Calgary housing market on pace for all-time record in annual dollar volume

Taking aim at peak set during the 2007 boom

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald June 20, 2014

                                                     

 

 

Calgary’s resale housing market could set a record for total dollar volume this year.

Photograph by: Kathy McCormick , Calgary Herald

CALGARY - Calgary’s resale housing market is on pace to set an all-time high for the best annual dollar volume for MLS transactions, eclipsing the mark set during the city’s housing boom in 2007.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, all MLS residential sales in the city so far this year, up to Thursday morning, totalled just over $6.2 billion in value.
The record was set in 2007 of $11.3 billion. Last year, total dollar volume for the year was $10.7 billion.
Year-to-date, there have been 12,898 MLS transactions in Calgary.
In 2007, there were 26,611 sales for the year.
“Prospective home buyers have been finding or have been in good jobs, helping them purchase a home,” said Richard Cho, senior market analyst in Calgary for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. “Low mortgage rates have remained low while the rise in home prices has led to additional equity gains for many existing home owners. These factors have also contributed to the increase in sales. The uptick in demand combined with a decline in active listings has put more upward pressure on prices. Homes are also selling more quickly compared to the previous year and sellers seeing multiple offers has become more common.
“The pressure on prices is forecast to ease throughout 2014 and 2015. Rising prices are expected to entice more home owners to list their houses for sale, thus bringing up supply. As active listings move higher, we anticipate price growth to moderate.”
This year’s housng market has been buoyed by strong monthly activity like May which was a record-breaking month for the city.
All-time highs were set for the median and average MLS sales price, the number of properties sold for the month of May, and the level of luxury home transactions.
In the City of Calgary, there were 2,948 MLS sales, up 16.29 per cent from a year ago while the median price rose by 7.14 per cent to $435,000 and the average sale price was up by 5.44 per cent to $486,531.
Monthly sales were also the second highest total ever behind only March 2007’s 3,283 transactions.
Previous price records were registered in March of this year at $430,000 for the median price and $484,918 for the average sale price.
There were also 94 properties sold in the $1-million plus price point in May, eclipsing the previous record for any month of 83 in May 2013.
So far this month, June is also showing a continuation of strong residential real estate activity in the city.
According to CREB, from June 1-19, there were 1,704 MLS sales, up 15.14 per cent from the same period a year ago. The median price of $434,950 has increased by 6.09 per cent while the average sale price has risen by 6.99 per cent to $496,270.
New listings of 2,626 in June are up 24.81 per cent from last year and active listings of 4,902 have risen by 1.47 per cent.
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Potential Homebuyers to Sign Written Service Agreements with Realtors

Potential homebuyers to sign written service agreements with realtors

Real Estate Council of Alberta enacting new regulation July 1

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald June 13, 2014

 

CALGARY - The Real Estate Council of Alberta is introducing a new regulation that will affect how consumers buy homes through a licenced real estate professional in the province.
Effective July 1, consumers who are buying or selling residential property and are clients of Alberta real estate professionals will be asked by their real estate professional to sign a written service agreement. While this has long been the standard practice for sellers of residential real estate, it will mark a significant change for buyers who have not often been asked to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement, said the council, which says the new rule will enhance consumer protection.
Kevin Clark, council chair and a Calgary realtor with more than 35 years of experience in the industry, said the decision was not a sudden one.
“We’re always working to enhance the experience between Albertans and licensees,” said Clark. “That’s the fundamental of what we’re doing and there’s no particular reason as to the why now other than it’s come to this point.”
Other provinces such as Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec have similar regulations, added Clark.
The Real Estate Council of Alberta, is the independent governing authority that sets, regulates and enforces standards for real estate brokerage, mortgage brokerage, property management and real estate appraisals professionals in the province.
The council said the primary reason why it is introducing written service agreements between residential real estate professionals and all clients is to ensure clients are informed about what they can and should expect from their relationship with their authorized industry professional.
The written service agreement will define the relationship between the parties; explain the services to be provided by the brokerage; explain the obligations and responsibilities of the parties; provide consent for the collection, use and distribution of personal information of the client; and outline the method of calculation of renumeration or how the industry professional will be compensated.
“The benefit is to bring the communication of expectations to constantly closer and closer meet reality,” said Clark. “It’s a communication of clarity more than anything. It clarifies the relationship between the two parties.”
RECA has 14,714 members. Last year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association, there were 66,080 residential MLS transactions in Alberta.
Total residential MLS sales in the Calgary region were 30,544, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board, which has about 5,000 realtor members.
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Calgary resale housing market price growth best in Canada

