It's that time of the year again... the Calgary Real Estate Board has released their latest market statistics summary. This one goes over everything that happened in the Calgary real estate market during this last month of March. Did St. Patrick's day bring the Calgary real estate market some good ol' Irish Luck? Read on to find out.
If this is your first time reading these stats, here is what you need to know: ever since the last oil crash that hit Alberta's economy hard, the Calgary real estate market has been struggling to recover. As people lost their jobs, couldn't find jobs, were forced to go further in debt and drained their savings, owning a home became a distant memory or a dream, but not a reality.
This had a severe impact on the housing market. Inventory (homes listed) skyrocketed as people attempted to downsize to something more affordable or get out of the market for good. The new stress test was introduced, making it extra hard to qualify for a mortgage, which prevented potential buyers from buying that inventory. Though we have seen slight recovery, CREB® has made one thing during these turbulent times very clear:
2019 will still be a year of recovery, which hopefully will hopefully pay off come 2020.
As for last month, CREB® reports, "March saw a modest decline in city wide sales activity compared to last year. However, sales have been rising for more affordable product in the detached and attached sectors." This is good news; affordable homes are being purchased, which means sellers are beginning to approach the market more realistically so that product can move.
CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie notes, “If new listings continue to slow compared to sales, it could start to help with the persistent oversupply scenario weighing on our housing market. However, inventory is still high. It will still take time for our market to transition towards more balanced conditions and stable pricing.”
Things are looking up; or at least moving forward, step by step.
Posted by Ken Richter on
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