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. 

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/December/Price_gains_continue_in_Calgarys_real_estate_market_as_inventory_remains_low/

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/

Hey everyone, it’s Pete de Jong with ReMax here with a very, very quick and short market update for the month of August. Of course I’m away from the office right now. I’m out of the province and so I obviously don’t have Kate with me and so I apologize for that. But here’s the quick and dirty in terms of what happened in August versus August of last year, and it always comes down in these last few months.

Last year probably even did the same thing, but it’s basically this, sales are up almost 20%. They’re up 17.7% from last year in August, and inventory is only up 2.2%. So with sales far out passing the number of inventory that’s coming on we’re seeing total inventory come down 35% from last year, which of course is massive.

If you remember last year at this time we thought at that point that inventory was low already. So our month of supply is down 44% from last year, which means that we’ve got about a 1.3 month supply. So what would that be? A month and a week or a month and two weeks or something like that of supply.

In terms of what that’s done into pricing, our benchmark prices has gone up 6%. Of that, the detached prices are up 7.5%. Same with semi-detached. Townhouses are up 14% from last year, and apartments are up 12%. So that’s the skinny. If you want more detail of what’s going on in your immediate market, whether it’s bungalows or a certain geographical area or whatever, feel free to gimme a shout back anytime.

I’m happy to chat. You can call me or text me even if I’m on holidays. I’m at 403-818-7310 and I’ll talk to you then. Thanks so much. Have a great day.

August sees record-high sales amidst historic low inventory, pushing prices higher

Thanks to a surge in the condominium market, August sales reached a record high with 2,729 sales. Despite the record levels reported over the past several months, year-to-date sales are still down by 15 per cent compared to last year.

While new listings did improve compared to levels seen this time last year, the sales-to-new-listings ratio remained elevated at 87 per cent, preventing any significant shift from the low inventory situation. Inventory levels in August dropped to 3,254 units, not only a record low for the month but well below the 6,000 units that are typically available. Low inventory combined with high sales this month ensured the months of supply remained low at just over one month.

Higher lending rates have caused many buyers to either hold off on purchase decisions or shift toward more affordable products on the market,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “The challenge has been the availability of supply, especially in the detached market. Inventory levels hit record lows in August, and while new listings are higher than last year, conditions continue to favour the seller, driving further price gains.

The unadjusted benchmark price reached $570,700 in August, representing the eighth consecutive monthly gain. Prices have trended up across all property types, with row-style properties reporting the largest increase.

Detached

Record low inventory levels this month were primarily driven by pullbacks for homes priced under $700,000. While new listings did improve compared to last year, most of the growth was driven by homes priced over $700,000. August sales did improve over last year’s levels. However, limited supply in the lower price ranges has likely prevented stronger detached home sales. 

Persistently tight conditions drove further price gains this month. As of August, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $696,700. Nearly one per cent higher than last month and over 10 per cent higher than last year’s levels. The highest year-over-year price gains occurred in the most affordable regions of the city’s North East and East districts.

Semi-Detached

The 236 new listings and 197 sales did little to change the low inventory situation. While inventory levels did remain comparable to last month, they are still 35 per cent below last year’s levels and at record lows for the month. Relatively strong sales combined with low inventory levels have given sellers the advantage.

With months of supply remaining exceptionally low throughout 2023, we continue to see upward pressure on home prices. As of August, the semi-detached unadjusted benchmark price reached $623,200, a monthly gain of one per cent and 10 per cent higher than last year. Price growth did range across each of the Calgary districts, but the strongest year-over-year gains were reported in the most affordable districts of the North East and East.

Row

The gain in new listings did little to offset the strong sales activity as the sales-to-new-listings ratio remained high at 94 per cent. This prevented any additions to the inventory and left the months of supply below one month for the fifth consecutive month.

The persistently tight conditions placed further upward pressure on home prices. In August, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $413,200, a monthly gain of over one per cent and nearly 16 per cent higher than levels reported last year. Year-over-year gains have occurred across all districts, ranging from 12 per cent in the North West to 29 per cent in the East district.

Apartment Condominium

August sales continue to rise over last month and last year’s levels. Recent gains have caused year-to-date sales to reach 5,582 units, nearly 22 per cent higher than last year’s levels and a new record high for the city. Tight rental markets and relative affordability have driven many purchasers to the apartment condominium sector. At the same time, new listings have struggled to keep pace as the sales-to-new-listings ratio bumped up to 98 per cent in August, causing inventories to ease and the months of supply to drop to one month. 