10.12% hike from a year ago

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald June 16, 2014                                                     

 

Calgary price growth in the resale housing market is the best in Canada.

Photograph by: Ted Rhodes , Calgary Herald

CALGARY - Annual price growth in Calgary’s resale housing market was the best in Canada in May, more than doubling the national aggregate, according to a report released Monday by the Canadian Real Estate Association.
The association’s MLS Home Price Index indicated prices in Calgary jumped by 10.12 per cent year-over-year compared with 4.98 per cent growth in 11 major centres surveyed.
Calgary also had the best three-year price growth at 23.38 per cent compared with the national aggregate of 12.31 per cent.
Robert Kavcic, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets, said Calgary, and Alberta more broadly, “is on an island by itself” in the overall Canadian housing market.
Robert Hogue, senior economist with RBC Economics, said upward price pressure is “still fairly intense” in Calgary.
In May, the association said the Calgary region had 3,832 MLS transactions which was up 18 per cent from a year ago while in Canada sales jumped by 4.8 per cent to 54,222. In Alberta, sales rose by 13.2 per cent to 8,162 transactions.
Average MLS sale prices rose by 5.7 per cent in Calgary to $465,579, by 5.1 per cent in Alberta to $405,294 and by 7.1 per cent in Canada to $416,584.
CREA also released on Monday its latest housing forecast for the rest of this year and 2015.
It said sales in Alberta will rise by 3.8 per cent this year to 68,600 units and by another 1.0 per cent next year to 69,300 units. In Canada, sales are expected to grow by 1.2 per cent this year to 463,400 and by another 0.9 per cent in 2015 to 467,800.
Average MLS sale prices are forecast to increase by 4.8 per cent in Alberta this year to $399,300 and by 2.0 per cent in 2015 to $407,200. In Canada, prices are expected to rise by 5.7 per cent this year to $404,300 and by 0.7 per cent next year to $407,300.
“Canada’s housing market continues to look balanced and sturdy overall, but big disparities persist below the surface,” said Kavcic. “One reason policymakers might be a bit hesitant to act again soon is that strong price gains are confined to a few select markets, or even sub-markets, while a wide swath of the country, at least geographically, is seeing downright dreary conditions.”
Leslie Preston, economist with TD Economics, said a thaw after a very long winter saw Canadians flocking back to the housing market in May, driving home sales to their biggest monthly gain in nearly four years.
“The combination of a thaw from a long winter and the recent decline in mortgage interest rates was clearly a potent combination for May home sales,” said Preston. “Clearly pent-up demand for housing was building over the winter months, and home sales could keep some of their current momentum for a few months yet, as lenders continue to advertise very attractive mortgage rates. However, employment growth is quite modest and house prices continue to outstrip gains in incomes, and TD expects that sales momentum will ebb later this year.
“Moreover, it is worth noting that decent price increases have also pulled more homes onto the market in recent months, helping to keep a lid on the pace of price increases. TD expects growth in new listings over 2014 and 2015 will give buyers more bargaining power, and see price growth move more in line with incomes.”
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Calgary repeat home sales reach new price high

