Wednesday, October 28, 2015

'This isn't Armageddon'...

CEO of Anthem Property Eric Carlson Christina Ryan / Calgary Herald

'This isn't Armageddon' says developer at Calgary Real Estate Forum

Published on: October 27, 2015 | Last Updated: October 27, 2015 3:27 PM MDT     
 
Some major investors in Calgary’s real estate market say they have not been scared off by the economic tailspin in the city caused by the precipitous drop in oil prices.
“This isn’t Armageddon,” Eric Carlson, chief executive of Anthem Properties and United Communities, told a session at Tuesday’s Calgary Real Estate Forum. “Everything will be all right.”
Anthem is the developer behind the multi-condo Waterfront project in Eau Claire. Carlson, who is based in Vancouver, was in Calgary last month to announce the next phase of the project.
Four buildings totalling 624 units — all sold — were completed in the first phase. The next stage, called Parkside, will eventually consist of six buildings comprising 361 units, of which 85 per cent are sold.
At Tuesday’s forum, Carlson said Calgary’s economy is more diversified today with other industries, outside the energy sector, now contributing more to the economy.
“If this is bad, I’ll take it,” he said, adding Calgary has in its history experienced far worse economic downturns.
Sam Gordon, principal with Wexford Developments, said the company has long-term investments in Alberta real estate and remains “very bullish” on the province due to its large oil reserves.
But he said many investors believe the economic situation is going to get worse before it gets better because the impact of low oil prices hasn’t completely cycled through the real estate system.
“In the short-term we sold out a few things, but in the long-term we remain very bullish on Alberta,” he said. “Our view is we see oil recovering by the end of 2016.”
Jeff Fleming, senior vice-president of investments with GWL Realty Advisors, said Alberta is a very important market for the company.
“We’re not pulling out by any stretch,” he said. “Alberta’s about $4.5 (billion) to $5 billion of our $17 billion assets under management for us.”
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Monday, September 14, 2015

Repeat Home Sales Prices in Calgary Surge in August - 3.9% Growth Highest in Canada



Published on: September 14, 2015 | Last Updated: September 14, 2015 10:18 AM MDT

 
Calgary saw Canada’s largest month-over-month increase in repeat home sale prices in August.
That’s according to the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index. Prices were up 3.9 per cent from July, and up 0.7 per cent from a year ago.
However, Calgary prices remain 0.9 per cent off their peak, set in October 2014.
Nationally, the index, for 11 major centres, was up one per cent from the previous month, an eighth consecutive monthly increase.
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.
Marc Pinsonneault, senior economist with the National Bank of Canada, said national rise exceeded the 11-year August average of 0.9 per cent.
The report said prices were up on the month in six of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed. Besides Calgary, there were increases of  2.4 per cent in Hamilton, 1.6 per cent in Toronto, 0.6 per cent in Vancouver, Ottawa-Gatineau and Winnipeg. Prices were down on the month in Victoria (-0.3 per cent), Halifax ( 0.4 per cent), Edmonton and Montreal (−0.5 per cent) and Quebec City (−1.1 per cent).
“The composite index was at an all-time high in August for a sixth consecutive month, though only the Vancouver, Hamilton and Toronto component indexes were at an historical high in August. The resale market in those three centres is a seller’s market according to the Canadian Real Estate Association criterion of sales relative to new listings,” said Pinsonneault.
He said that in August the composite index was up 5.4 per cent from a year earlier, the highest 12-month increase since November 2014. The 12-month gain was well above the countrywide average in Vancouver (9.7 per cent), Hamilton (8.8 per cent) and Toronto (8.7 per cent). It was below the average in Victoria (3.2 per cent), Edmonton (0.8 per cent) and Calgary. Prices were down from a year earlier in Winnipeg and Ottawa-Gatineau (-0.4 per cent), Montreal (-0,5 per cent), Quebec City (-0.7 per cent) and Halifax ( 1.4 per cent), added the report.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, month-to-date up to and including Sunday, MLS transactions in the city of 581 are down 36 per cent from the same period a year ago while new listings of 1,433 have fallen by 9.9 per cent. The average MLS sale price of $461,032 is off by 4.8 per cent year-over-year but the median price of $426,000 is up by 0.25 per cent.
Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist, said the local real estate board’s price measure is slightly different than the Teranet figures. Based on the citywide benchmark price of $456,300, prices remain similar to levels reported last year and have declined by one per cent since December 2014, she said.
“The slight moderation in prices so far is partly related to the supply in the market. Moving into this cycle there was limited supply in the rental, new home and resale market,” said Lurie. “So while housing demand has eased and supply levels have risen, overall market conditions remain relatively balanced limiting some of the downward pressure on price. However, price changes can be more pronounced depending on the price range, property type and location.
“Nonetheless, further job losses are forecasted and the energy sector slowdown is now expected to extend into next year. This will continue to impact the demand/supply balance in the city, and we may start to see further downward pressure on aggregate pricing.”
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Luxury Home Sales in Calgary Fall Sharply but Prices Hold Steady

Published on: August 31, 2015 | Last Updated: August 31, 2015 10:01 PM MDT
 
Sales in Calgary’s luxury home market may have fallen sharply from last year but properties have tended to hold their prices, says a new report released by RE/MAX.
The luxury market report said sales of properties over $1 million in the Calgary region have dropped by 28 per cent year-over-year from 2014 levels as the city grapples with the impact of falling oil prices.
Elton Ash, regional executive vice-president for RE/MAX of Western Canada, said the uncertainty in the oilpatch is impacting the luxury home market in the city.
“The question I’ve really got is if it’s only at 25 per cent roughly the volume decrease why aren’t prices moving more downward?,” he said.
“What we’re seeing in Calgary is that luxury buyers are not witnessing a notable decrease in prices, but there is less pressure and stress for buyers during the negotiation process. We’re seeing that normal conditions like home inspection and financing, which were rarer when buyers were frequently in competing offer situations, have become part of the normal negotiation process again. Buyers don’t have to make up their minds on the spot.”
Ash said Calgary now has a more diversified economy than it had in the 1980s “when the last hellish incident occurred.” That is somewhat sheltering the blow to the housing market from the oilpatch downturn.
“So I think overall the diversification has certainly muted the initial response to the oil price woes at this point,” he said.
The RE/MAX report said $1-million plus MLS transactions dropped to 517 year-to-date from January 1-July 31 — down from 715 for the same period a year ago. Sales of $2-million plus are down to 48 units from 77 last year and in the $3-million plus price point sales have fallen from 17 in 2014 to 14 this year.
It said a “healthy” 2.3 to 2.5 months’ supply of inventory in the $1 million plus range has brought a more balanced market to Calgary.
Rick Campos, a realtor with RE/MAX First in Calgary, said the housing market in general is seeing less activity these days.
“The market being soft has actually provided buyers the opportunity to move up who maybe couldn’t get into the (luxury) market last year or the year before,” he said. “There’s a different buyer out there today than there was a year ago or two years ago. So we have move-up buyers now where I think for a couple of years we were dealing with what I call power couples — young professionals who some of them were buying their first home. Now our luxury market isn’t going basically to first-time buyers, it’s going to move-up buyers.
“Our prices haven’t really suffered overall at this point.”
The RE/MAX report said a trend in Calgary’s luxury market is for buyers to purchase properties near the city’s core and then hire a builder to tear them down and construct a new home.
“Another thing in our luxury market that’s holding its own is lake properties. Like inner-city, there’s a limited supply … of lake community properties. So whether you’re talking Lake Bonavista or Midnapore those properties are still holding their value very well. If you were to drive around all the lakes in Calgary, you wouldn’t find too many properties for sale at this time.”
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Thursday, August 20, 2015

