The resale market in Calgary’s residential sector saw a drop in units sold which has eased absorption rate. City wide sales declined by 27 percent with 1, 643 units sold in August. This is 12 percent lower than the ten year averages we have previously been on par with.
Why is this happening? “Persistent weakness in the energy sector weighed on sales activity this month, which once again retracted to levels well below the norm for the city,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. We may be back on our way to stability after the market crash, but it will still take a long time to fully recover. Luckily for us, Calgary is the ultimate comeback kid.
Weaker sales activity has resulted in properties being on the market for a longer time, the average amount being 3.13 months. Compared to other areas, though, this is still not a very long time for a property to be on the market.
Homes in the higher price range (600,00 upwards) saw the most significant absorption decline, though not for the reasons you may suspect. It is not that people are not willing to pay higher prices, it is that more and more homes are being built in that price range so the market is saturated with inventory.
CREB® president Corinne Lyall reports, “With more options in the higher-end of the market, sellers will need to consider their competition as well as their goals regarding a sell date. This will influence the pricing strategy they agree upon with their real estate professional.”
Overall, consumers have a lot of options they can explore regarding which property they purchase. Having more options means that consumers do not have to settle. “Improved selection is giving buyers the opportunity to be discerning about their purchase decisions,” Lyall says. “They may be weighing their options between resale and new product, along with what community fits their lifestyle.”
If you want more information on what happened in the real estate market last month or trend forecasts for this month, check out the following link: http://www.creb.com/Seller_Resources/Monthly_Housing_Summary/
Posted by Ken Richter on
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