Katelyn: I didn’t really that was fine. Oh, now we’re like the same height.
Pete: Well, I sit down and you stand up. And I’ll sit right towards the front. Yeah, when I sit and you stand, we’re the same height.
Katelyn: Wow. Okay. I feel tall now. It doesn’t even look like I’m standing.
Pete: Yeah. All right.
Let’s go. Hey everyone. It’s Pete de Jong and Kate here from Remax Professionals. And we’re going to tell you a little bit about what happened in November of 2023, because it’s now December. It’s almost Christmas. Unbelievable. Anyway, so here’s what’s going on, and it’s a lot of what has been going on except that it seems like there’s, there’s even a stronger division between what’s going on sort of in the price range above $700k and below $700k.
So, what we’re seeing in general though is that sales are up. November this year versus November last year is what we’re doing here. Sales up about [00:01:00] 9% which is crazy. Because what you’re seeing is you’re seeing new listings come up, but the new listings are all sort of piling up in the high price range and inventory is still kept down because the lower price range is still selling.
So it’s still one of those situations where under $700k, you can’t, we can’t keep inventory over $700k, you’re still able to find stuff. So, like I said, new listings are up 38.2%, but what’s inventory at?
Katelyn: Inventory is down 4% year over year.
Pete: Crazy! Crazy how you can have new listings up 32% and you’re still short of inventory from last year. Goes to show you how pronounced this problem is.
Katelyn: So what does that look like in terms of months of supply?
Pete: Yeah, so in terms of months of supply, we’re at like 1.7 months. So, we’re, we’re just over a month and a half supply right now. Yeah. So, that again means that if we were to stop listing stuff in a month and a half, we’d be out of places to sell.
So by all means, if you’re thinking of selling, now’s a good time. Let me, let me interrupt though and just say this because a lot of [00:02:00] times what people are asking me and you probably as well, when you’re at, you know, starting to see some Christmas parties and get togethers and stuff, is there like, “Should I wait for price for the interest rates to come down?”
Yes. And my advice is. It’s definitely not because what I think you’re going to see, there’s rumors now of interest rates maybe coming down half a point or a quarter of a point, whatever in the spring. And I think what you’re going to see is you’re going to see the interest rate come down half a point and prices go nuts because everyone’s going to jump into the market going, here’s my last chance.
So I think especially in Calgary, Alberta, you know, you’re probably better off buying. Now and then just refinancing in a year or something like that, then then thinking I’m going to wait till interest rates come down because then you’re going to see the prices go up and it’s going to cost you even more that way.
I think so. Time will tell.
Katelyn: It’s a very educated guess.
Pete: I think so. Yeah, time will tell. But Yeah, so right now in the detached market, we’ve still seen prices go up, right?
Katelyn: Yeah, prices are up about 13% compared to last year. [00:03:00] But sales are down 20% and just like Pete was saying, that’s because anything that’s over that $700k benchmark, it’s just not selling.
Pete: Yeah, it’s not selling. So, same goes for the detached market, same kind of thing. We’ve seen prices come up about 12.3%, but a lot of that detached market is even up over 700%. Like, when you’re looking at the infills and stuff like that. Because don’t forget the semi detached, I mean, market is what I meant to say.
So, semi detached is not like townhouses. We’re talking about those half duplex infills and stuff that you’re seeing going up all over downtown. So, but in terms of row houses, now part of that is because the prices were really not doing well last year at this time. And I remember saying that, just going, I can’t believe townhouses are still this cheap.
But they’ve taken off, they’ve rocketed up. Because again, they’re under $700k, and we’ve seen the price of those come up like 21%. But what’s the area that Pete’s the most excited about, Kate?
Katelyn: Pete is the most excited about, because he’s been talking about this since last year, is the apartments. So [00:04:00] apartments are up by 17.8%, and supply is down 21%.
Pete: Yeah, so, so, I mean, if, if price increases are as a result of a low supply and high demand, here’s what’s going on in apartments, and I’m still selling apartments because I’m telling you if you want to get a return, you want to get an ROI on some real estate, you can still buy a condo relatively cheap and get a great return.
