| | Tuesday, March 1, 2011 Calgary Real Estate Board February Statisticsby Mountain Park Real Estate - Broker Attn: Warren Phipps on Tue, Mar, 1, 2011 04:24 PM Categories: #calgary, #yyc, #yycre, Calgary, Calgary Condo, Calgary Condo Management, Calgary Homes, Calgary House, Calgary Property, Calgary Property Management, Calgary Real Estate, Calgary Real Estate Companies, Calgary Realtor, Market Trends, Property Management, Real Estate, Real Estate CalgaryCALGARY’S HOUSING MARKET RECOVERY CONTINUES AT A GRADUAL PACE
Calgary single family home sales increase over the previous month and year-over-year
Calgary, March 1, 2011 –According to figures released today by CREB® (Calgary Real Estate Board), for the second month in a row, single family home sales in the city of Calgary increased over previous month figures and levels recorded in February 2010. The rise in sales continues to point to a gradual recovery in Calgary’s housing market.
The number of single family home sales in the month of February 2011 were 1,169, compared with January 2011, when sales were 791 — an increase of about 48 per cent. The number of condominium sales for the month of February 2011 was 468. This was up from the 302 condominium transactions recorded in January 2011.
Year-over-year, the number of single family homes sold in February 2011 in the city of Calgary increased by 13 per cent. In February 2010, single family home sales totaled 1,035. Condominium sales saw a decrease of 13 per cent from the same time a year ago. In February 2010, condominium sales were 536.
“The convergence of affordability, low interest rates, a good selection of inventory and improved confidence in the Alberta’s energy sector is building the foundation for a sustainable housing recovery,” says Sano Stante, president of CREB®. “Sales of single family homes priced below $400,000 are driving the gradual recovery, with the expectation that as the year progresses we should see the sales shift to homes priced in the mid range of the market.”
The average price of a single family home in the city of Calgary in February 2011 was $461,786, showing a 2 per cent increase from January 2011, when the average price was $454,163, and a 1 per cent increase from February 2010, when the average price was $458,254. The average price of a condominium in the city of Calgary in February 2011 was $290,145, showing a 1 per cent increase from January 2011, when the average price was $288,291 and a 3 per cent increase over last year, when the average price was $282,880.
The median price of a single family home in the city of Calgary for February 2011 was $400,000, showing a slight increase from January 2011 when the median price was $390,000. This was a 3 per cent decrease from February 2010, when the median price was $411,000. The median price of a condominium in February 2011 was $267,000, showing a 5 per cent increase from January 2011, when the median price was $255,000, and remained virtually unchanged from February 2010, when it was $265,900.
“The Bank of Canada announced today that interest rates will remain unchanged until summer to encourage continued economic growth in Canada. Steady interest rates combined with stable housing prices indicate current affordability levels in Calgary will persist throughout the first half of 2011,” says Sante.
Single family listings in the city of Calgary added for the month of February 2011 totaled 2,268, an increase of 15 per cent from January 2011 when 1,965 new listings were added, and showing an increase of 5 per cent from February 2010, when 2,154 new listings came to the market.
Condominium new listings in the city of Calgary added for February 2011 were 971, an increase of 12 per cent from January 2011, when 870 condo listings were added to the market. This is a decrease of 12 per cent from February 2010, when new condominium listings added were 1,109.
“Improvements in the energy sector will translate into growth in employment and net-migration in Alberta and Calgary. This will boost consumer confidence and ultimately improve housing demand.” says Stante.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011 New Canadian Mortgage Rulesby Mountain Park Real Estate - Broker Attn: Warren Phipps on Tue, Jan, 18, 2011 06:39 PM
Yesterday Finance Minister Jim Flaherty revealed that mortgage rules in Canada are going to be changing on March 18th 2010. Here are the changes:
- The amortization period of government-backed insured mortgages (CMHC) has been reduced from 35 years to 30 years.
- Canadians can only refinance their mortgages to 85% of their homes value instead of the current 90%.
- Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC’s) will no longer be backed by government insurance (CMHC)
What does this mean for you? Maybe a lot and maybe nothing at all. Reducing the amortization from 35 – 30 years means that the average Canadian mortgage will cost about $100 more per month. However this is only in the case of properties that are purchased with less than a 20% down payment. Anyone putting down more than 20% can still get mortgages with up to 40 year amortizations. So for an investor, it is still possible to find properties that will produce positive cash flow.
On the other hand if you were a first time home buyer planning on buying your first home with the minimum 5% down payment this will affect you quite a bit. Let’s say you were planning on buying the average home in Calgary for $400,000. With today’s interest rates of 3.89% on a five year fixed rate 35 year mortgage and 5% down, your monthly cost would be $1650 compared to $1783 on a 30 year. That’s 8% more in monthly payments of the new rules.
So why are they changing the rules anyway? Didn’t they just increase the maximum amortization from 25 years to 35 years only a few years ago?
My thoughts are that the government is trying to prevent the Real Estate market from a rising too quickly, and to dangerous levels due to low interest rates. As we witnessed today, the bank of Canada kept it’s lending rate at 1%. So why doesn’t the Bank of Canada just raise interest rates again to cool things down? Acting on the housing sector alone would have other consequences, at a time when the economy can least afford it. Economic recovery is still fragile, a rate hike would cause the Loonie to move even higher compared to the US Dollar. A high Loonie means less exports, and thus higher unemployment here in Canada.
These new mortgage rules will keep some buyers out of the market, especially those who are planning to purchase their new home with very little equity. If there ever is a serious price correction, these types of buyers would find themselves with a mortgage worth more than their homes. In a way they are forcing people to be responsible, so that we can avoid ending up like our neighbours south of the border.
In my opinion it’s a great move by the government to protect buyers, and reduce the risk of a severe Real Estate market down turn.
Warren Phipps, BROKER/OWNER OF MOUNTAIN PARK REAL ESTATE IN CALGARY, ALBERTA
If you would like to keep up with Calgary Real Estate market trends follow me on Facebook HERE or on Twitter HERE Thursday, January 13, 2011 2010 one of the worst years for Calgary Real Estate market over the past decadeby Mountain Park Real Estate - Broker Attn: Warren Phipps on Thu, Jan, 13, 2011 11:59 AM Categories: Calgary Condo, Calgary Condo Management, Calgary Herald, Calgary Homes, Calgary House, Calgary Property, Calgary Property Management, Calgary Real Estate, Calgary Real Estate Companies, Calgary Realtor, Kijiji Calgary, Real Estate Calgary
If you were trying to sell a home in 2010 (especially the second half of 2010), you probably weren’t happy with the results. There were definitely less buyers shopping around for a new home. The Calgary Real Estate Board data showed that single-family MLS sales were at the lowest level in more than a decade and that condominium sales were the lowest since 2001.
The good new is that while sales were down, prices were up. There were 12,095 single-family home sales in 2010 for an average MLS sale price of $461,144 and a median price of $406,000. The average price increased by 4.25% ($18,799) from 2009 while the median price was up 3.57% ($13,994) but sales dropped by 16.2%.
In the condo market, there were 5,181 transactions in 2010 for an average price of $289,697 and a median price of $266,500. Sales were off by 18.1% from last year while the average price increased by 2.1% ($5,958) and the median price rose by 2.5% ($6500).
Moving forward however, things may get better. Calgary is set to take back its spot as the nation’s leader in economic growth, with expectations of becoming Canada’s growth leader from 2011 to 2014. In 2011, economic output in Calgary is expected to grow by 3.8 per cent, with GDP growth above four per cent for the following three years. That is good news. If the economy in the city is growing, that usually means good things for Real Estate in Calgary.
In the mean time there are a lot of good deals to be had. This week I’ve helped 3 buyers purchase great properties at very competitive prices. If you’re looking at purchasing a home in the near future let me know, and I can forward you some of the great deals that I come across every week.
WARREN PHIPPS – BROKER/OWNER OF MOUNTAIN PARK REAL ESTATE AND PROPERTY MANAGEMENT IN CALGARY.
If you would like to keep up with Calgary Real Estate market trends follow on The MOUNTAIN PARK REAL ESTATE Facebook page HERE or on Twitter HERE |
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