Alberta Housing Market Forecast to Rebound in 2016



Published on: August 20, 2015 | Last Updated: August 20, 2015 6:00 AM MDT

After a tough year in 2015, Alberta’s resale housing market is expected to rebound in 2016, according to a report by RBC Economics.
The bank’s senior economist, Robert Hogue, is forecasting sales in the province to dip by 17.8 per cent this year from 2014 to 59,000 transactions – the largest drop in the country.
But Alberta is then expected to see the biggest year-over-year hike in sales in 2016 of 7.1 per cent to 63,200 units.
Despite the drop in sales this year due to a slumping economy and continued depressed oil prices, the average sale price in Alberta is forecast to climb by 0.7 per cent to $378,500 and grow by another 2.1 per cent next year to $386,600.
However, the news isn’t that good for new home construction. Hogue is calling for an annual decline of 12 per cent in 2015 to 35,700 units followed by another 15.1 per cent decrease in 2016 to 30,300 units.
At the national level, the RBC report said the number of resales in the country would jump by five per cent this year to 505,400 this year but drop by 0.7 per cent next year to 501,800.
Hogue is expecting the national average price to rise by 4.6 per cent this year to $392,600 and by 3.2 per cent in 2016 to $405,100.
As for housing starts, Canada will mirror what is happening in Alberta but at a lesser scale. Starts this year are expected to drop by 1.9 per cent year-over-year to 185,800 units and fall by another 2.1 per cent next year to 181,500 units.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Friday, August 14, 2015

Calgary at Low Risk of Housing Correction, says CMHC





Published on: August 13, 2015 | Last Updated: August 13, 2015 4:53 PM MDT

Calgary’s housing market is not under threat of a correction despite a downturn in the local economy, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said in an analysis Thursday.
Its assessment of 15 metro markets lists Calgary as “low risk” while Toronto, Regina and Winnipeg were rated “high risk.” The review considered four factors — overheating; acceleration in house prices; overvaluation; and overbuilding — as of the end of March.
“The low price of oil has affected many different sectors of the economy, affecting employment and income growth, and increasing the unemployment rate. Weaker labour market conditions have also slowed migration to the region,” CMHC said of the Calgary-area market.
It said acceleration in prices and overbuilding were considered stable, while the threat of overheating had decreased. The risk of overvaluation rose to moderate.
“Given the information we had at that time, we’re seeing a modest amount of overvaluation,” said CMHC chief economist Bob Dugan. “If there were to be some sort of an economic event to cause the fundamentals to change dramatically that could affect our assessment.”
Toronto was added to the CMHC’s list of troubled markets, with rapid price growth and overvalued home prices putting the country’s biggest real estate market at high risk of a correction, CMHC said. Regina and Winnipeg were previously placed in the high-risk category in April.
In Regina, price acceleration, overbuilding in the condo market and overvalued home prices are responsible for the heightened housing market risk, according to the report, although CMHC said price growth is beginning to wane. In Winnipeg, overvalued home prices and overbuilding have been flagged as concerns.
Meanwhile, Vancouver — one of the country’s priciest real estate markets — was deemed low risk, even as home prices there continue to soar. The benchmark price of a detached home in metropolitan Vancouver hit $1.1 million in July, up 16.2 per cent from a year ago, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said last week.
Don Campbell, senior analyst with the Real Estate Investment Network, said Calgary’s low-risk rating was interesting given the year-long decline in oil prices that could cause the local market to become “more volatile.”
“The lack of rental properties in that mid-range size and price is holding back many people from selling their homes in Calgary, however, as the pain deepens in the oil and gas market, many will be forced to sell as this downturn does not seem to be short in nature,” he said. “This adds risk to average price drops and demand, especially in the coming November to February market window.”
Statistics Canada said Thursday that new home prices in the Calgary area rose 0.1 per cent in June.
“Higher land prices were largely offset by builders reducing prices because of market conditions,” the federal agency said. Prices were up 0.7 per cent year-over-year.
In its latest report, the Calgary Real Estate Board said the average MLS sale price for July was $476,446, down about 1 per cent from a year ago while the median price of $435.000 grew by 2.35 per cent. The benchmark price, which CREB identifies as a typical property sold in the market, was largely unchanged at $455,400.
With files from The Canadian Press
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Friday, August 7, 2015

The Perfect Storm to Create a Rental Unit in Your Property


Between the Conservatives' proposal to bring back the home renovation tax credit and CMHC's change to allow rental income to count toward your mortgage, why wouldn't you consider adding an income suite?



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More from Garry Marr | @DustyWallet
 
Between the Conservatives' proposal to bring back the home renovation tax credit and CMHC's change to allow rental income to count toward your mortgage, why wouldn't you consider adding an income suite?
The renovation market, already at record levels in terms of spending, could get a major boost from Conservative plans to introduce a tax credit worth up to $750.


Experts are divided on what impact a federal Conservative promise to revive a home renovation tax credit could have on the real estate industry, with some predicting it could add more fuel to red-hot housing markets while others say it likely wouldn’t have any impact at all

'Playing with fire': How the Tories' renovation tax credit may affect Canada's housing market

One area that money could get funnelled into is secondary rental units, like basement apartments, which are also set to get a major lift because of changes made by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
“I think people do a fair amount of it,” said Peter Norman, chief economist of Altus Group, referring to how much of the annual $68 billion renovation market goes into creating income suites. “(A new tax credit) obviously comes into play into the renovation numbers, but it’s a small amount. There are lot of reasons why someone might create a basement apartment suite and lots of reasons not to.”
If you’re on the fence, Norman says one reason you might shy away from creating a rental suite is that you would lose a portion of the principal residence exemption on capital gains. But, at the same time, the extra income is attractive to people struggling with house prices in cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where the average home is selling for about $1 million and $1.4 million respectively.
CMHC, the Crown corporation that is the larger provider of mortgage default insurance in the country, announced changes in July that will make that rental income even more attractive for homeowners. It will allow homeowners to count all the income from their secondary units when qualifying for a loan instead of the current limit of just 50 per cent of income.
In order to qualify under the changes, which take effect Sept. 28, secondary units must be legal and conform to local municipal codes — all the more reason to do a legal renovation instead of something under the table with cash. Altus has found about 40 per cent of respondents in a recent survey  believe small renovation jobs (under $5,000) are done with cash.
The promise from Stephen Harper to reintroduce the Home Renovation Tax credit and make it permanent would also likely encourage legal renovations because in order to qualify for the credit you need receipts. The credit would be for 15 per cent of major home renovations  between $1,000 and $5,000 annually.
CMHC says one reason for changing its rules is that secondary suites create more affordable housing. Vacancy rates across the country remain low, and the Crown corporation reported in June that the national average for vacancies in the country’s 35 largest markets was just 2.9 per cent.
But not everybody thinks further boosts to the housing market is a good thing. Allowing homeowners to count income from rental units could create larger loans, raising prices.
“The Conservative campaign pledge to introduce a new home renovation tax credit if elected this autumn is possibly more misguided than the NDP and Liberal pledges to raise taxes during a recession,” said David Madani, Canada economist for Capital Economics. “With renovation investment and household debt at record highs, encouraging households to invest more at a time when housing is widely believed to be hugely overvalued would create even greater imbalances in the economy.”
gmarr@nationalpost.com
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Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Repeat Home Sale Prices in Calgary Swing Upward


