Homes are More Affordable in Calgary - February 2010

Posted by Joe Samson & Associates on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 5:18pm.

Statistics released by the Calgary Real Estate Board indicates that the Calgary housing market continues to be driven by more affordable housing prices.

Sales of single family homes in Calgary have increased by a 39 per cent over the same time a year ago in January. Condominium transactions have also been keeping up with an increase of 67 er cent compared to twelve months ago in the Calgary real estate market.

Diane Scott, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board has said that - “Low mortgage rates and earlier price reductions have improved the affordability of home ownership for Calgarians. For the time being average home prices are more in line with average incomes.  A narrowing gap between the costs of renting versus owning a home will attract more first time home buyers into the market in 2010.”

Looking at the numbers in more detail, there were 762 single family homes sold in Calgary last month. It is a 5% decrease when compared to the month of December when 799 single family homes exchanged hands in the Calgary real estate market. In January of 2010, 376 condominiums have been sold vs. 541 units in December or a 10% month to month increase.

“The story for 2010 will be a balanced and steadier market,” says Scott. “Just one year ago we were facing record low sales and more than 10 months of inventory.  Consequently, year-over-year sales comparisons are up dramatically—but all in all sales this month are moving closer to the range we would expect this time of year,” adds Scott.
 
Average Price of a Single family home in Calgary
• January 2010 - $441,217 (an increase of 7% compared to a year ago)
• December 2009 - $413,049
• January 2009 - $413,049

Average Price of a Condominium in Calgary
• January 2010 - $282,639 (an increase of 4% compared to a year ago)
• December 2009 - $288,640
• January 2009 - $270,940

Single family home listings in Calgary
• January 2010 – 1,822 (a decrease of 12% compared to a year ago)
• December 2009 – 806
• January 2009 – 2,068

Condominium listings in Calgary
• January 2010 - 951 (an increase of 1% compared to a year ago)
• December 2009 - 444
• January 2009 – 941

Median Price of a Single family home in Calgary
• January 2010 - $398,000 (an increase of 6% compared to a year ago)
• December 2009 - $401,000
• January 2009 - $374,700

Median Price of a Condominium in Calgary
• January 2010 - $265,000 (an increase of 9% compared to a year ago)
• December 2009 - $265,000
• January 2009 - $243,000

The median price is the price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given period of time. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price.

“Affordability is the silver lining in Calgary’s housing market. Even in the face of slowing wage growth—we can see affordability has improved.  Higher prices in 2007 and 2008 left the average family with a maximum buying power of $250,000—while average single family prices pushed well into the $450,000 range. Lower interest rates have enabled these same families to now look at homes in the $350,000 to $375,000 range—closer to average market prices,” says Scott.

“The outlook for Calgary is still about energy. Re-starting of investment in Fort McMurray will be needed to boost employment in Calgary.  Undoubtedly Calgary’s economic recovery is still fragile—and improvements in the housing market will be gradual and modest.  The good news is improved housing affordability will make Calgary more attractive to job seekers than in past years,” says Scott.

Source: CREB

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