Number of residential sales (YTD): 16
Residential average sale price (YTD): $941,344
Residential benchmark price (YTD): $851,730


10. Scarboro
Established: 1910
Population: 931
Dwellings: 339
Median pre-tax household income: $220,777
New listings (YTD): 17
Number of residential sales (YTD): 10
Residential average sale price (YTD): $890,448
Residential benchmark price (YTD): N/A

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