Published on: July 14, 2015 | Last Updated: July 14, 2015 3:40 PM MDT

Calgary experienced one of the highest rates of growth for prices of repeat home sales in June, according to a new report released Tuesday.
The Teranet — National Bank National Composite House Price Index said prices in Calgary rose by 2.5 per cent month-over-month following a record monthly drop of 3.3 per cent in May. Only Victoria, at 2.6 per cent, had a bigger monthly gain.
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.
Nationally, the index for 11 major centres surveyed in Canada reached a record level — up 1.4 per cent from the previous month, a sixth consecutive monthly increase. The rise was slightly above the June average of 1.3 per cent over the last 10 years., said the report.
On a year-over-year basis, prices were up 0.2 per cent in Calgary. They rose by 5.1 per cent nationally.
The report said Calgary prices remain 2.7 per cent below their peak in October 2014.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Tuesday, July 7, 2015

Chestermere Runs Counter to Housing Market Downturn

 

Published on: July 7, 2015 | Last Updated: July 7, 2015 9:53 AM MDT

Chestermere set a record for MLS home sales in June. Lorraine Hjalte Lorraine Hjalte / Calgary Herald     

Home sales in Chestermere bucked the regional trend by setting an all-time sales record in June, according to Mike Fotiou, associate broker with First Place Realty in Calgary.
Fotiou said in his real estate blog that 64 homes sold during the month, which is a 49 per cent increase from a year ago. It was also more sales than the entire first quarter of this year.

“For the city overall, prices were up from a year ago by all three measures: the benchmark price increased 7.4 per cent from $458,900 to $493,000; average price was up 2.5 per cent from $532,071 to $545,509; median price posted a 1.5 per cent gain, climbing from $512,500 to $520,000,” he said.
Fotiou said there were 125 properties for sale at the end of June which was six more than a year ago but 20 less than the previous month.

“The Chestermere market enters the summer on solid footing: under two months of supply and a sales-to-new-listing ratio of 0.86,” he said.

By contrast, total MLS sales in Calgary were down by 18 per cent, to 2,183 last month, the slowest pace of year-over-year decline in 2015. New listings also fell by 18 per cent to 3,122. The average sale price of $483,398 was down 1.67 per cent, while the median price rose 0.7 per cent to $430,000, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board.
In the surrounding areas around Calgary, total MLS sales in June of 560 were down by 14.86 per cent from last year. However, all price indicators were positive. The benchmark rose by 4.12 per cent to $435,000. The median was up 0.8 per cent to $407,750 and the average increased by 6.4 per cent to $499,561.

“Transportation and access improvements via the ring road as well as affordability and lifestyle choice are all playing a role in the strength of the Airdrie and Chestermere real estate marketplaces,” said Don Campbell, senior analyst with the Real Estate Investment Network. “The lifestyle choice that these two regions provide versus an increasingly busy and congested Calgary, have helped them become a destination of choice for those wishing to settle in the Calgary region.
“In addition, they have become magnets for long-term Calgarians who have sold for economic reasons … The ripple effect is in full force as we are also witnessing long-term Chestermere and Airdrie residents pulling up stakes to even smaller, less busy, centres even farther out.”
Fotiou said Airdrie home sales improved in June but a greater number of new listings nudged inventory to its highest level since 2011.

The 166 homes sold last month was a 8.5 per cent increase from May but a 16 per cent drop year-over-year.

“Airdrie’s red-hot seller’s market from last year had ping-ponged to a buyer’s market in January and then into a balanced one by June with 2.31 months of supply and a sales-to-new-listing ratio of 0.68,” said Fotiou.

He said the benchmark price annual growth slowed to 2.9 per cent in Airdrie, the smallest increase since November 2012 and a far cry from the double digit gains experienced through most of 2014. It was $374,900 in June. The median price of $387,400 dropped by 0.7 per cent from last year while the average price was up 2.6 per cent to $394,320.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Thursday, July 2, 2015

The Worst May be Over for Calgary Resale Housing Market



Published on: July 2, 2015 | Last Updated: July 2, 2015 6:18 AM MDT

A recent RBC report said resale housing activity in Calgary has stabilized suggesting the worst may be over for the market.

And more evidence of that can be found in the June MLS data put together by the Calgary Real Estate Board.

Total MLS sales in the city were down by 17.84  per cent to 2,183 during the month, the slowest pace of year-over-year decline in 2015. New listings also fell by 17.82 per cent  to 3,122 and the average sale price of $483,398 was down 1.67 per cent. The median price, however, rose by 0.7 per cent to $430,000.

“There’s still a sense of uncertainty in the real estate market right now— the decline in oil prices and questions about the economy are still influencing consumer sentiment.  There are some positive notes though. Benchmark home prices in May improved in comparison to the previous month and inventory has eased off, signs the market might be moving towards more balanced conditions,” said Grace Yan, realtor with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

“Even though overall sales activity is slower than recent years, what many people aren’t aware of is that there are several neighbourhoods where demand has been stable, including prime areas in the inner city and neighbourhoods like Lake Bonavista. Also, if sellers have adjusted pricing to match today’s market and if homes are properly showcased, people can for the most part, expect their homes to sell in a reasonable time frame. Accurate pricing to suit today’s market is really key.”
Active listings of 5,070 at the end of the June are up 6.53 per cent from a year ago. The average days on the market to sell a property rose from 29  last year to 40 this year which is a hike of 37.93 per cent.

Yan said the market ebbs and flows with the season and historically it slows during the summer months but the industry will be able to better gauge the market for the rest of the year in the fall after the Bank of Canada makes an announcement on interest rates, after employment figures are released and following the provincial government’s release of the budget.

