The real estate market in Calgary has changed significantly in the past few months. We went from having an over-supply of homes where sellers waited endlessly for offers, to a brand new market where, in certain price ranges, multiple offers on the same home are becoming more and more common every day.

Here’s the latest News Release from the Calgary Real Estate Board…

Calgary, July 2, 2009 – The number of single family homes and condos sold in June in Calgary metro are both up from the same time a year ago.
MLS® sales activity of single family Calgary metro homes was 1,837 in the month of June 2009, showing an increase of 16 per cent from 1,584 sales in May 2009, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®).
This is the sixth consecutive month home sales have increased in Calgary Metro. This was an increase of 28 per cent from June 2008, when single family home sales were 1,439. The number of condominium sales for the month of June 2009 was 738, an increase of 13 per cent from the 653 condominium transactions recorded in May 2009, and an increase of 33 per cent from June 2008, when 556 condominiums changed hands.

“This is the third consecutive month we are seeing our inventory return to a balanced market,” says Bonnie Wegerich, President of the Calgary Real Estate Board. “Our inventory turnover for single family homes and condos in metro Calgary is now just over two months. This is a remarkable shift from the nearly 11 months of inventory we saw in January of this year.”
“A rise in demand along with fewer listings has helped bring supply in balance with demand,” says Wegerich. “Affordable prices, low interest rates and pent-up demand continue to fuel this gradual rebound. Should this trend continue, I think we can confidently say the bottom of the market has come and gone before many buyers had a chance to notice.”

The average price of a single family Calgary metro home in June 2009 was $447,142, showing an increase of 2 per cent from May 2009, when the average price was $436,427, and showing a decrease of 6 per cent from June 2008, when the average price was $473,774. The average price of a Calgary metro condominium was $285,595 showing a 4 per cent increase from May 2009, when the average price was $275,212 and a decrease of 9 per cent over last year, when the average price was $315,042. Average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods, or account for price differentials between geographical areas.

“It is not the buyer’s market we saw in January of this year. As our inventory trends lower, choice and selection will decrease. Nonetheless, there are still great opportunities out there for buyers,” says Wegerich.

“The good news is pricing remains relatively affordable,” says Wegerich. “We are not liable to see significant price gains in 2009, but more likely a gradual and steady improvement in home values.”

Single family Calgary metro new listings added for the month of June totaled 2,244, no change from May 2009 when 2,235 new listings were added, but showing a decrease of 19 per cent from June 2008, when 2,787 new listings came to the market. Calgary metro condominium new listings added in June 2009 were 927, down 7 per cent from May 2009, when the MLS® saw 998 condo listings coming to the market. This is a decrease of 25 per cent from June 2008, when condominium listings were 1,234.

The median price of a single family Calgary metro home in June 2009 was $399,000, showing an increase of 2 per cent from May 2009, when the median price was $390,000, and down 2 per cent from June 2008, when the median price was $408,000. The median price of a condominium in June 2009 was $265,500, up 4 per cent from May 2009, when the median was $255,000, and down 6 per cent from June 2008, when the median price was $282,000. All Calgary metro MLS® statistics include properties listed and sold only within Calgary’s city limits. The median price is the price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given period of time. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price.

“We are encouraged by this upward trend in sales but there are still some economic fundamentals needed before we will see a full recovery in the housing market,” added Wegerich. “A rebound in employment and oil prices will have a significant impact on the housing market in Calgary-we expect this won’t fully take effect until the beginning of 2010.”

http://yourhomeincalgary.blogspot.com/2009/07/its-july-2009-and-weather-is-fine-so-is.html

viewed by Moishe Alexander, canadian funding corp CEO

Well as we expected, June was a record breaking month for sales. Over 2400 sales this month, more sales than May (2161 sales). The other big story is how many listings are out there. Our inventory has dropped down to the 6500 range. That is much lower than last June (2008) when we had 10,817 homes for sale. Prices for both condos and single family both went up just under 1% for the month. Not as high of an increase as May (4% increase). This could be something to watch. The high sales volume units wise is not translating into a manic price increase (like 2006). In fact the percentage of the total sales are very similar to January 2009 numbers. We have been hovering around 50% of the market in that $300,000 or less price point. So the market has been very strong, but the prices have not gone crazy. A 5% increase in two months is still very substantial. I’ve attached some graphs that might be of interest. Happy Canada Day everyone!

http://realestateinedmonton.blogspot.com/2009/07/edmonton-real-estate-market-stats-for.html

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO

Housing starts across British Columbia remained depressed in the first quarter of 2009, falling almost 70 per cent compared with the same quarter of 2008, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Wednesday.

While housing starts ticked up slightly in March on a national basis, builders in B.C. started work on 2,517 new homes in the first three months compared with 8,532 in 2008.

“Developers and homebuilders in B.C. are starting fewer new homes in response to a well-supplied resale market and weaker housing demand,” Carol Frketich, Canada Mortgage and Housing’s regional economist for B.C., said in a news release.

The declines in starts ranged from almost 93 per cent in Kelowna, where builders started on 72 new homes compared with 985 in the first quarter last year, to 31 per cent in Nanaimo, where builders started on 170 new homes vs. 247 in the same months a year ago.

And the pace of new-housing construction slipped in March to a pace that would see builders across urban B.C. start work on 10,000 units in 2009, compared with a pace of 12,000 units seen in February.

In the Lower Mainland, Metro Vancouver saw starts fall by two-thirds, 1,829 units compared with 5,131 in the first quarter of 2008.

Across Metro Vancouver, West Vancouver saw the steepest drop in the first quarter at 92 per cent, with the Tri-Cities and Surrey not far behind at 91 per cent.

Delta was the only municipality to see an increase in housing starts. Builders there started work on 81 new housing units, an increase of 55 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago.

“The slowing housing starts trend that began in the last part of 2008 will continue,” Robyn Adamache, Canada Mortgage and Housing’s senior analyst for Metro Vancouver, said in a news release, also citing well-supplied resale markets and a growing inventory of unsold new homes as the reasons builders are holding off on new development.

Across Canada, home construction rose unexpectedly in March, led by Ontario and Quebec, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said Wednesday.

There were 154,700 housing starts on an annualized basis during the month, up from a revised 136,100 units in February, the government agency said.

Many economists had expected housing starts to dip to 130,000 units in March.

“Higher multiple starts in Ontario and Quebec were the main contributors to the rise in new construction activity in March,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “While the multiples segment experienced the largest increase, the overall boost in starts was broad based, encompassing the singles segment as well.”

http://housing-analysis.blogspot.com/2009/04/from-vancouver-sun-housing-starts.html

reviewed by Moishe Alexander, CFC CEO