According to numbers released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) today, the average price of single-family homes and condos are slightly down again.
“Overall sales activity relative to new listings caused a softening in absorption rates, which resulted in inventory gains and ultimately placed moderate downward pressure on pricing,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. [CREB]
The benchmark home price in Calgary for last month is reported as $456,300, which would be a 0.26 per cent decrease from 2014. The benchmark price for apartment condos was $290,600 last month, down 2.71 per cent from 2014.
What’s contributing to this drop in home prices? Well, the economy is certainly playing a big role there. Sales of homes are also lower, and inventory is sitting particularly high for this period, especially in the condo market.
Residential sales in the city totaled 1,448 units in September, well below typical activity levels for this time of year. Year-to-date Calgary sales remained below both the five and 10-year year averages by a respective 10 and 26 per cent. [CREB]
Many economic forecasters and industry experts agree that while numbers are down for 2015, thus far, the economy and real estate market should stabilize for next year. So is this doom and gloom news? No.
The big winners here are the homebuyers, prices are more affordable now than they have been for awhile, and mortgage rates are still sitting at historically low levels. If you’re financially sound, now is the time to jump into the real estate market, especially if you’re still spending money in our rental market, which has rates higher than most of the country.
The biggest gains for homebuyers can be seen in the luxury homes and condo sectors, which have had the most significant drop in prices this year. You can search Calgary’s active listings online here.