Here are the number of MLS sales and year-over-year change for the months of 2015:
January – 880, -38.85 per cent
February – 1,217, -34.22 per cent
March – 1,782, -28.17 per cent
April – 1,957, -22.37 per cent
May – 2,190, -25.46 per cent
The following are the average MLS sales price and year-over-year change for the months of 2015:
January – $460,933, -0.51 per cent
February – $462,294, -4.24 per cent
March – $474,251, -2.19 per cent
April – $470,254, -1.38 per cent
May – $478,790, -1.51 per cent
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Alberta Leads Country in First-Time Homebuyers

Published on: June 9, 2015
Last Updated: June 9, 2015 1:42 PM MDT
 
Alberta has the highest rate of first-time homebuyers in the country, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals.
The report, A Profile of Home Buying in Canada, found that 55 per cent of Alberta homes purchased in the past 27 months were by first-time buyers compared with the national average of 45 per cent.
The report said the Alberta number is due to migration patterns.
“Alberta sees large inflows of young adults looking for work opportunities,” it said.
Of the 75,000 homes sold in Alberta during that period, 40,000 were by first-time buyers, 15,000 were second-time buyers, and 20,000 were subsequent purchases.
In Canada, first-time buyers numbered 280,000 of the 620,000 sold followed by 130,000 second-time buyers and 210,000 subsequent purchases.
The breakdown in Alberta for the types of homes sold were: 45,000, detached; 10,000, semi-detached; 15,000, condo apartment; and 5,000, other.
In the province, the highest percentage of home sales, at 18 per cent, fell in the price range of $400,000 to $449,000.
Jim Murphy, president and chief executive of the association, said first-time homebuyers “are some of the most engaged, enthusiastic and well-researched groups in the market.”
Most of them are also between 25 and 34 years old.
“One of the reasons that Alberta has a higher first-time buyers percentage is there’s obviously just a lot of younger people looking for work and moving to Alberta since 2013 and so then picked up in the housing market,” said Murphy. “Overall, Alberta’s population is younger than the national average. Overall, Alberta’s population has been growing certainly up until the end of 2014 at a rate much higher than the national average … Those things lead you to a much higher first-time buyers’ market. A lot of it driven by just jobs, employment opportunity.”
That opportunity also presented itself in higher-paying jobs.
“The majority of jobs in Canada until the end of 2014 were created in Alberta,” added Murphy.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, there were 8,013 MLS sales in the city this year up until the end of May. The following are the number of sales in the lower price ranges — 181, $100,000-$199,999; 1,215, $200,000-$299,999; 895, $300,000-$349,999; 1,135, $350,000-$399,999; and 1,120, $400,000-$449,999.
A total of 4,546 MLS transactions this year have been under $450,000, representing almost 57 per cent of all the sale in the city.
“Entry level priced homes are a hot commodity and in a seller’s market. For example, there is only a 0.7 month supply of detached homes available under $400,000 but 6.7 months of inventory for detached homes priced above $800,000,” said Mike Fotiou, associate broker with First Place Realty.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Thursday, June 4, 2015

Plenty of Plankton and Four Other Reasons Why Canada's Housing Market Won't Crash



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More from Bloomberg News
Postmedia NewsHome prices are up 71 per cent nationwide over the past decade, prompting organizations from the International Monetary Fund to the Bank of Canada to label the market overvalued.

Stuart Levings, head of Genworth MI Canada Inc., the country’s largest private mortgage insurer, has a message for U.S. investors: red hot housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver aren’t about to plummet.

Canada’s reputation as a safe country to live and bank is luring buyers from abroad and far from creating a bubble, it may mean there isn’t enough housing to go around. Read on
The chief executive officer has his work cut out for him. Figures Tuesday showed Vancouver prices soared 9.4 per cent in May from a year ago and the average price of a detached home reached a record $1,417,409. Toronto is not far behind with the average price for a detached home hitting$1,115,120, an 18.2 per cent increase from a year ago.
Prices are up 71 per cent nationwide over the past decade, prompting organizations from the International Monetary Fund to the Bank of Canada to label the market overvalued, and investors such as Steve Eisman, of Neuberger Berman Group, to have shorted housing stocks.
Levings maintains the market has solid underpinnings and is traveling to the U.S. to make his case. Here’s his argument:

1) The Canadian Real Estate Ocean is Full of Plankton

“We look at the housing market like a food chain,” Levings said in an interview at Bloomberg’s office in Toronto May 28. “The first-time homebuyers are really the plankton. And if you don’t have plankton in the ocean, you’re going to eventually starve out even the big whales and the sharks. You need that first time homebuyer to buy that home so the next person can move out to buy their own home.”
The demand comes from millennials and the roughly 250,000 annual immigrants buying their first property, according to Levings.
“There is strong demand in this country and there will always be,” Levings said. “Why? Simply because of our immigration policy. We bring in first-time buyer pipelines through our immigration policy. They are great future first-time homebuyers that become plankton.”

 

2) Mortgage Regulations Worked

The federal government has introduced several mortgage rules since 2008 to take the froth off heady real estate markets. Shorter amortizations and higher down payments have kept the riskiest of buyers out of the market, Levings said. Average credit scores of Genworth customers remained steady at a high 737 points.
The trick is for the government to keep this balance and avoid making further changes that will entirely squeeze out first-time homebuyers and poison the food chain, Levings said.
Outside Vancouver and Toronto, markets have cooled.
“We’ve squeezed the first-time homebuyers down into a small group who are qualified, good-quality borrowers,” he said.
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Friday, May 29, 2015

The Canadian Rich are Getting Richer, Thanks to Their Houses





| | Last Updated: May 25 5:54 PM ET
More from Garry Marr | @DustyWallet

A survey released Monday from Bank of Montreal of its high net worth clients, those who have more than $1 million in investible assets, finds their primary residences in Canada are worth almost $1.5 million on average.
A new survey out Monday, on the property wealth of high net worth individuals, should hit some Canadians right where they live.
Bank of Montreal found among its high net worth clients that primary residences were worth almost $1.5 million on average. Those clients were defined as having more than $1 million in investible assets.
On top of that, the survey found 36 per cent of those people own at least one second property worth on average $708,539. The bank says many of those people are tapping into equity in their primary residence to fund those additional property purchases.
BMO didn’t calculate real estate wealth as a percentage of overall wealth, but the bank’s deputy chief economist Doug Porter says property isn’t just making the rich richer – all of us are becoming wealthier.
“Real estate has just been one of the fastest-growing assets,” said Porter, adding land and residential structures now account for about 39 per cent of total Canadian assets. “It’s above average [historically] but I don’t think it’s wildly out of balance.”
That percentage has been stable over the last five years but the economist notes that at one point – at the peak of the technology boom in 2000 – it was as low as 31 per cent.
Those percentages are likely even higher in some pockets of the country, such as British Columbia, where the average principal residence was $3.9 million for the high net worth crowd. Those people carry $236,100 in debt, according to the survey.
Do Canadians own too much property?
Most wealthy Canadians surveyed are free and clear of their mortgage and even among those with debt, the average amount they have outstanding is $176,000.
On the second property front, 80 per cent of respondents who have one, say it is in Canada. Another 27 per cent have property in U.S., 11 per cent in Europe, eight per cent in Central America, South America or the Caribbean, seven per cent in either Mexico or Asia and five per cent in Australia.
Vacation purposes were cited by 47 per cent of respondents with second properties as the number one reason for owning. The second reason for owning was for investment purposes at 39 per cent, followed by income-generating property at 36 per cent.
John Turner, director of program and product development for Canada and Asia for BMO Private Banking, said the issue of too much home ownership depends on the type of real estate Canadians are invested in. Income and investment property should be considered separately from primary residence.
He cautions the larger issue is managing the cash flow. “For those folks overweight in real estate, you can run into a situation where they have a cash flow situation because they are leveraged and can’t afford [payments].”
“You could leverage your property and invest the money,” said Turner.
But diversifying is easier said than done, when it comes to a primary residence. Most people simply do not want to move to limit their exposure to a downturn and that’s not even considering the substantial fees associated with moving.
Elton Ash, regional executive vice-president of Re/Max of Western Canada, said the survey is nothing new to him, especially when it comes to Vancouver.
“I’ll give a scenario. You get an 82-year-old widow in her home for 45 years. The problem for some of these people is that they can’t even pay the property taxes,” said Ash. “It’s not just high net worth people in this boat [with valuable real estate]. It’s just a huge segment of the baby-boomer demographic who have a ton of equity in their home.”
Toronto certified financial Planner Ted Rechtshaffen, chief executive of TriDelta Financial, said clients are often reluctant to tap into home equity to invest, but says that when 50 per cent of your wealth is in your house it’s time to ask questions.
You could leverage your property and invest the money
“There are people who say paying down your mortgage is the ultimate financial move you can make, but I try to tell those people to stop paying more to their mortgage if a majority of their net worth is in real estate,” said Rechtshaffen. “If it makes sense, maximize your RRSP, your TFSA and RESP first. And when you are investing, try to stay away from real estate.”
The last thing he would do is double down on real estate by buying a cottage with equity from your primary residence.
The BMO survey was conducted online by Pollara between Oct. 15 and Oct. 28, 2014, with a sample of 306 Canadians, 18 years of age and older.
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Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Wealthy Albertans' Homes Worth Less Than Half National Average

