Calgary Real Estate Blog

Premiering a couple months before the Calgary Home + Garden Show, the Calgary Renovation Show is a new event geared toward both do-it-yourselfers and homeowners looking to hire trades in 2017. It features some big name (for the HGTV set) guests including Jillian Harris, Mike Holmes Jr., and Danielle Bryk, along with furniture and cabinet rehab workshops, and more than 40 exhibitors. Sponsored by Ikea, Cloverdale Paint, and Sleep Country, among others, this show is a great way to spend what’s sure to be a chilly weekend, sparking ideas on how you can improve your home for comfort and maybe even profitability.

I’ve got a promo code to share that will get you 2-for-1 tickets if you buy before January 11 – simply click here and use the promo code SHOWWEEK when checking out.

Forecasters are predicting a stable real estate market this year, with home prices staying pretty much the same as they are right now throughout 2017. If you’re thinking of making a move, well considered renovations can make a significant difference in both how long it take your property to sell, and on the final selling price. Please feel free to contact me with any questions as to what renos tend to have the greatest return on investment, then attend the Calgary Renovation Show for inspiration as to just what you can accomplish on a small budget.

I was looking at the Calgary’s real estate statistics for November, and it would seem we may be seeing some positive trends as far as how supply and pricing are moving. For over a year now, the city’s resale market has seen an abundance of listings as people look to downsize or simply move somewhere with better employment prospects, and that increased selection has put downward pressure on prices. Having tonnes of properties to compare is great for buyers, but can be frustrating and discouraging for those on the selling end. The last couple of months have marked a change in that trend, as the number of new listings went down 9 percent in November and a whopping 23 percent in December, while the number of active listings declined an average of 8 percent per month over the same period. At the same time, both median and average prices have continued to increase.

What this means for the average seller is it will be a little bit easier to stand out in the crowd, and the pressure to compromise on price has lessened. We’re still a far cry from the fast times of a few years ago, when many homes were selling for above-asking price before the For Sale sign could be pounded into the front yard, but it’s certainly positive news.

I expect this could be a sign of things to come, as our economy starts to scratch its way back toward growth, employment numbers improve, and our city gets back on its feet. The coming year could be the best year to sell your home that we’ve seen in awhile.

If you want to start hammering out a sales strategy for 2017, please contact me!

Also, the Calgary Renovation Show – a great place to get inspired – is less than a month away, and I’ve got a 2-for-1 ticket promo code for you! Simply visit this link and use the code 1MONTH to take advantage of the deal. Just make sure you do it before December 28, when the code expires.

As is pretty common in real estate news articles lately, the Herald kind of buried the lede in its latest survey of Calgary’s market. Yes, it’s true that year-over-year sales were predictably down once again, as sectors of our economy continue to suffer. More interesting, though, at least from my perspective, is the fact that detached home sales were down a mere 1.4 percent from last year. Think about that: despite unemployment in the province hitting a 20-year high, houses are still being bought at a rate very close to last year’s. Add in the fact that average sale prices are actually up in some segments, despite a substantial increase in supply, and you have just one more example of the strong fundamentals underlying our real estate market.

The weaknesses in the market right now, rightly noted by the Herald, are the apartment, and attached home (including townhouses and duplexes) sectors, which have seen sharper declines in both sales and selling prices. Still, the drops have been nowhere near as precipitous as you might have expected if the market had been overheated.

The fact of the matter is, real estate in Calgary offers good value for money. We’re a resilient, optimistic city, and a great place to live.

So when you notice a particularly dire headline about the state of our real estate market, consider the purpose of that headline (to encourage clicks and sell papers), and read the entire article before forming an opinion. That’s solid advice for any article you might come across these days, actually.

As always, I’m available to consult on your property, or just to chat, through my contact form.

As Alberta’s economy continues to sputter, with unemployment hitting levels we haven’t seen since the early eighties, one would expect our once heated real estate market to be cooling off big time. Listings are way up over last year as people look to downsize, leading to an abundance of selection from which buyers can choose. A surface reading would suggest prices should be dropping.

But they’re not. Calgary’s average prices for July and August were actually up year over year, with only a 15 percent increase in the average number of days properties are listed on the market.

So why would that be? Late last month the CBC ran an excellent article exploring this very issue. Based on information from the Department of Finance, the conclusion the article reaches is that much of the unemployment our province is experiencing has hit itinerant workers – meaning those who came from other provinces to fill jobs in Alberta – who weren’t homeowners here, and have since returned to their home provinces. This has the effect of limiting downward pressure on Alberta’s housing markets (while spiking the rental vacancy rates). Read the article for more in depth analysis.

