May 8, 2012 – Calgary’s real estate market continued to perform in line with 10 year averages and in balance for the second month. 

After a slow start in January and February we are now moving full steam ahead and have a full blown spring market!

• Sales of single family homes lead the way with increases of 30% over the volumes that were produced last year during April.
• Condo apartments were up 13% and townhomes were up 19% for the month.
• Listings new to the market for the month were up 5% but year-to-date are still down slightly.

We should see another strong month in May and look forward to our balanced market continuing into the summer.

For only the second time on the past 5 years Calgary’s real estate market has returned to balance.

A balanced market is described as two and a half to four months’ worth of inventory to support the current volume of sales in all categories.

For the month of March Calgary produced 2,701 unit sales in all categories combined (an increase of 17% over last year) and at month’s end we had a total of 8,650 active listings. This equates to 3.2 months’ worth of inventory, a balanced market.

As we move into the heart of the spring market expect to see homes selling closer to the asking price and selling in fewer days. This is GREAT news for sellers after having endured the slow market for the past 5 years.

Timing is still great to buy with record low interest rates and still an adequate supply of inventory, but should this trend continue we could see upward pressure on prices over the next few months.  Call me today at 403-238-3113 for more information!

As I looked at our sales and listing volumes for the first month of the year (see stats) I couldn’t help but feel we are in for a big change in the real estate market this year in Calgary. But the question remains if we will see this turn around in the second quarter or in the fourth?  I see signs everywhere that things are finally going to change.

• Let’s look at the rental vacancy rates for starters: Calgary now enjoys residential vacancy rates less than 2%. This will put upward pressure on rents which will bring the cost of renting closer to the cost of owning a comparable property.  As these two align, entry level buyers will begin to move over into home ownership.
• Secondly job creation in the oil sands is staggering. Some estimates are calling for upwards of 60,000 new fulltime jobs created over the 5 years! These jobs will be partially filled by Calgarians moving to the north thereby creating an opportunity here for someone new to come to Calgary … initiating an incredible spin and trick down effect in our own backyard.

From local manufacturing, management and ongoing engineering we will see our city become very busy so when we look at our opening numbers this year, let’s call it the Calm before the storm – it’s about to get busy.  Call me anytime!

Final sales numbers are now in for 2011 and all indications lead us to believe we are on our way to recovery and a balanced market.

Acreages lead the way with a 13.7% increase followed by urban single family at 7% and urban condominiums at 4%.  New listings for the year were down overall with a net decrease of 4.5%.

Average sales price showed a small increase of just over 1%.

We look forward to another year of marginal growth in both sales and average price.

For more information, call me at 403-238-3113!

Calgary’s market continues to hold its own despite uncertainty in the global economy.

Calgarians continue to take advantage of affordable prices and record low interest rates.  Marginal gains in both sales volumes and average prices have continued throughout the year despite the challenges in economic conditions.

• Year-to-date single family sales are up 10% in volume and 1% in average price.
• Condominiums are also up almost 2% in volume year-to-date but showed a promising increase of 17% for the month of September.

As we head into the fall look for volumes to stay steady and average price to show marginal growth.

Sales of higher-end homes in Calgary continue to show promise as our market continues to recover year-to-date.  Homes priced over $700,000 have shown a 21% increase in unit sales. This shows confidence in the longer term prospects for our economy as buyers in this price range are starting to take advantage of the record low interest rates and are realizing the value in this segment of the market.

Overall August continued to show better volumes than last year with sales gains overall of 23%. Listings new to the market were up slightly and average price was up just over 3% compared to last year.  Things look great as we head into the busy fall market.  Call me today at 403-238-3113 to find out more!

I’m excited to announce that on July 1st, I joined all the great realtors at RE/MAX, imparticular RE/MAX First. RE/MAX is the #1 real estate company in Canada and has three times the market share in Calgary to its closest competitor.  We felt this national exposure would benefit our sellers and our buyers; and give us the ability to offer even better customer service.  I would like to thank the staff, associates and Broker Rick Campos for all their support during this transition.

As a past recipient of the prestigious RE/MAX^® Hall of Fame Award, RE/MAX^® International Lifetime Achievement Award and the MLS® Million Dollar Club Award of Merit 19 times, I would like to reaffirm my commitment to providing my friends and associates with the same high level of service, integrity and professionalism that I have always provided in the past.

As slow as the real estate market seems at times, we are actually doing MUCH better than last year at this time! All categories – single family, condominium, towns outside of Calgary and Country residential – are all up for the first 10 days of August.

We are still behind the 10-year average but things are definitely moving in the right direction!  Call me today for more information!

Sales for both condominiums and single family homes during the month of June showed a marked improvement over the volumes produced last year during the same period of time.

Single family sales led the way with 1,398 home changing hands  during the month. This was a 32% increase over the 1,059 homes sold last year during June.

Condominium sales were also up over last year’s numbers with 581 units selling during the month. This represented a 30% increase over the number of sales recorded in June 2010. This increase in condo sales was the first monthly increase year-over-year since April 2010.

OUR MARKET CONTINUES TO SLOWLY RECOVER WITH POSITIVE JOB CREATION AND RENEWED OPTIMISM FROM THE OIL AND GAS SECTOR.

Total sales in all categories combined for the month of May were up 3.4% over sales volumes produced last year during the same time period. Sales in the small towns outside the city lead the way with a 17% increase in volume.

Single family sales in town were also up by 4%.  Condos and acreages were both down over last years’ numbers.

Listings new to the market continue to lag behind last years’ numbers, which is good as it helps keep our market closer to balance.

It appears overall our market is going to perform similar to last year’s market both in trends and volumes.

As always, call me if you have any questions or even if you just want to talk shop! I can be reached 403-238-3113 or at jondick@shaw.ca!