Published on: May 25, 2015
Last Updated: May 25, 2015 3:17 PM MDT
 
The average home value of affluent Albertans is less than half of the national average.
A BMO Wealth Management report Monday said the average home price for high net worth Albertans — those with investable assets of $1 million or more — was $720,000. The national average is $1.5 million.
Ken Fetherstonhaugh, regional vice-president and managing director for the Prairies for BMO Wealth Management in Calgary, said the average price is somewhat puzzling.
“Some of that is a reflection of the average value of real estate in Calgary or the average value of real estate in Alberta versus the hotter markets of Vancouver and Toronto,” he said. “We would expect us to be probably at or below the national average because those markets alone significantly pull the national average up.”
According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the average MLS sale price in Alberta in April was $397,811 with the national average at $448,862.
The BMO survey also found 92 per cent of affluent Albertans own their residence as opposed to renting, 70 per cent have paid off their mortgage and among those with a mortgage the average amount they have left to pay back is $199,200 compared with the national average of $176,000.
The report also found 44 per cent of affluent Albertans own at least one additional property. Among those with more than one residence, 43 per cent own two or more properties in addition to their primary home. On average, the value of the second property is $642,619, below the national average of $708,539.
Among those with multiple properties, 81 per cent own one in Canada, 43 per cent own in the U.S., 14 per cent in Mexico, Central America, South America or the Caribbean and five per cent own in Europe, Australia or Asia, said the report.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Thursday, May 14, 2015

Calgary Repeat Home Sales Prices On The Rise

 

Published on: May 13, 2015
Last Updated: May 13, 2015 2:23 PM MDT
 
House for sale in northwest community of Evanston in Calgary.
Christina Ryan / Calgary Herald

 

Prices for repeat home sales in Calgary rose slightly in April, according to the latest Teranet-National Bank survey.
The index, released Wednesday, showed local prices were up 0.2 per cent over March and 3 per cent year-over-year, but remain down 1.9 per cent from their October 2014 peak.
Diana Petramala, an economist with TD Economics, said price growth in Calgary has fallen well below the average nine per cent pace of 2014.
“Calgary home prices are expected to continue to weaken following a sharp 30 per cent decline in existing home sales since the beginning of the year,” she said.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, the average MLS sale price for all April property sales was $467,848, down 2 per cent from a year earlier.
Nationally, the repeat home price index was up 0.2 per cent from the previous month, the fourth consecutive monthly increase.
“Excluding the recession year 2009, the monthly change is tied with that of April 2013 for the smallest April advance in 17 years of index data,” said Marc Pinsonneault, senior economist with the National Bank of Canada.
The biggest monthly price gains were in Winnipeg (1.9 per cent), Quebec City (1.7 per cent), Montreal (1.0 per cent) and Halifax (0.7 per cent). Prices in Edmonton increased by 0.6 per cent month-over-month and by 4.7 per cent year-over-year
Pinsonneault said the composite index was at an all-time high in April, but only the Toronto and Vancouver component indexes match it.
“With prices at their highest since January 2008, it is clear that the oil price collapse has not affected Edmonton house prices to the same extent than in Calgary,” he said.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Calgary Luxury Home Sales Drop Off Significantly From Last Year


Published on: May 12, 2015
Last Updated: May 12, 2015 7:41 AM MDT    
 
Luxury home sales in Calgary’s resale housing market have plunged this year compared with the record-setting 2014 levels.
According to data from the Calgary Real Estate Board, total MLS sales of homes priced at $1 million and up, have dropped by 41.8 per cent year-to-date until the end of April — dropping to 152, from 261 in the same period of 2014.
“Given economic concerns and full-time job losses occurring in typically higher paying industries, this is having a greater impact on demand for home priced over $1 million,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist.
“Persistent concerns in the energy sector are likely causing many to reconsider upgrading to the higher-priced home, until there is more certainty regarding their employment status and economic stability.”
Total MLS sales in the city are down so far this year by 29.5 per cent to 5,827 transactions.
Calgary has seen a steady increase in the number of luxury home sales in the past decade:
2004 – 45
2005 – 139
2006 – 333
2007 – 454
2008 – 367
2009 – 337
2010 – 365
2011 – 446
2012 – 542
2013 – 727
2014 – 848
According to CREB, the average MLS list price in the city year-to-date until the end of April was $480,635, down from $484,449 for the same period last year.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Friday, May 8, 2015

Alberta and Calgary See Increase in Number of Jobs



Published on: May 8, 2015
Last Updated: May 8, 2015 7:12 AM MDT
 
Despite all the talk about layoffs in the oilpatch due to slumping oil prices, both Alberta and the Calgary area saw increases in jobs in April.
Statistics Canada reported that Alberta employment was up by 12,500, or 0.5 per cent, from March. The gains came from part-time employment, which was up 20,100 month-over-month. Employment was up by 53,300 jobs, or 2.4 per cent, from a year ago. The province’s unemployment rate remained the same at 5.5 per cent.
In the Calgary area, employment was up by 0.8 per cent, or 6,300 jobs, from the previous month and by 4.6 per cent, or 36,600 positions, from a year ago. Calgary’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.3 per cent from 5.2 per cent in March.
Across Canada, the federal agency said employment was down 0.1 per cent with a loss of 19,700 jobs. However, year-over-year it was up by 0.8 per cent, or 139,100 positions.
 