If the economic downturn continues, of course, its impact on the real estate market could be more pronounced. For the moment, however, housing sales remain a relatively stable component of Alberta’s economy.

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Want to chat about selling your house, or looking to buy? Contact me!

Even as Calgary’s home market continues to slow, bit by bit, we’re seeing a remarkable increase in the number of homes on the market – supply is up nearly 24 percent from a year ago. This completely makes sense: there’s a wide variety of homes in styles and price ranges to suit nearly every potential buyer in neighbourhoods across the city, and that’s making homeowners who maybe weren’t even planning to move get the upgrade bug, so they put their own property on the market to see if it’ll sell. Add in our economic troubles forcing some to downsize, and you’ve got an abundance of supply.

This can, and is, leading to an expectation gap between some buyers and sellers. While some sellers are still hoping to get prices in the range they might’ve seen a year or two ago, thrifty buyers are using the current situation to pressure for deep discounts. It’s a bit of an impasse that may take some time to smooth out.

So what’s a person to do? My advice is this: if you’re looking to sell, you may need to, as Calgary Real Estate Board president Cliff Stephenson put it recently, “lower your expectations on price.” Calgary’s real estate market remains very healthy and sustainable, but you can’t grow the inventory the way ours has in the past several months without putting downward pressure on asking prices. Consider how quickly you’d like your property to sell, as attractive pricing can help a home stand out in today’s market. There’s no need to drastically undervalue your listing, but you’re not going to get 2014 prices today.

For buyers, don’t expect a fire sale mentality amongst sellers, as our market’s just not there. While there’s a lot to choose from, benchmark prices really haven’t dropped that much, and mid-range homes are still changing hands in a couple of weeks. While there may be a bit more wiggle room than there would’ve been last year, appealing properties are still highly sought after, and bidding wars are not out of the question.

Overall, our market continues to adjust to the new reality, but the fact that it remains relatively stable is a testament to how healthy and realistic it has remained over the past several years. As our economy improves over the rest of the year, we may see some of the downward pressure let up, but really what happens next remains to be seen.

Contact me today for a comparative market analysis today!

I often get asked about the importance of pricing your property right, so it sells in a relatively short period of time – if a seller’s not in a big rush to move, why not price it a bit high and hope the right buyer comes along eventually?

I like to address this with a little analogy:

The real estate market is like a Chinese food buffet (stay with me here!): there are lots of options from which to choose, and most of them look pretty good.  However, when a chef comes out of the kitchen carrying a steaming, fresh bowl of ginger beef, everyone takes notice; even diners on their way back to their seats may turn around to check out the good stuff. Some diners have been waiting and watching for the fresh ginger beef to come out of the kitchen, refusing to leave without it!  Meanwhile, those sad looking spring rolls that have been under the heat lamp for half an hour will just get less and less attention as time goes by.  No one’s taking them, so there must be something wrong with them.

And so it is with the housing market. The first wave of interest is the biggest and best opportunity to find your buyer. Buyers are waiting for the fresh “meat” to come out of the kitchen.  If a property is priced well the sellers can take advantage of that attention and bring an offer in earlier than later.  The longer a property sits on MLS, the less ‘fresh’ it looks, and the more likely it is that potential buyers will assume something is wrong with it.  It’s just the way buyers think, especially in a market like Calgary’s, where business is often booming.

While the days of homes selling on the same day they’re listed may be behind us (for now), a property that’s been listed for a long time is just going to appear stale.  You’re much better off to list according to comparables in your area, rather than shooting high to see what you can get.

For a free, no obligation evaluation of your home, please contact me today!

I’d say the performance of Calgary’s real estate market in recent weeks is yet more proof that, contrary to the belief of some, we are not in the midst of a bubble on the verge of popping.

We went from a habanero hot sales year last year, when oil was high and so were spirits, to recession-level unemployment and plenty of economic uncertainty with only a minor adjustment in the market. Sure, sales and listings are both down, but it has been a far from precipitous drop; indeed, mid-priced homes in good neighbourhoods have actually seen a small increase in selling price, as buyers look for properties that meet their needs and their budget.

This cushioned fall is not at all what you’d expect from a bubble scenario: if prices were artificially inflated while the economy was booming, they’d bust just as fast, but they didn’t. So, now is not the time to hurriedly sell before you’re ready, nor to rush into buying without your ducks in a row. Price fluctuations will happen, but probably not significantly enough to drive your purchasing behaviour. Call a Realtor you can trust (I’m available), talk about your goals and your fears, your need to haves and your nice to haves, and let’s make a plan.

