The Calgary Real Estate Board's (CREB®) December 2012 Calgary Regional Housing Market Statistics for the City of Calgary confirmed that there was a 5.7% increase in residential sales activity over December 2011. The breakdown showed 1,083 residential units sold in the City of Calgary in December 2012 (which includes single family homes, condominium townhomes and condominium apartments) compared to the 1,025 units sold in December 2011. This continued positive trend in sales helped the Calgary resale market finish the 2012 year with 21,207 in total sales in the City of Calgary, up 14.7% from 2011. An 18% reduction in new listings plus a 7.7% increase over December 2011 in the Benchmark Price to $390,100 contributed to a more balanced Calgary residential market.
- Calgary Annual Sales Volume - December 2012
Bob Jablonski, President of CREB® commented, "Consumers in the market were looking for value and, if a home was priced right based on a longer term view of their housing needs they were buying. The price spread is expected to narrow as balanced market conditions support further price growth, but in most communities, prices remain lower than 2007 levels."
What's ahead for the Calgary residential resale market?
Ann-Marie Lurie, Chief Economist for CREB® stated that, "There is no question employment and migration growth in the energy sector has supported housing demand, a trend that is expected to continue this year, albeit at a slower pace." She had the following outlook for 2013, "Calgary’s 2013 housing sector growth will ease both in terms of sales and price growth, differing from the declines expected on a national level. Calgary’s housing market did not recover at the same pace as other Canadian centres and 2012 was the first time resale sales returned to more normal levels of activity". She concluded that, "While economic activity will be strong enough to support moderate housing growth, the notion of an overheated housing market in 2013 is unlikely, given the economic backdrop."
How do prices today's compare to peak prices of 2007?
CREB® now uses the Benchmark Price instead of the median price as a more accurate reflection of market pricing.
Here are the Benchmark Prices for each category:
Single Family Homes $434,800
Condo Townhomes $284,100
Condo Apartments $248,700
Composite $390,100
The City of Calgary Composite Benchmark Price of $390,100 for December 2012 is the weighted value of all 3 categories. This is up 7.7% compared to December 2011 and is up 6.2% from December 2009, but still remains down 1.6% compared to December 2007 which was the year prices peaked. Based on the Benchmark Price, Calgary residential real estate values are now finally near their historic highs reached in 2007!
- Calgary Residential Prices - December 2012
Almost all price categories sales activity increases of over 10% in December 2012, yet the $1,500,000 to $1,749,999 category came up on top with an amazing 150% increase (from 2 to 5 sales). This category also finished the year on top with sales of 68 in 2012 compared to 43 in 2011 - a dramatic 58% increase. The next most active category was the $600,000 to $649,999 with a 44% increase (from 490 to 707 sold).
The luxury home category (properties that sold for $1 million and over) also set records. For the month of December 2012, there were 38 sales compared to only 17 sold in December 2011 - a 124% increase! 26 of these 38 luxury homes sold (68%) were in the $1 million to $1.5 million category. For the year 2012, the luxury category saw increased sales in all categories except two: $1,250,000 to $1,499,999 (118 sales versus 126 in 2011) and $1,750,000 to $1,499,999 (29 sales versus 34 in 2011).
SUMMARY:
2012's sales activity in Calgary's residential housing market outperformed 2011 in almost all price categories and definitely lead the rest of the country. The main underlying factors continuing to drive Calgary's real estate market are job creation, net in-migration, economic prosperity in the resource sector and overall confidence with a recovering economy. Low interest rates still drive much of the market for homes sold under $1,000,000.
Luxury homes in every category over $1 million also had more sales activity in December 2012 than in 2011!
Expect the resilient Calgary housing market to continue with more modest growth and most likely be Canada's top performing city for real estate market in 2013.
HOW DID YOUR HOME FIT INTO THIS YEAR'S TREND? Give us your feedback and input.
The full December 2012 CREB statistics can be viewed here:
http://www.creb.com/public/documents/statistics/2012/package/res-stats-2012_Dec.pdf
Posted by Ross PAVL on
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