So far the city of Calgary is having a very good March, as far as the real estate market goes. The Calgary Real Estate Board just released their report for the first ten days of the month and already 657 MLS homes have changed hands. That is a 3.46 percent increase over the same time period in 2012. The average price is also up by 9.80 percent, with that average home price being $456,814 per home.
Richard Cho, who is one of CMHC Calgary’s senior marketing analysts, noted that Calgary far outperformed the rest of the nation. Part of it is attributed to the rate of growth in the city exceeding that of Canada as a whole. It is expected that the average sales price, nationwide, will increase by roughly one percent by the end of 2013. Calgary’s home inventory is also down from last year, but sales have remained quite stable.
The low inventory in Calgary, also found in some other cities in North America, is creating buying conditions that are quite favourable, noted Becky Walters, who is CREB’s president. More demand for fewer properties means higher prices. This trend also influences rental properties, which are seeing lowered vacancy rates and higher rents.
Another factor in Calgary’s early sales is the mild weather, atypical for this time of year. The much warmer climate heralded a sales season with February/March numbers more the norm for March/April. The spring swing is early, and so far very active.
As far as new listings, they numbered 3,790, with only 1,052 being added, a ten percent decrease from last year at this time. Walters noted that the market is balanced, but it would be nice to have a few additional properties listed to keep things in that balance. She also predicts that Calgary will be a good choice for investors throughout the entire year.