Calgary Real Estate Market Watch, September 2008

SELLERS ARE WAITING TOO LONG TO MAKE A DESIRABLE SALE!

Calgary, September 2, 2008 – Calgary’s MLS® market, new Listing added, continue to decrease with sales down slightly for the month of August. Many buyers and sellers may still be enjoying holidays, or are just now getting ready for back-to-school, so this is quite normal for this time of year. The numbers still tell the story of a continuation in the buyer’s market trend, and that we are slowly moving toward a more balanced market, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®).

Single family Calgary metro new listings added for the month of August totaled 2,270, a decrease of 20 per cent from August 2007, when new listing added totaled 2,837 and a decrease of 11.3 per cent from last month, when new listings coming to the market were 2,559. Calgary metro condominium new listings added in August 2008 were 1,054, showing a decrease of 11.1 per cent from the 1,186 new condominium listings added in August 2007 and a decrease of 11 per cent from last month’s condominium listings of 1,183.

Single family Calgary metro sales for the month of August came in at 1,170, showing a decrease of 11 per cent from the 1,314 sales in August 2007 and showing a decrease of 10.9 per cent from last month’s sales of 1,313. Condominium sales for the month of August were 495, a decrease of 17.2 per cent from the 598 condominium sales recorded in August 2007 and showing a decrease of 7.5 percent from July 2008 when 535 condominiums changed hands.

“The market is different now than it was two years ago, or even one year ago. Sellers really need to be aware of their price point in this market; that critical fi rst listing price must be competitive, or the property will remain on the market longer than expected and may be subject to price reductions. The median price is under $400,000 for the first time since January of 2007, when it was $380,000, which may indicate that properties are being reduced in price and that some sellers have waited too long to reap the benefits of a speedy and desirable sale. The benefits are still in favour of the buyer at the moment, so if you’re looking at buying, you will be pleased at the selection of homes and reasonable prices,” explained, Ed Jensen, President of the Calgary Real Estate Board.

The median price of a single family Calgary metro home in August 2008 was $398,000, showing a decrease of 7.4 per cent from August 2007, when the median price was $430,000 and down 2.6 per cent from last month when the median price was $408,500. All Calgary Metro MLS® statistics include properties listed and sold only within Calgary’s City limits. 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.

The average price of a single family Calgary metro home in August 2008 was $440,625, showing a decrease of 9.3 per cent from August 2007, when the average price was $485,914. The average price of a Calgary metro condominium was $287,832, showing a 10.3 per cent decrease from August 2007 when the average price was $320,790. Average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differentials between geographical areas.

Source: CREB

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