So right now, we’re seeing supply down compared to last year by 21%, as you said. And sales are up 25%. So 25% increased demand 20% decreased supply. I think prices might be going up. You know, for, for at least the next year or so. So I think that’s going to be a place if you’re looking to invest, I think there’s still room, like even in terms of the whole downtown, which a lot of it is apartments.
You know, it’s been hurt, right? Like when we saw the oil and gas prices crash and [00:05:00] people got sent home from COVID and not really hired back at the pace they were, they’re roaring back, but it still isn’t where the rest of the city is at, right?
Katelyn: Exactly. Yeah, so when we’re looking at parts of the city, City Centre is the lowest that’s doing, compared to all the other
Pete: In terms of price increases.
Katelyn: Yes, exactly. In terms of price increases, it only went up about 6%.
Pete: Yeah, and you compare that to like Forest Lawn and Dover and stuff, which is the most exciting area of the city to be in right now, they’re up over 21%. So, it kind of, you know, to think about what’s going on in the market, it’s simply this, is if you’ve got if you’ve got a cheaper place, anything under $700k, you’re part of the most exciting thing to happen in Calgary in a long, long time.
If you’re at a million bucks, eh, it’s not as exciting. It’s still good. I mean, don’t get me wrong, but really the excitement is all in the east side, so Forest Lawn, Dover, Pembroke, Marlborough, and then in the northeast that’s the second most exciting area, right?
Katelyn: Yeah, so that one’s up by 16%, so you’re talking [00:06:00] Tarradale, Martindale, Saddle Ridge, Castle Ridge.
Pete: Even the properties, right?
Katelyn: Yes, yes, exactly.
Pete: Rundle, Whitehorn Temple, Pine Ridge. Yeah. Yeah. So in terms of the cheapest place, though, and by the way, I have a great offer coming up. Oh. Stand by. This offer is unbelievable. I don’t even want to talk about it yet. I’m so excited.
Katelyn: He’s so excited about it.
Pete: Yeah, this is an offer just for you that are watching this video, and it’s crazy.
Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Crazy.
Katelyn: So the cheapest house to sell for the month of November was a loft, and you can still get something under $120k here in Calgary, which is, that’s still pretty surprising.
Pete: Time to move here if you’re still in Vancouver. I know. Or Toronto.
Katelyn: So it was sold by Ming Wang in Chinatown, and it was sold for $116k
Pete: Shout out to Ming Wang. And Catherine Chow sold the most expensive place in Calgary. Have I mentioned that I got a great offer coming in? Yes, you do. This is a great offer. Anyways, so Catherine Chow sold a place for $3.5M in Upper Mount Royal. Someone there knew [00:07:00] that if they don’t buy now, they’re going to pay more when interest rates come up.
So, they were smart and they bought something for $3.5M. Now, if you want to buy something for $3.5M, we’re happy to show them to you by the way, right? Oh, totally. Like, I don’t want to just be talking about the lower price stuff. We’re happy to show a million dollar properties as well.
So in fact, I’m heading to a home inspection at one pretty soon here. Anyways. So in the meantime, though, let me tell you about this exciting offer. You know it’s free. Oh yeah. Ask me how free,
Katelyn: How, how free it’s?
Pete: It’s actually. Absolutely free.
Katelyn: Oh wow.
Pete: Imagine that.
Katelyn: Absolutely free. In this world? In this economy?
Pete: In 2023, where everything is getting so expensive, I’m offering you something not just a little bit free.
No, not even quite a bit free. Absolutely free. Like ask how much this is going to cost anyone.
Katelyn: How much?
Pete: Zero. Wow. Zero. And on top of that, it’s valuable. So what I’m, what I’m offering you is, no matter where you live, as long as you’re in the [00:08:00] city, or Airdrie, Chestermere, you know close to the city, and you want to be able to track your market, maybe because you want to sell in a year or so, or maybe just because it’s free.