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Friday, May 1, 2015

Calgary Housing Market a Low Overall Risk: CMHC

 

Published on: April 30, 2015
Last Updated: April 30, 2015 5:59 PM MDT
Calgary is at a low risk of a housing correction, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in an assessment of market conditions across the country.
Its House Price Analysis and Assessment, released Thursday, said Calgary has an increased risk of overvaluation, but is stable or unchanged in three other areas — overheating, price acceleration and overbuilding.
The report said declining sales in recent months — a reflection of lower oil prices — has pushed the city’s sales-to-new listings ratio to a buyers’ market.
“This is expected to place downward pressure on house price growth, which could lessen the current risk of overvaluation in Calgary,” the CMHC said. The threat of price overvaluation reflects strong growth in house prices and modest gains in personal disposable income.
“The economy is being impacted by lower oil prices and slower inflows of migrants that will likely contribute to an expected slowdown in the rate of price growth in 2015,” it said.
CMHC said Regina and Winnipeg were deemed the riskiest markets in the country. Toronto and Montreal — where the number of condo units under construction is near historical highs — were rated a moderate risk as was Quebec City. Others considered low risk were Edmonton, Vancouver, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Halifax and St. John’s.
The Calgary Real Estate Board said April sales, through Wednesday were down 23 per cent from a year ago. New listings are up 19 per cent to 2,935. The median price has dropped 2 per cent to $420,000 while the average sale price is down by 1.5 per cent to $468,411.
“We are expecting slower sales as well as reduced pressure on prices,” said Felicia Mutheardy, acting principal market analyst for Calgary for CMHC.
Don Campbell, senior analyst with the Real Estate Investment Network, said a perfect storm is poised to hit the Alberta real estate market with the slowdown normally associated with spring breakup in the oilpatch coinciding with the 10th and 11th months of the oil price drop.
“The numbers are about to get pretty ugly, so prepare yourself,” he wrote recently on his website.
“Although we are seeing slight drops in average sale prices in the larger cities we are not yet witnessing the ‘panic selling’ that can have a very negative effect on average sale prices.
“However, those who listed their property in November, December or January will now be feeling the pressure to either lower their price or take it off the market. This, if they do need to sell, will lead to lower average sale prices.”
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Monday, April 20, 2015

Vancouver Developer 'Bullish' on Calgary Luxury Condo Market

 

Rendering of The Concord condo development in Eau Claire .
Supplied Ted Rhodes / Calgary Herald
 
Published on: April 20, 2015
Last Updated: April 20, 2015 9:10 AM MDT

The Vancouver-based developer of a luxury condo tower in Eau Claire remains “bullish” about the market despite the volatility in the energy sector in the first part of 2015 and a new condo report suggesting overall sales will fall this year.
Grant Murray, vice-president of sales for Concord Pacific, which is building The Concord luxury condo complex in Eau Claire, said the first phase of the project has sold 50 per cent of its 105 residential units.
Recently, the project held a ground-breaking ceremony which sparked more interest in the development.
“We’re absolutely bullish. . . . I don’t see any downturn from our perspective in this price range… The people that we’re appealing to in this market are not affected by any kind of downturn or swing. They’re looking long-term. they’re looking for lifestyle,” Murray said.
In 2014, a condo in the tower sold for $7 million, the fourth most expensive condo sale ever in the city, but the highest ever on a cost per square foot basis.
Concord Pacific is planning to build 218 luxury homes in two towers, including a $13-million penthouse, at 6th Street and 1st Avenue S.W. near the Peace Bridge. The Concord’s 105-suite West Tower will be 14 storeys with construction expected to start in March 2015 and completion by the fall of 2017. The East Tower will be 17 storeys with 113 units. It will be completed six months to a year following the first tower.
Calgary’s new condo apartment market can expect fewer sales this year, given the softer economic conditions and weaker in-migration, but they will still be above 2008/2009 levels, says a housing market report by the Altus Group.
The Altus Group report said 3,500 new condo apartment sales took place in the city in 2014 consisting of 2,300 low-rise units and 1,200 high-rise. That’s up from 3,400 in 2013 with 1,900 low-rise sales and 1,500 high-rise.
“There were 1,900 unsold units in condominium apartment projects in Calgary at the end of 2014 — or about one-fifth of the total units in projects being actively marketed,” said the report.
“The split was roughly equal between high-rise and low-rise projects. Virtually all of the unsold units are in projects under construction or pre-construction phases – less than 100 units are in projects that are completed.”
In the resale housing market, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board, there were 673 condo apartment sales in the first quarter of 2015 which was down 37.4 per cent compared with the same period in 2014. The average sale price has also dipped by 3.18 per cent.
mtoneguzzi@calgaryherald.com
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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Calgary Repeat Home Sales See Price Growth in March



Published on: April 14, 2015
Last Updated: April 14, 2015 8:32 AM MDT
 
Despite a gloomy picture being painted these days for Calgary’s resale housing market, a new report released Tuesday indicates prices for repeat home sales were up year-over-year in March.
The Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index, said prices in the city rose by 0.2 per cent from the previous month and increased by 4.4 per cent from a year ago.
However, in his report, Marc Pinsonneault, senior economist with the National Bank of Canada, said prices in Calgary were down 2.1 per cent from their peak in October 2014.
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.
The index found that nationally, of 11 markets surveyed, prices rose by 0.3 per cent month-over-month and by 4.7 per cent year-over-year.
It was the third consecutive monthly increase and equal to the average March rise since 2010, said Pinsonneault.
“Prices were up in eight of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed, the broadest diffusion in seven months. The composite index is now at an all-time high,” he said.
The annual hike from February came after four consecutive decelerations, said the report.
In a recent report, the Calgary Real Estate Board said MLS sales in the city dropped by 28.17 per cent in March from a year ago to 1,782 transactions.
The benchmark price, which CREB says represents typical properties sold, rose by 3.82 per cent to $454,300.
However, the median price dropped by 2.33 per cent to $420,000 and the average sale price was down by 2.19 per cent to $474,251.
“In this market, buyers and sellers should be thinking about their short-term and long-term objectives,” said Corinne Lyall, CREB’s president, in a statement. “This is a challenging economic time and people need to know their long game, so they can make the right real estate choices for today and tomorrow.
“Market influence is always wide-ranging and everyone has different reasons for making a move. Consideration must be given to the amount of inventory that’s available for a similar property based on the specific features of that home. The amount of competition for a property is often what influences the price that buyers and sellers will agree on.”
At the end of March, active MLS listings in Calgary of 5,693 were up 83.65 per cent from a year ago.
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Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Boomers Drive Real Estate Market for Luxury Housing


 Many baby boomers — who were widely expected to downsize in retirement and snatch up condos in droves — are choosing instead to upsize.


TAMSIN McMAHON - REAL ESTATE REPORTER
The Globe and Mail
Published
Last updated

 
Canada’s luxury housing market is in the midst of a striking transfer of wealth, as baby boomers trade up for bigger houses while pouring huge sums into real estate for their children.
“I don’t think you’ve ever had nearly as much help from one generation to the next in buying homes,” said Ross McCredie, CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, which issued a new report examining the finances and buying habits of different generations of buyers in the “luxury” market, which generally refers to the higher end of real estate markets across Canada.

Among the more surprising generational trends is that far from downsizing to smaller condos as they age, wealthy boomers are increasingly looking to upsize into luxury homes, often because they still have adult children living at home. Empty-nesters are more likely to “right-size” into bungalows and condos that are only slightly smaller than their previous home.
In many cases, boomers are taking on debt to buy luxury homes, despite the fact that the typical boomers buying in Canada’s high-end market earn an average of $500,000 and can easily afford to pay cash. Often they’re looking to take advantage of low interest rates to invest their home equity in vacation homes, investment properties or the stock market.