The tight market conditions have been placing upward pressure on home prices, and as of August, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $309,100, a monthly gain of over one per cent and a year-over-year gain of over 13 per cent. The City Centre is the only district that did not report a monthly price gain, and prices are still below their previous highs in 2014. This is partly due to better supply/demand balances in the City Centre compared to other parts of the city.

REGIONAL MARKET FACTS

Airdrie

With 204 sales and 206 new listings, the sales-to-new-listings ratio pushed up to 99 per cent, causing inventory levels to decline. With only 176 units available in inventory, the months of supply once again dropped below one month.

The persistently tight market conditions continued to place upward pressure on home prices. In August, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $515,600, up from last month and nearly six per cent higher than last year’s.

Cochrane

Following several months of inventory gains, August saw inventory levels fall to 144 units due to a pullback in new listings. While sales did improve compared to last year, the pullback in new listings caused the sales-to-new-listings ratio to increase to 91 per cent. Meanwhile, the months of supply remained below two months, not as tight as what is being experienced in Airdrie but far lower than what we would typically expect in the town.

The persistently tight market conditions drove further price gains this month. The unadjusted benchmark price reached $534,700 in August, nearly one per cent higher than last month and over four per cent higher than last year’s levels. Prices trended up across all property types, but the most significant monthly gains occurred in the relatively affordable apartment condominium sector.

Okotoks

The 59 sales in August were met with 65 new listings in the month, causing further retractions to the already low inventory levels. With only 64 units available, Inventory levels hit a new record low for August. The drop in inventory also caused the months of supply to remain low at one month.

Despite the tight market conditions, benchmark prices decreased from last month’s high. The monthly variation is not uncommon for smaller centres, and it is important to note that with a benchmark price of $582,000, prices remain seven per cent higher than last year’s levels and 10 per cent higher than where we were at the start of the 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/August/July_sees_seventh_consecutive_monthly_gain/

Pete: Quiet on the set. Rolling. 

Kate: Hey, how do you do it Like this? No, like this. 

Pete: You have to ask that crazy weirdo that was here. Hey everyone, it’s Pete de Jong, here with the actual Kate. Kate is back from holidays. 

Kate: Hello. 

Pete: For a few days. So that’s nice that we, that we can have her back. ’cause I tell you that girl we had fill in for you last time.

Kate: What? I know what, how much did you pay her? Like serious. 

Pete: Serious. What a disaster. Well, too much. Yeah. Yeah. Like whatever we paid her, even if it was like a sandwich. It was too much. She was awful. I don’t know if you guys watched the last market update, but yeah. I, I hired an actress to fill in for Kate and she was an unmitigated disaster.

Kate: She caught my smile right though. At the end. 

Pete: At the end. Yeah. She did this. 

Kate: I was like, Hey, that’s me. 

Pete: Yeah. But otherwise, yeah. What a nightmare. Hey so here’s what’s going on in the market ’cause that’s probably really why you’re here. So we’re gonna be talking about July of 2 20 23 versus July of 2022. Standby for that.

Kate: Sorry. See, I’m offbeat. So let’s talk about our benchmark prices specifically for detached houses. It rose up 7.6%. So we’re almost at $700,000 for the benchmark price.

Pete: For detached houses. Yeah. Semi-detached. So these are houses that are attached to another house, but they’re not exactly a townhouse or a condo type thing. They rose 7.4% over July of last year, and they’re actually at $617,000 for a semi-detached house. That seems odd. . Yeah. What about townhouses? What are they doing? 

Kate: Yeah. Townhouses actually has the biggest increase from all of the market. It’s at 13.7% higher than it was last year, so just a little over $400,000 now for a benchmark price for a row house.

Pete: For a townhouse. Yeah. Whoever would’ve thought. And they, and like Kate mentioned, like they’re just going up and up and we’ll explain why in a minute here. But, and then apartments are up 12% as well. And what we’re really finding is it’s the low end apartments that are, that are climbing the fastest there as well, so just like the whole market, it’s the lower end of the market in every way that you look at it, whether it’s. Segment of the market by type of property or segment of the market, depending on even geographical area. It’s all this, it’s like the cheaper your house, the faster it’s moving up.

So, eventually, what we hope is that, you know, the rising tide lifts all ships, but we’re really seeing the most activity. And I think this is just a reflection of what would happen when you raise interest rates. 

Kate: Exactly. Yeah. 

Pete: That’s gonna affect the expensive stuff more than The cheaper stuff.

Kate: More than the cheaper stuff. Yeah. Because we’re even, like Pete mentioned, when we talked about the geographical side of it, the east is the side that’s actually doing the best right now. 