Fun to do right now because just watching your equity grow and your value of your property grow. All you do is send me a quick email and you can email me at pete@280keys.com. That’s “Pete” and then “@” the number is “280” and then “keys” like keys to your, because I’m St. Peter and I have the keys to your next kingdom. Oh, cringe, cringe. The kids would say that’s cringe, right? Yeah. Yeah. They would say,
Katelyn: Is that what they say now?
Pete: They would say, dad, you haven’t got a lot of riz. Anyways, if you’re, oh brother, anyways yeah, I’m so disappointed, wait till you see how disappointed my kids are when they hear me use words like Riz and Cringe, I mean no cap, they’re going to be so upset about it, anyways send me an email at pete@280keys.com and just tell me a little bit about your house. That’s all. Just email me. I don’t need your phone number, your name even, anything like that. But if you send me your [00:09:00] email address and you say, Pete, I have a little apartment in Forest Lawn or I’ve got a, I’ve got a 4,000 square foot place in Upper Mount Royal or wherever you want to be.
And what I’ll do is I’ll just keep you updated. Anyways, so just send me an email with what you’ve got and what you want me to track. Or even, you know, if you’re saying, well, I’m thinking about buying a two story in, in Saddle Ridge, I can just, I can just send you that so you can actually watch it and see what’s going on.
So it’ll be really, really good. For you there’s a thousand ways I can do this. I can do it by postal code, by neighborhood, or even just by style and price range, or whatever you want.
Katelyn: And how much is it again?
Pete: It’s actually free. Oh my gosh. Yeah, as in totally free. Yeah. Yeah. You don’t get, I mean, you don’t get anything else for free anymore.
You don’t get, you know, no soup, nothing. No. Anyway. So if you want that, or if you want to get in touch with Kate to show you around different homes in the city, or if you want to talk to me my cell number, I’m sure my editor will put it there or there or [00:10:00] there or there, but it’s 403-818-7310 or you can get a hold of Kate at
Katelyn: Yes, my number is 403-615-2346.
Pete: Alright, awesome. Thanks for paying attention and feel free to take care of that absolutely free offer. It’s sincere. Like I very, I wouldn’t make up something like that. I would talk about free. It’s, it’s it’s valuable
Katelyn: In this economy, free is good.
Pete: Yeah. Yeah. So get in touch with me and we’ll we’ll send you a report as to anything that you wanna see within like I said, the Calgary Calgary area. In the meantime, Merry Christmas. Hope you have a hope you have a great time with your family and friends. And if you have somebody in your neighborhood that you that you think is a little older, it might be lonely. Invite them over. Loneliness is a real real problem.
Everywhere. So make sure that those that are lonely in your in your community or in your church or in your office or your Mensa society or whatever you’re part of, invite them over and make sure they’re included [00:11:00] in in your Christmas festivities. Make sense? I don’t want to preach, but I just, you know, I like looking out.
Yeah. Anyways, thanks so much and we’ll talk to you in the new year. Bye guys. Merry Christmas.
Increased listings, strong sales, and price growth
New listings in November reached 2,227 units, nearly 40 per cent higher than the exceptionally low levels reported last year at this time. Gains in new listings occurred across most price ranges, but the most significant gains occurred from homes priced over $600,000.
Despite the year-over-year jump in new listings, inventory levels remained low thanks to relatively strong sales. With 1,787 sales in November, the sales to new listings ratio remained high at 80 per cent, and the months of supply remained below two months.
“Like other large cities, new listings have been increasing,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “However, in Calgary, the gains have not been enough to change the low inventory situation thanks to strong demand. Our market continues to favour the seller, driving further price growth.”
As of November, the benchmark price was $572,700, up over last month and nearly 11 per cent higher than November 2022. Year-to-date, the average benchmark price has risen by over five per cent.
Detached
Limited supply choice for homes priced below $700,000 has been the primary cause of the decline in detached home sales. While November reported a marginal gain over last year, year-to-date sales have declined by 20 per cent. November saw a rise in new listings compared to the previous year, but higher-priced homes drove most gains. This has left the detached market with exceptionally tight conditions for prices below $700,000 and more balanced conditions for higher-priced homes. Overall, the month of supply remains exceptionally low at under two months.
