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During his fifteen years as a Calgary real estate agent, Len has established himself as a market leader selling hundreds of homes each year. Len's extensive experience has helped him consistently rank in the top One Percent of Canadian RE/MAX realtors. His team are currently #1 in Calgary, with 96 million dollars in real estate sold in 2006. Len and his team work hard to ensure that their clients benefit from the latest innovations in real estate technology. So if you have a Calgary home for sale, they will create a marketing strategy that will sell your home for the amount you deserve, in a professional and timely manner. Contact Len:
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Market Data & Statistics |
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Thanks to CREB for these statistics. For more click here. | ||||
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Interpretation
Last updated: May 8, 2008.
Over the last few years the Calgary real estate market was described as "tight," with new home buyers struggling to find a home, much less an affordable one. In the last part of 2007 and now 2008 we have seen a correction in this, with many more properties coming to market. We have 2.5 times more homes on the market than we did in April of 2007. There were also 18% more new listings in April of '08 than there where in '07, and we had 40% more new listings in Feb of '08. It also now takes, on average, 67% longer to sell a single family homes, and 96% longer to sell a condominiums. This is mostly due to home sales being down 31% this month.
Prime rates are at a low of 4.75%, the oil and gas patch is booming, and employment numbers for Alberta are still very strong, so why are sales so much lower than in previous years? Many fingers are pointing at the decrease in immigration from Saskatchewan and BC, where their home markets are currently quite strong, and we are now seeing reverse immigration back to those provinces. The Royalty Review is also blamed, as it softened employment in the Oil and Gas field here in Alberta. Other big reasons are the increased amount of new constructions over the last few years, and the US housing market still taking a steep dive, making speculators much more cautious.
But the biggest reason for the low sales is the growing gap between prices and demand. While we have 2.5 times more houses on the market than we did this time last year, the average sale price is almost exactly the same. In a healthy market this stable sale price should reflect a decrease in inventory, which is clearly not what we're seeing here.
For these reasons it is evident that the market is due for a correction. Either we see an increase in Calgary home buyers from another boom in Calgary industry, or we see a decrease in housing prices, which is far more likely. We have just this month began to see this correction in single family homes, where the average sales price is down over 1%. Industry insiders point out that despite the misleading statistics, home prices are infact down 5% to 10% over the last 6 months. |
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Interesting graphs
Calgary Housing Market Overview
(Last 12 months)  Calgary Housing Inventory Vs. Sales
(Last 3 years)  |
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Interpretation
Last updated: May 8, 2008.
It is important to first note that the real estate market is highly cyclical. Production, sales, and other activity tends to be very high in the spring, and low in the winter when production is slow and people are less inclined to move.
The most notable interpretation from these graphs is the difference between inventory and sales. Simple economics of supply and demand show that supply is greatly outpacing demand, and prices have not yet come inline to reflect this. Expect to see a decrease in new constructions and lower pricing to help close this gap.
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After finishing his Finance degree at McGill University Chris obtained his mortgage brokering license here in Calgary. He has since worked with several of Canada's top brokers, and has quickly gained a reputation as the "go-to" agent for many of Calgary's realtors. Chris attributes his ability to take complicated scenarios and turn them around in record time to the talented team he works with, and his relationships with over 40 different lenders. "If you have any questions on the current Calgary housing market, your ability to finance your next home, or just need a mortgage put together quickly at a great rate, give me a call!" Contact Chris:
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