More often than not, that money is flowing to their children in the form of large down payments for luxury homes. For many boomers, Mr. McCredie says, the down payment is a form of succession planning, as many see the housing market as a safe and tax-free way to transfer wealth to their kids.
Thanks to comparatively lower incomes and fewer savings than other generations, young luxury buyers are “overwhelmingly” relying on outside support for a down payment, the report said.
The money isn’t always a gift. In many cases, parents might be paying $200,000 to $300,000 toward a $1-million home for their children, but are doing it in the form of loans and mortgages and are putting liens on the property as to keep their children from squandering their real estate wealth or losing their home in a break-up.

That generational wealth transfer is helping to drive a wedge in the first-time home buyers market. Wealthy Generation Y buyers, those under age 35, typically pay twice as much for their homes as the average first-time buyer. They can spend as much as 15 times their household income on a home purchase, thanks to help from mom and dad.

That gap is most dramatic in Calgary, where the typical first-time buyer spends $363,400 on a property. Young luxury buyers in the city are willing to spend anywhere from $800,000 to $1.5-million even though their incomes are modest compared to luxury buyers in other Canadian cities: averaging just $50,000 to $100,000. The typical luxury home for a young Calgary buyer is a 2,000-square-foot, four bedroom, three bathroom townhouse or duplex, even though most are young single men or childless couples.

Despite a helping hand from family, roughly 85 per cent of young buyers also take out a mortgage. That number was as high as 95 per cent in Toronto, where Gen Y buyers earned an average of $80,000 to $250,000 and bought homes worth $800,000 to $2-million.

Largely left out of the generational wealth transfer are buyers from Generation X, age 34 to 54, of whom just 35 per cent received help from family to afford a home, the report said.
Many Gen X buyers had parents who had lived through the twin real estate busts of the early 1980s and 1990s, when interest rates soared to double digits. They are much less willing or able to help their kids get into the housing market.

“I really think Gen X is very aware of that,” Mr. McCredie said. “Gen Y has never seen anything other than cheap money.”

Having lived through a soaring real estate market, many boomers are now worried their children will miss out on rising prices if they don’t get into the market while they’re young. “Those are the people who are literally saying to their kids: It’s important to participate in the real estate market, because if you don’t you’ll never be in this marketplace.”
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Monday, March 30, 2015

Biggest Threat to Our Economy is Fear


Downtown Calgary skyline at sunset framed by the Scotiabank Saddledome
Downtown Calgary skyline at sunset framed by the Scotiabank Saddledome on Monday July 28, 2014. Stuart Dryden/Calgary Sun/QMI Agency

Do not feed the fears — that was the bottom line message on Alberta’s economy, delivered by ATB economist Todd Hirsch to a gathering of residential construction executives last week.
“I think that when we’re dealing with an economy that’s moving into a rough patch, sometimes we are in danger of falling into this ‘already-living-in-a-recession mentality’ when a recession isn’t even a foregone conclusion,” said Hirsch.
“Some of us are already living in the worst of times, the worst-case scenarios that can possibly happen and very quickly that builds into our mentality and does nothing positive in terms of moving the economy forward.”
Certainly, Hirsch was not down-playing the current state of Alberta’s energy sector.
“I’m not saying we should ignore what’s going on, we need to pay attention to what’s going on and 2015 is going to be a challenging year for Alberta’s economy,” he said.
“We need to make prudent decisions (in fact) prudent decisions should always be in style and I don’t know if they always are when oil’s at $107 a barrel, but we will need to make some very tough, very prudent choices in 2015 and I’m not saying we should ignore this, but I don’t think Albertans should worry about the economy (because) worry doesn’t get you anywhere.”
Hirsch suggested there is too much focus on oil and gas in Alberta, while ignoring industries that are strong and expected to get stronger.
“Alberta’s second, third and fourth largest industries — forestry, agriculture and tourism — are all probably set to have record-setting years in 2015,” he said. “They all do really well with low fuel prices and they really benefit from a 79- or 80-cent Canadian dollar and, particularly in the case of forestry, they benefit from the availability of labour that they compete for with oil and gas.
“In 2015, those forestry producers in northwestern Alberta are going to see some nice, juicy resumes coming through the door. Lumber panel board prices are close to record highs, the U.S. housing market is surging back (so) all the planets are aligning in the right way for forestry in2015.”
ATB’s next provincial economic forecast will call for limited growth in Alberta.
“I still see no compelling evidence to say that Alberta’s going to be in recession and contraction. I know there have been a couple of other forecast groups that have now dropped a negative sign in front of their digit for Alberta (but) we’re still calling for very modest growth (in our upcoming forecast),” said Hirsch. “But 2015, no matter how you slice it or dice it, is going to be a weak year for growth and we need to anticipate that.”
Hirsch channelled U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s speech after the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.
“The biggest threat to Alberta’s economy in 2015 is not $46 oil, the biggest threat is fear. Once fear takes root, then you make irrational decisions and irrational decision-making has a way of bringing everything down under its own weight,” said Hirsch. “I ask you all to not feed the fears
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Friday, March 20, 2015

Calgary's Top Neighbourhoods

Eau Claire residents bike through Prince’s Island Park (Tourism Calgary)

Eau Claire residents bike through Prince's Island Park(Tourism Calgary)

Communities best positioned to grow when the economy rebounds                                                                                                  

by

From the April 2015 issue of the magazine.

 
The slide in Calgary’s housing market is a hot topic these days, but most Calgarians aren’t too worried. Certainly, the oil slump will dampen home prices in the short term, but Alberta’s largest city is a more resilient than it used to be. With a mayor who captures headlines for all the right reasons—Naheed Nenshi recently won the World Mayor Prize—and a six-part economic plan to keep the economy going, most native Calgarians know that the city is diverse enough to weather the immediate storm and boom once again.
When we crunched the numbers for Calgary, we looked for growth communities that would minimize the risk of falling prices. Our No. 1-ranked neighbourhood is Glenbrook, a solid, middle-class community in the southwest, built just before the 1970s oil boom. Glenbrook features a grid of well-kept bungalows, “but it’s a neighbourhood in transition,” says Kevin Seitz, local realtor with Discover Real Estate Ltd. “Grandparents still live in this well-maintained community, but now the next generation of families is buying, moving in and renovating.”
Although the area’s average house price is $30,000 more then the city average, it is still seen as offering great value thanks to great access to both the mountains and downtown. In less than an hour, residents can be in Canmore and the Rocky Mountains, and you can easily drive to downtown Calgary in just 15 minutes.
Rosscarrock, the No. 2 neighbourhood, is another southwest community dominated by raised bungalows, but the zoning for this neighbourhood now allows for infills, and developers are snapping up property. The extra-wide lots encourage building sets of two-storey, semi-detached homes with solid rooflines and stone accents. “These new builds are what attracts the urban professional who wants to start a family,” says Seitz. Those fortunate enough to buy an old bungalow can also renovate and enjoy a basic home that will appreciate as the area is developed.
In the No. 3 neighbourhood of Kingsland, average home prices are about $40,000 cheaper than the city average and as a result, houses often sell within hours of being listed. According to Seitz, the neighbourhood is “a sort of return to their roots” for many Kingsland home buyers. “Buyers are getting a decent-sized raised bungalow that lets them tear out the inner walls quite easily to make the home into an open-concept space.” Plus, the area is centrally located, just a 15-minute drive from downtown, or a short walk or bus ride to two light-rail transit stations.
Thanks to the plunge in oil prices, home-buying in Calgary is temporarily on hold, says Seitz. “The market is fickle and buyers are waiting to see if prices will drop,” he notes. But Seitz isn’t worried about the market permanently seizing up. “There are always people who need to sell or buy despite what the market is doing, so we concentrate on giving them the best options.”

