Year-to-date sales 14% ahead of last year’s pace
By Myke Thomas ,Calgary Sun
Housing contributes greatly to the Calgary economy, says the Canadian Real Estate Association’s (CREA) February report.
Last month, residential transactions of all types in the city on the MLS system were valued at $1.1 billion, bringing the year-to-date sales value to $1.9 billion, an increase of 21% over the first two months last year.
That’s money spent on home purchases and does not include expenditures for things such as moving, furniture, professional services and other needs related to home buying.
The Calgary market is approaching the level of activity seen in 2006/07, which is borne out in the CREA report. Total residential sales in February of homes of all types reached 2,363 units, a 14% increase over February last year, with year-to-date sales to the end of February hitting 4,165 units, also 14% ahead of the first two months of 2013.
The average sales price in February was $460,000, up from $437,000 last year, but caution must be used with these numbers.
While it is informative as to the health of the market, the price should not compared to any listed prices, because it includes housing of all types.
A better number for comparison is the benchmark price, which can be found on the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) website (www.creb.com).
According to CREB, a benchmark home is one comprised of a set of specific attributes (for example, a three-bedroom, 1,000-sq.- ft. home with finished basement) that is typical for the area where it is located. So, if you are looking for such a home in the northwest, the benchmark price compares only those types of homes in the northwest.
A benchmark home price is more restrictive than the average price or MLS Home Price Index, both of which are based on a broader set of properties in each housing category.
CREB’s website for the period March 1 to March 18 showed total residential sales in Calgary were 1,345 units, while year-to-date sales were at 4,637 homes, up from 4,133 sales to mid-March last year.
Last month, residential transactions of all types in the city on the MLS system were valued at $1.1 billion, bringing the year-to-date sales value to $1.9 billion, an increase of 21% over the first two months last year.
That’s money spent on home purchases and does not include expenditures for things such as moving, furniture, professional services and other needs related to home buying.
The Calgary market is approaching the level of activity seen in 2006/07, which is borne out in the CREA report. Total residential sales in February of homes of all types reached 2,363 units, a 14% increase over February last year, with year-to-date sales to the end of February hitting 4,165 units, also 14% ahead of the first two months of 2013.
The average sales price in February was $460,000, up from $437,000 last year, but caution must be used with these numbers.
While it is informative as to the health of the market, the price should not compared to any listed prices, because it includes housing of all types.
A better number for comparison is the benchmark price, which can be found on the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) website (www.creb.com).
According to CREB, a benchmark home is one comprised of a set of specific attributes (for example, a three-bedroom, 1,000-sq.- ft. home with finished basement) that is typical for the area where it is located. So, if you are looking for such a home in the northwest, the benchmark price compares only those types of homes in the northwest.
A benchmark home price is more restrictive than the average price or MLS Home Price Index, both of which are based on a broader set of properties in each housing category.
CREB’s website for the period March 1 to March 18 showed total residential sales in Calgary were 1,345 units, while year-to-date sales were at 4,637 homes, up from 4,133 sales to mid-March last year.