On a separate note, I’ve got a new discount code for the Calgary Home + Design Show running September 17-20. Buy tickets online with the promo code SHOWWEEK and get them 2-for-1! The offer expires September 16, so get clicking!

While we’ve definitely transitioned to a balanced market, as lower oil prices have cooled Calgary’s economy somewhat, it remains a great time to sell your home, especially if it’s valued at less than $500,000. The luxury market is taking a hit right now – if you’re looking for something in the $1 million-plus range, I can get you a great deal – but low interest rates are driving strong demand for detached, single family residences priced between $400,000 and $500,000, with many selling within a couple of weeks of listing for very close to asking price. The number of properties on the market in May 2015 was down by more than a quarter from previous years, and that means the best priced properties available will be snapped up quickly – average resale prices are down only 1.5 percent year-over-year.

Things are certainly looking more positive than they were a couple of months ago, and make me rather optimistic for how things will play out in the next six months. Yet more proof that our properly managed real estate market, backed by a reliable banking system, has warded off any hint of a housing bubble; the growth we’ve seen, while impressive, is both reasonable and sustainable.

To talk about your options in listing your own property, please contact me today!

As you may or may not be aware, lenders offering a mortgage to those purchasing a home with less than a 20 percent down payment usually require that mortgage be backed by mortgage loan insurance; the most familiar provider of mortgage loan insurance is the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, a government of Canada operation. This is a good thing, as it protects banks against defaults, while lowering the barrier to entry into the housing market. Homebuyers can purchase (typically their first) homes with as little as five percent down, so long as they’re willing to pay the CMHC premium as part of their mortgage.

Last month, CMHC announced it was increasing premiums effective June 1, 2015. These new premiums only affect buyers with a down payment of less than ten percent, and are intended to maintain CMHC’s capital holdings.

Homebuyers putting ten percent or less down will now pay a CMHC premium of 3.85 percent, up from 3.35 percent. According to CMHC, this should result in affected buyers paying about $5 per month more in insurance.

Like all insurance companies, CMHC maintains a large amount of capital holdings, which rise and fall as investments do. The money the company makes on these investments helps to pay for claims; by using this model, insurance companies are able to keep premiums relatively low while still having cash on hand to pay claims. So there you go; the more you know.

Want to know more? Contact me!

If you’ve seen anything in the news about residential real estate lately, it’s probably been doom-and-gloom talk about how sales in January were down nearly 40 percent from January 2014 – you know, the year of record sales when I barely had time to grab a coffee between appointments many days. That kind of talk sells newspapers (at least, as much as newspapers sell these days) and plays nicely into the narrative that Alberta’s on the cusp of an economic apocalypse, but the truth is, the market’s doing just fine, and should continue to do so throughout the year.

We’ll likely continue to see lower year-over-year sales and price increases in residential homes over the next few months, which is to be expected: not only is the lower oil price slowing our economy, but Calgary went from a red hot sellers’ market early last year to a more balanced and sustainable one in the latter half. That balance – having the right number of properties for sale in relation to the number looking to buy – is ideal, and healthy. Without needing to rush buying decisions, but still having plenty of selection from which to choose, Realtors like myself can better help home buyers find homes that meet their needs and satisfy their wants. (For more on buyers’ vs sellers’ markets, and some consideration on when is the right time to sell your home, visit here.)

Despite the actual number of sales going down in January, there was both an increase in the number of properties listed and a healthy 7.7 percent increase in the year-over-year benchmark selling price. Nothing to worry about on that front.

Could the market slow down significantly? Sure, it’s possible, especially with the talk of major cuts across the board in the next provincial budget. People who were on the fence about selling and are now afraid prices are going to crater will go ahead and list their homes to beat the rush, while others may decide to downsize as their personal financial situation changes. And without a doubt, this year’s market won’t be nearly as hot as 2014’s. Still, as you’re reading or watching news stories about the dire future of Calgary real estate, take a moment to remember the solid fundamentals on which our housing market is based; there’s no bubble to be found here, which means there may be a slowdown, but there won’t be a crash.

Questions about the right time to buy and sell in our current economy? Contact me!

Also: the Calgary Home + Garden Show is quickly approaching, and organizers have sent out a Valentine’s Day promotion. To buy tickets for the event (taking place February 26-March 1 at the BMO Centre) and save $5 in the process, click here and use the promo code LOVE. Offer is valid until February 18.