Persistently tight conditions continue to cause further price gains in the detached market. As of November, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $699,500, a slight increase over last month and over 13 per cent higher than last November. While detached home prices are much higher than last year’s levels in every district, year-to-date gains are the highest in the most affordable districts of the North East and East.
Semi-Detached
November saw a boost in new listings compared to last year, helping to prevent a year-over-year decline in inventory levels. However, inventory levels are still over 40 per cent below typical levels seen in November. With a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 77 per cent and a month-of-supply below two months, conditions remain exceptionally tight, especially for homes priced below $700,000.
Despite tight conditions, benchmark prices remained stable compared to last month. However, at an unadjusted benchmark price of $628,700, prices are still over 12 per cent higher than last year. The year-to-date average benchmark price has risen by nearly seven per cent, with the largest gains occurring in the North East and East districts.
Row
New listings rose again this month compared to last year. The 370 new listings were met with 267 sales, and for the first time since 2021, the sales-to-new-listings ratio fell below 75 per cent. The jump in new listings was enough to support a gain in inventory levels compared to last month and last year. While inventories are still nearly half the levels we traditionally see, this did help cause the months of supply to push up to 1.6 months, a significant improvement from the less than one month of supply that has persisted over the past seven months. While conditions are much more balanced in the higher price ranges, there is less than one month of supply for homes priced below $500,000.
Despite the shift away from exceptionally tight conditions, prices still rose over the last month and last year. As of November, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $429,100, 21 per cent higher than last November and an average year-to-date gain of nearly 13 per cent.
Apartment Condominium
Thanks to the relative affordability of the apartment-style homes, sales continued to reach record highs in November, contributing to year-to-date sales of 7,487. With one month left in the year, sales have already surpassed last year’s record high. This, in part, was possible thanks to the growth in new listings. While inventory levels are similar to levels reported last year, with less than two months of supply, conditions still favour the seller, placing further upward pressure on prices.
The unadjusted November benchmark price reached $320,100 in November, a monthly gain of over one per cent and a year-over-year increase of 18 per cent. Year-to-date price gains have occurred across every district in the city, with some of the largest gains arising in the lower-priced North East and East districts.
REGIONAL MARKET FACTS
Airdrie
Gains in November sales were not enough to offset earlier pullbacks, leaving year-to-date sales down by over 26 per cent over last year’s record levels. Much of the decline has been driven by the detached market, which has struggled with supply, especially in the lower price ranges. New listings in November did improve over last year’s levels. Still, thanks to the gain in sales, the sales-to-new listings ratio rose to 96 per cent, preventing any significant shift from the low inventory levels.
With less than two months of supply, we continue to see upward pressure on home prices. In November, the unadjusted benchmark price rose over last month, reaching $524,500, a year-over-year gain of 11 per cent. Year-to-date price gains have been the highest in the apartment sector at 17 per cent, with detached and semi-detached prices rising by nearly six per cent.
Cochrane
With 87 new listings and 51 sales, the sales-to-new listings ratio fell to 59 per cent in November, the first time it fell below 60 per cent since 2020. Higher-priced properties have primarily driven the recent gain in new listings. Improved new listings compared to sales did help support increases in inventory levels. However, November inventory levels remain over 30 per cent below long-term trends.
Tight market conditions have supported further price growth in Cochrane. As of November, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $548,600, a monthly gain of over one per cent and a year-over-year increase of 11 per cent. On average, year-to-date benchmark prices have increased across all property types, with the most significant gains occurring in the apartment condominium sector at over seven per cent.
Okotoks
November saw a boost in new listings, helping support some of the year-over-year gain in sales. The rise in new listings compared to sales also helped support gains in inventory levels. However, inventory levels are nearly half what we would typically see in the market in November. Nonetheless, the shift this month did help push the months of supply up to nearly two months.
While the months of supply did improve, conditions remained exceptionally tight, and prices continued to trend up this month. As of November, the unadjusted benchmark price was $590,200, a one per cent gain over last month and over eight per cent higher than last November.
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