Buyers’ Market on the horizon?
Wednesday, September 9th, 2015
The sustained low oil prices and a marginally increasing unemployment rate (although it’s not nearly as catastrophic as some might have you believe) are finally starting the affect the prices of mid range homes in calgary, with the August average selling price moving from $475,000 to $466,000. Now, that’s less than a two percent drop, from a record setting year to a recession, so it’s certainly not a major correction, but the graph is moving downwards and that’s something of which to be aware.
The question is, are we on the verge of a buyers’ market – and if you’re looking to buy, should you wait? The answer to the first part is, it depends on who you ask. Google “buyers’ market calgary” and the first two results are, “Housing Affordability Index shows Calgary is a buyers’ market,” and, “For some in Calgary, it’s still a seller’s market.” Both articles are from June, 2015. The upshot is, if you’ve got a house for sale for under $450,000, you’ve got a hot commodity on your hands and will likely sell post haste. Overall prices are going down, though, with fewer buyers thanks to economic uncertainty, meaning sellers in some neighbourhoods will need to cater more to their potential customers to make the sale.
So, what to do? In my fifteen years of experience, I can say waiting or not waiting is not going to have much of an impact on most buyers or sellers. Usually people need to sell their current house before buying a new one; banking on prices going down means banking on the value of your own property dropping as well. If you intend to stay within the same category of home, it’ll probably be a wash. Jumping to a much more expensive house from something in the mid range, however, could offer an argument for waiting a bit: as the economy slows, prices tend to fall the most in the high end of the market, while the middle stays relatively stable, so there may be deals to be had if oil remains low. That’s a significant ‘if’, though.
For the most part, the best time to buy your house is when you need to, whether it’s relocating to be closer to the kids’ school, to shorten commute times, or to get a property with more bedrooms to accommodate a growing family. There are just as many stories of people’s new residences shooting up in value after purchase as there are of them going down; as long as you buy a home that suits your needs, for a price you can afford, there’s no reason for regrets.
Why don’t we discuss this more – contact me and let’s start the ball rolling.
