Hey, everyone. It’s Pete de Jong with REMAX Professionals here. As you can see, I don’t have Katelyn with me today, which is kind of too bad. But the reality is she got some bad news about her puppy last night or this morning. So she’s taken some time off. She’s not doing really well. So hopefully things work out well with Bruno and but either way that that Kate would be back soon.
In the meantime, here’s what’s going on with the market. And again, as usual, we’re going to be comparing September of this year versus September of last year. So just to be clear, and the prices that we’re going to talk about are not average prices, but benchmark prices, which is a little bit better to look at because when you see average prices climbing by two or 3%, it’s only because we’re selling more of the lower price stuff and less of the higher price stuff.
But if you look at a benchmark price, then you can sort of say, well, it looks like my house in my market is probably going to go up about, you know, closer to that amount. So, but we’ll go through that a little bit more detail.
Overall, what’s happening in the last little while has changed a little bit. Cause I know, you know, for the last six or eight months or 10 months, whatever we’ve been saying, same story as last year, inventories down sales are up, but in September things did take a little bit of a twist. And that is that inventory came up from last year.
So right now our inventory is at 3, 370 homes, which is still really, really low, but new listings were up 21 percent from last year. So that’s been an interesting change. Now, part of that is because inventory was so darn low last year that, you know, starting at at a really low base, it’s not hard to get an increase on it, but new listings were at 31, 031.
3,100 new listings in September. Sales were at 24, so sales were up 30%. Listings were up just over 20%, which mean that, which means that total inventory, by the way, is still down 24% or nearly 25% from last year. So, inventory Is is new listings are up over last year total inventory is still down 24% so as long as we’re with a shortage of inventory that we’ve been experiencing you can expect the prices are going to remain stable or continue to climb and that’s just merely a result of you know we’re just not building enough homes for the amount of people that we’re bringing in as usual.
So months of supply actually came down months of supply now is at 1.4% so just less than a month and a half supply of homes on the market, which again, I mean, that’s tiny. And in some markets, especially the market, you know, sort of below the $600,000 level, it’s even lower than that. There’s, there’s virtually nothing.
A house goes up and it’s gone. So that months of supply is down 41.5% from last year. So what has this done to pricing? Well, total benchmark pricing is up about 9%. We’re now looking at $570,000 in terms of detached homes, they’re up over 11%. And again, this is benchmark prices, not average. So the average or, you know, typically a home in your neighborhood would be up sort of over 10 percent from last year, which is not bad.
I mean, that’s a. You know, $50k, $60k, $70k return if that’s what you know, if you’re in the $500,000, $600,000, $700,000 or price range semi detached homes are up about the same, just over 20%.
From last year. But I remember last year when I was doing these market reports and talking about how badly they’d been, they were doing, and just like, man, I think if you’re looking for an investment right now. Nobody wants these townhouses, which means as an investor, that’s a good time to buy a townhouse with the market yings and yens.
So anyway, so they’re up over 17% from last year, which is pretty darn good. And apartments again they’re up 15%. So apartments had a long ways to go as well, especially after the damage that COVID did to the downtown core in conjunction with the The drop in price in the drop of values in the prices of oil and gas and and and that whole market so that the two of them conspired against downtown condos and really beat it up.
Condos outside of the downtown didn’t fare as badly so anyways, so they’re up about 15% from from last year, in terms of the areas of the city that are outperforming the other ones. It’s the. It’s the east side Forest Lawn, Dover all those areas that are outperforming everybody still drip about 20 percent from last year and this goes back to what I was saying is when you see an average price go up a smaller amount than the benchmark prices because if these areas that have have prices where people can still afford to live, you know, prices that are four for a detached home, they’re up 20% from last year.
The northeast, which would include sort of everything north of kind of like Memorial or whatever, they’re up 16% from last year. Other areas are all usually up around 10% and then the downtown is up about 5%. So there’s still room for some real growth downtown. I’ve been saying it for a year.
I’ll continue to say it until it’s not true anymore. But I still think if you’re looking for an investment property, the downtown, as with most downtowns. Across North America, by the way, they were all kind of gutted by COVID and people started to work from home and that kind of stuff, but people are beginning to see that that doesn’t really work, that you’re better off being surrounded by a team by a team and, you know, holding each other accountable and being able to talk about ideas and bang stuff around with other people.
So people are returning to the office. To a large degree and I think that’s going to affect the downtown core as well So that’s what happened in september of 2023 if you have any questions But what happened in your immediate market or if you’re thinking of selling your place? Give me a shout or give Kate a shout and I’d love to talk to you about it.
We do do things differently I like to think that we do things better and we’re constantly trying to improve even how we do things And as a result, I think we’re getting close to like 84 or 85 five star Google reviews in a row. And I take that as a massive compliment. My wife would tell you, if you know her that I get a bigger, I get a bigger thrill out of those Google reviews than I do out of a commission check half the time.
So I just love them anyway. So if, by the way, that means if you’re if you’re a client of mine and you haven’t done a Google review. Please do I mean people do read them. We are in what’s called a review economy. So people look at reviews before choosing a real estate agent or a hairdresser or a lawyer so if you don’t mind leave me a review if it’s a crap cap sorry, if it’s a crappy review, give me a shout first.
I’d like to learn how I can do things better but by all means leave a leave an honest review is great thanks again so much. You can reach me anytime at the website that’ll appear here or here or here or here it’s www. pete. diong. ca. And you can always find me on Facebook and stuff like that too.
