According to the most recent statistics released by CREB, Calgary is sitting in a buyer’s housing market right now. These conditions are due to a combination of factors: high inventory and lower sales activity in the real estate market. To put this into real numbers: November sales were down 28% from last year, and new listings in November increased by 5% from 2014.
The combination of both soft sales and elevated listings caused months of supply to rise above four months. It represents the third consecutive month that housing supply in the city has remained near four months, which is an indicator that supports buyers’ conditions. “The housing market is reflecting the realities of the economic conditions,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Calgary has continued to post job losses in the energy sector, unemployment levels are high, wages are down and recovery expectations have changed. All of these factors have contributed to the weak demand we have seen throughout the year.” CREB® president Corinne Lyall pointed out that inventory levels still remained 27 per cent below the November highs recorded in 2008. [CREB]
Let’s have a look at the hard figures:
- Average benchmark price in November was $450,700 a 2% drop from 2014
- Average benchmark price of detached homes was $510,700 in November, down 1.52% from 2014
- Average benchmark price of attached homes was $352,400 in November, down 1.5% from 2014
- Average benchmark price of apartments was $287,000 in November, down 4.6% from 2014
Please note that these are overall averages, so certain sectors can be contributing to what could be called skewed figures, like for example the luxury home market where declines were more significant. It’s important for sellers to understand the differences between average, median and benchmark prices when dealing with a buyer’s market. A REALTOR® definitely comes in handy when it comes to navigating these kinds of indicators in the real estate market.
The full CREB statistics package is available online here. If you have questions about this marketplace, please feel free to contact us.
