April is here, much to the delight and surprise of many. It seems as though March flew by with the help of the beautiful weather and so many special events.
With the beginning of April comes the ability to see what happened in March as a whole. This is what CREB (the Calgary Real Estate Board) does: they look back on everything that happened in March, then summarize it and record the data so overall trends can be discovered. Every month we take the CREB summary and give you the highlights. If you want more detailed information, go to their website HERE. They are a fantastic resources for buyers, sellers, investors and anyone else wondering what is going on in the real estate market.
Without further ado, here are the CREB March housing summary highlights:
The real estate market seems to be at a slight standstill. Technically speaking we are in a buyers market. However, there are not many buyers out there. Benchmark prices have declined another four percent from year-over-year trends, landing at approximately $442,800 per unit. In March 1588 homes were sold, which is twenty-eight percent lower than long-term averages for the month.
Why was this? CREB® chief economist Ann- Marie Lurie says, “Provincial unemployment rates are at the highest level recorded since the early ‘90s. With no improvement in the labour market, it’s no surprise that we continue to face downward pressure on housing sales activity and prices.”
The average time a house remains on the market has also increased to a wait time of approximately five months before selling it. However, with spring having arrived that time is likely to decrease. After all, springtime is a very popular time for buying and selling.
“As we move into spring, we are starting to see more foot traffic at open houses and showings from potential buyers,” says CREB® president Cliff Stevenson. “For now, this activity hasn’t translated into improved sales in most segments of the market.” However, in the next couple of months we should see this translation of improved sales from more open house foot traffic.
Regardless of the downturn in the market, here at Team Ken Richter we are confident that Calgary will bounce back. We would love to partner with you to make this happen by helping you sell your home, invest in a property or find your dream home. Contact our office to set up an appointment.
Happy April!
Posted by Ken Richter on
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