And otherwise, yeah, call me or text me anytime on my cell at 403-818-7310. That number will probably appear here or here, here or here too. So anyways thinking of Kate today and I hope she’s doing okay and hope to see her back next time. In the meantime, over and out. Thanks.
Calgary home sales at record highs in September, yet supply remains a challenge
Sales reached another record high in September with 2,441 sales. Despite the year-over-year gains reported over the past four months, year-to-date sales are still nearly 12 per cent lower than last year’s levels.
New listings also improved this month compared to last year and relative to sales. This caused the sales-to-new listings ratio to fall to 76 per cent, preventing further monthly declines in inventory levels.
Nonetheless, inventory levels in September remained over 24 per cent lower than levels seen last year and, when measured relative to sales activity, has not changed enough to cause any significant shift in supply and demand balances. As of September, the months of supply has remained relatively low at less than two months.
“Supply has been a challenge in our market as strong inter-provincial migration has elevated housing demand despite higher lending rates,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “While new listings are improving, it has not been enough to take us out of sellers’ market conditions.”
In September, the unadjusted residential benchmark price was $570,300, similar to last month and nearly nine per cent higher than last year.
Detached
Inventory levels remained at record lows for the month as the sales-to-new listings ratio remained relatively high at 76 per cent. The decline in inventory levels has been driven by homes priced below $700,000, as supply levels show some improvement for homes priced above this level. While detached sales improved over levels reported last year, much of the gains were driven by the higher-priced properties with some supply options. Overall, homes priced below $700,000 continue to struggle with less than one month of supply.
Despite persistently tight market conditions, the unadjusted benchmark price remained relatively stable this month compared to last month, as a monthly price adjustment in the West end of the city offset monthly gains in all other districts. Overall, at a benchmark price of $696,100, prices are still over 11 per cent higher than levels reported last year at this time, with year-over-year gains ranging from a high of 20 per cent in the East district to a low of nine per cent in the City Centre.
Semi-Detached
September reported a boost in new listings compared to sales activity as the sales-to-new listings ratio dropped below 70 per cent, the first time it has done that since September of last year. The one-month shift supported a monthly increase in inventory levels, but with 295 units available, inventories have not been this low since September 2005.
Following ten consecutive monthly price gains, benchmark prices in September did ease slightly over the last month. However, at a benchmark price of $621,300, prices are still 11 per cent higher than last year’s levels. The monthly pause in price was primarily driven by adjustments in the West and North West districts, which saw the months of supply rise above levels reported last year and last month.
Row
The pullback in monthly sales outpaced the pullback in new listings, causing the sales-to-new listings ratio to fall to 84 per cent. While conditions are still exceptionally tight, it is an improvement over the 90 per cent average reported since April. The shift also prevented any further monthly declines in inventory levels. However, with less than one month of supply, the persistently tight conditions continue to place upward pressure on prices.
The benchmark price in September reached $419,400, a 1.5 per cent monthly gain and 17 per cent higher than levels reported last year. Price gains have occurred across all districts, with the most significant gains occurring in the most affordable districts in the city.
Apartment Condominium
New listings in September were at the highest levels reported for September, contributing to the record-high sales this month. Year-to-date apartment condominium sales reached 6,286 sales, a 25 per cent gain over last year and a record high for the city. Higher lending rates and tight rental market conditions have kept demand for apartment-style products strong. While inventory levels did see a modest gain compared to last month, thanks to a lower sales-to-new-listings ratio, conditions remain exceptionally tight with 1.5 months of supply.
The persistently tight market conditions have continued to drive further price gains. In September, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $312,800, a 1.2 per cent increase over last month and nearly 15 per cent higher than last year.
REGIONAL MARKET FACTS
Airdrie
With 204 new listings and 144 sales, the sales-to-new-listings ratio dropped to 70 per cent, the first time that has happened since 2020. Improved new listings compared to sales helped support a modest monthly gain in inventory levels. However, September inventory levels are still amongst the lowest levels reported since 2005, keeping the months of supply exceptionally low with just over one month.
The persistently tight market conditions have continued to drive further price gains in the city. In September, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $518,000, reflecting a year-over-year increase of over eight per cent. Price gains have occurred across all property types, with the largest year-over-year gains occurring in the apartment condominium sector.
Cochrane
Both sales and new listings eased in September, leaving inventory levels relatively stable this month. While inventories are nearly 40 per cent lower than long-term trends for the month, they are not at the record lows seen. The pullback in sales compared to inventory levels also caused the months of supply to push up above two months, the first time we have seen that since February.
While conditions remain relatively tight, the shift likely prevented further upward pressure on monthly home prices. The unadjusted benchmark price in September was $532,700, slightly lower than last month due to pullbacks in the detached, semi-detached and row sectors. Despite the monthly pause, total residential prices are still over five per cent higher than September 2022 levels.
Okotoks
With 69 new listings and 52 sales, the sales-to-new listings ratio dropped to 75 per cent in September, the lowest ratio seen since August 2022. The gain in new listings relative to sales prevented any further monthly declines in inventory levels. However, with only 70 units available in September, inventory levels are still amongst the lowest reported monthly levels in over 20 years.
The modest adjustment in both inventory and sales did cause the months of supply to rise over last month’s levels. Still, conditions remain relatively tight, especially for semi-detached, row and apartment-style properties. As of September, the unadjusted benchmark price was $580,200, nearly nine per cent higher than last year.
Click here to view the full City of Calgary monthly stats package.
Click here to view the full Calgary region monthly stats package.
https://www.creb.com/News/CREBNow/2023/October/Sept_housing_stats/