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RankNeighbourhood (Area)Average priceValue gradeMomentum gradeRealtor grade
1 Glenbrook (Southwest) $591,083 B A C
2 Rosscarrock (Southwest) $596,823 B A C
3 Kingsland (Southwest) $526,096 A A C
4 Westgate (Southwest) $586,254 B B C
5 Glamorgan (Southwest) $578,492 B B C
6 Walden (Southeast) $503,120 D A B
7 Rutland Park (Southwest) $653,982 D A B
8 Coach Hill (Southwest) $659,047 D A B
9 Lakeview (Southwest) $625,527 C C B
10 Woodbine (Southwest) $520,826 A C B
11 Highwood (Northwest) $543,694 D A C
12 Haysboro (Southwest) $503,879 A D C
13 Glendale (Southwest) $655,385 D A C
14 Silverado (Southwest) $506,769 A C C
15 Richmond Hill (Southwest) $637,133 D C B
16 North Glenmore Park (Southwest) $752,779 D A B
17 Deer Ridge (Southeast) $424,220 A C C
18 Sunalta (Southwest) $611,376 C C B
19 Highland Park (Northwest) $533,138 C B C
20 Palliser (Southwest) $634,205 C C B
21 Lake Bonavista Downs (Southeast) $462,937 B B C
22 Huntington Hills (Northwest) $431,163 A C D
23 Silver Springs (Northwest) $550,195 D B B
24 Dalhousie (Northwest) $577,467 D B B
25 Oakridge (Southwest) $519,624 A D B
26 Thorncliffe (Northwest) $458,815 A D C
27 Regal Terrace/Renfrew (Northwest) $666,957 D A B
28 Cedarbrae (Southwest) $433,998 A D D
29 Scarboro (Southwest) $1,281,919 D A A
30 Capitol Hill (Northwest) $607,466 D B A
31 Killarney (Southwest) $661,121 D C B
32 Willow Park (Southeast) $550,688 D C A
33 Evanston (Northwest) $497,746 B D B
34 Varsity Acres (Northwest) $598,433 D B B
35 Hidden Valley (Northwest) $445,794 A D C
36 North Haven Upper (Northwest) $595,071 D A C
37 Richmond (Southwest) $756,314 D A B
38 Midnapore (Southeast) $479,625 C C C
39 Shaganappi (Southwest) $777,025 D A B
40 Southwood (Southwest) $464,039 A D D
41 Citadel (Northwest) $482,289 B D C
42 South Calgary (Southwest) $826,710 D A B
43 Beddington (Northwest) $411,288 A D D
44 Hawkwood (Northwest) $554,276 D C C
45 Fairview (Southeast) $427,009 A D C
46 Ramsay (Southeast) $551,659 D A C
47 Parkhill/Stanley Park (Southwest) $1,070,776 D A B
48 Briar Hill (Northwest) $1,332,124 D A A
49 Charleswood (Northwest) $628,125 D C A
50 Maple Ridge (Southeast) $573,661 D B B
51 Saint Andrews (Northwest) $1,330,147 D A A
52 Acadia (Southeast) $451,055 B D C
53 Sunnyside (Northwest) $723,981 D A B
54 Cougar Ridge (Southwest) $646,994 D D B
55 Garrison Woods (Southwest) $816,214 D A B
56 Riverbend (Southeast) $451,558 B D C
57 Millrise (Southwest) $441,220 A D D
58 Canyon Meadows (Southwest) $468,556 A D B
59 Sandstone (Northwest) $460,599 A D C
60 Tuxedo (Northwest) $515,820 C D B
61 McKenzie Towne (Southeast) $460,674 B D B
62 North Haven (Northwest) $563,626 D C C
63 Mount Pleasant (Northwest) $676,146 D B B
64 Braeside (Southwest) $450,857 A D D
65 Spruce Cliff (Southwest) $776,100 D A B
66 Coventry Hills (Northwest) $416,831 A D C
67 Bridlewood (Southwest) $425,280 A D C
68 Harvest Hills (Northwest) $454,647 A D D
69 Mountview/Winston Heights (Northwest) $653,597 D B B
70 Balmoral (Northwest) $515,820 C D B
71 Southview (Southeast) $390,933 D C D
72 Evergreen (Southwest) $499,107 A D B
73 Sage Hill (Northwest) $531,173 C D C
74 Albert Park (Southeast) $356,523 B D C
75 Country Hills (Northwest) $408,693 A D C
76 Vista Heights (Southeast) $410,156 D C C
77 Woodlands (Southwest) $534,207 B D B
78 MacEwan Glen (Northwest) $440,592 A D C
79 Meadowlark Park (Southwest) $722,042 D C B
80 Forest Heights (Southeast) $348,631 B C D
81 Skyview Ranch (Southeast) $468,964 D B C
82 Erlton (Southwest) $686,350 D D C
83 Shawnessy (Southwest) $424,617 A D D
84 Mayland Heights (Southeast) $464,038 D B C
85 Crestmont (Southwest) $719,598 D C C
86 Radisson Heights (Southeast) $354,116 B D D
87 Somerset (Southwest) $445,113 A D D
88 Greenview (Northwest) $389,100 A D D
89 Ogden Lynnwood (Southeast) $347,361 A D D
90 Abbeydale (Southeast) $320,336 A D D
91 Marlborough Park (Southeast) $358,159 B D D
92 Forest Lawn (Southeast) $322,588 A D D
93 Temple (Southeast) $362,432 C D D
94 Ranchlands (Northwest) $417,926 A D D
95 Falconridge (Southeast) $323,416 A C D
96 Lynnwood Ridge (Southeast) $357,029 A D D
97 Penbrooke (Southeast) $323,236 A D D
98 Erin Woods (Southeast) $328,547 A D D
98 Dover (Southeast) $317,060 A D D
100 Castleridge (Southeast) $329,717 A D D
101 Pineridge (Southeast) $354,240 B D D
102 Fonda (Southeast) $364,444 C C D
103 West Dover (Southeast) $366,292 C C D
104 Marlborough (Southeast) $358,516 B D D
105 Rundle (Southeast) $374,267 C D D
106 Martindale (Southeast) $353,361 B D D
107 Whitehorn (Southeast) $375,403 C D D
108 Montgomery (Northwest) $510,161 C A D
109 Dover Glen (Southeast) $325,878 A D D
110 Applewood (Southeast) $379,387 C D D




SOURCES: Calgary Real Estate Board, MoneySense expert realtor panel 2015
We would like to thank national licensed real estate brokerage Zoocasa for making its experienced realtors available for our expert panel.
When ranking the top neighbourhoods not all metrics were weighted equally. Read our full methodology

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