8.7% annual hike the best in Canada 

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald June 12, 2014 7:49 AM   

Prices for repeat home sales in Calgary hit an all-time high in May

CALGARY - Another residential real estate report came out on Thursday and once again it’s another indication that Calgary’s housing market is one of the hottest - if not the hottest one - in the country.
The Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index, which looks at repeat home sales, said Calgary led the country in May with year-over-year price growth of 8.7 per cent while the national composite, comprising 11 markets, was up 4.6 per cent on an annual basis.
The index is estimated by tracking ob­served or registered home prices over time using data collected from public land registries. All dwellings that have been sold at least twice are considered in the calculation of the index.
On a monthly basis, Calgary prices rose by 1.1 per cent while they were up 0.8 per cent nationally.
“Calgary’s advance was the fourth in a row exceeding one per cent, taking prices to a new high,” said the report.
Nationally, the monthly increase was the fifth smallest for May in the 16 years covered by the index. The countrywide composite index rose to an all-time high, but only three of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed did the same.
Prices were up from the previous month in seven markets and by more than the national average in five. The report said the 3.1 per cent monthly gain in Halifax was the largest in the history of that market. Prices rose 2.0 per cent in Hamilton, 1.6 per cent in Quebec City, 1.3 per cent in Toronto, 0.6 per cent in Edmonton and 0.5 per cent in Montreal. Prices were unchanged from the month before in Ottawa-Gatineau and Vancouver. The reading for Vancouver ended 12 consecutive months of rising prices. Prices were down from the previous month in Victoria (0.1 per cent) and Winnipeg (0.3 per cent).
The report said that for the third month in a row, prices were down from a year earlier in all four markets east of Toronto: Quebec City (1.6 per cent), Ottawa-Gatineau (1.4 per cent), Montreal (1.2 per cent) and Halifax (0.4 per cent). In Victoria prices were flat from a year earlier. The 12-month rise trailed the countrywide average in Winnipeg (1.0 per cent) and Edmonton (2.6 pre cent) and led it in Hamilton (5.9 per cent), Toronto (6.0 per cent), Vancouver (8.2 per cent) and Calgary.
“The softness of prices east of Toronto is consistent with the excess supply prevailing in the resale markets of these metropolitan areas. That being said, market conditions are generally balanced elsewhere, and are even tight in Calgary,” said the report.
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Record Breaking May for Calgary Housing Market

Record-breaking May for Calgary housing market

New all-time peaks set for prices 

By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald June 2, 2014

 

CALGARY - May was a record-breaking month for Calgary’s resale housing market.
All-time highs were set for the median and average MLS sales price, the number of properties sold for the month of May, and the level of luxury home transactions, according to Mike Fotiou, associate broker with First Place Realty.
In the City of Calgary, there were 2,948 MLS sales, up 16.29 per cent from a year ago while the median price rose by 7.14 per cent to $435,000 and the average sale price was up by 5.44 per cent to $486,531.
Monthly sales were also the second highest total ever behind only March 2007’s 3,283 transactions, said Fotiou.
Previous price records were registered in March of this year at $430,000 for the median price and $484,918 for the average sale price.

There were also 94 properties sold in the $1-million plus price point in May, eclipsing the previous record for any month of 83 in May 2013, added Fotiou.
“The Calgary real estate market continues to set new records and reach new heights, echoing the same accolades our great city continues to enjoy. Calgary has been ranked the fifth best city to live in the world several years in a row, one of the most prosperous and one of best places to raise a family,” said Cody Battershill, a realtor with RE/MAX House of Real Estate.
“Continued record migration and a steady job market along with best in Canada incomes continue to support the strong real estate market. Builder inventory, resale listings and rental vacancies are all very tight driving time lines for quick decisions and in many cases multiple offers. Alberta is ranked one of the best economies in the whole world and Calgary is helping lead the charge.”
CREB said sales last month were well above the long-term trends.
“Strong sales activity is a reflection of improving fundamental conditions such as a growing population, favourable lending rates and rising wages,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist. “Leading up to May, resale market sales were somewhat restricted by lack of choice. However, recent price gains have encouraged growth in new listings, helping meet some of the housing demand.”
In May, new listings rose by 16.51 per cent from last year to 4,327 units. However, active listings at the end of the month were down 5.04 per cent from a year ago to 4,504 units.
“Persistently tight market conditions continue to support stronger than expected price gains,” said Lurie. “While supply levels are improving, demand remains strong preventing any significant run up in inventories.”
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