Pete: Yeah. Forest lawn. 

Kate: Forest lawn. My hood. 

Pete: Forest Lawn where you were raised, I think, right?

Kate: Well, yeah. Born than raised.

Pete: Yeah. Forest Lawn, Dover, Erin Woods. Those areas have outpaced the rest of the market like significantly. They’re up almost 18% from July of last year. Compared that the downtown, which is up, like what? 

Kate: Not even a percentage.

Pete: Not even 1%, 0.9%. Yeah. So everyone that told you a few years ago, don’t ever buy a house in Forest Lawn, you know, blah, blah.

It’s like, no, that’s actually the area that has performed the best. In fact, it’s pretty much double some of the areas or most of the other areas of the city, so, yeah, the downtown still has a lot of room to grow, and as a result, actually, I’m actually thinking that that’s where the opportunities are right now.

So we’ll see if I’m right or wrong. In the next few months or a year or so. In terms of total sales though, what are we seeing, Kate? 

Kate: Total sales are up 17.7% year over year. As for listings? 

Pete: Yeah. Like yeah, sales are up 18%. New listings are only up 2% . So inventory’s being driven down. 

Kate: Yes. Yeah. Inventory is down at 34%. Compared to last year. And how does that look for 

months of supply? 

Pete: Months of supply? We’re at 1.3 months of supply, so that’s down 44% from last year. Yeah. And like I said, I, you know, I keep saying this. Last year we were saying we had a bit of low inventory problems.

We’re down 44% in months supply from last year. But of course, like we always say, we have to. You know, you have to look at what your market is doing. ’cause every market is a little bit different, you know, depending on where you are in the city or depending on whether you’re living in a condo or a house, all that kind of stuff.

So it’s really important. If you wanna know what’s going on in your immediate market, get ahold of us. We’re happy to, to let you know. In fact we’re happy even to send you a monthly report, free of charge and with no obligation. That’ll just show you what’s happening, like if you say, I just need single family homes in Bridgeland. I don’t want condos. And we could send you a report every month for single family homes in Bridgeland, if you want. But. Here’s the funnest part. What’s the highest price house to sell this year? 

Kate: Oh, so the highest price house to sell for the month of July. It sold for $4.075 million, beautiful home, by the way sold in Britannia. 

Pete: Who was it sold by? It was my cousin, wasn’t it? Yeah. 

Kate: Yeah. April de Jong. I wanted to, because I saw de Jong, so I was like, do you know April de jong? 

Pete: Yeah. I don’t know. April de Jong. Oh, I’ve never met her. I probably should. She’s probably my cousin. But anyways, who knows? I have black cousins, you know? Did you ever, there was a de Jong that played soccer for the the Dutch National team. Yeah. Oh. And and now there’s a guy named Frankie de Jong, who I keep hearing from my. People that, that watch soccer. I don’t watch soccer. I don’t have the patience. My, I watch the highlights it takes about 30 seconds. 

Yeah. But anyways lowest price sale was in, was in the belt line. But just, just so you know, the BeltLine is actually starting to really come alive. It’s, and when you hear this price, you’re gonna go, oh, but there’s, there’s a story. So this one sold for $108,000. But it did have a huge special assessment. The condo fees were high, there was all kinds of issues with this one. So.

I wouldn’t pay too much. I, you know, for those of you that are watching this from Toronto or Vancouver, please don’t think you can buy a condo in the BeltLine for 108. I think in the BeltLine, they’re sort of starting at about $160k, $170k now for an older one bedroom condo.

So, yeah, this one really had some issues. But again if you wanna know what’s going on in your market, Get ahold of us. My website is www.petedejong.ca. And you have a website, 

Kate: www.katelynbrecio.ca.

Pete: And I’m sure our video editor will put them there or there. Probably not. There or there.

Up there or down there. So anyways, that’s where you go to get info. Well, thanks everyone for watching. Don’t forget to like, and subscribe and share and do all the things. All the things we’d really appreciate it. There might be other people that you know too, that would like to know what’s going on in the market every month.

So feel free to share it around and we appreciate you. Thanks so much. 

Kate: Until next time folks. I feel like that deserves like a little Warner Brothers tune.

Pete: Well, Lydia can add that. 

Kate: Yeah! Until next time folks!

Calgary home prices reach new heights: July sees seventh consecutive monthly gain

Rising rates had little impact on sales this month as the 2,647 sales represented a year-over-year gain of 18 per cent, reflecting the strongest July levels reported on record. The record-setting pace has been driven mainly by significant gains in the relatively affordable apartment condominium sector. Despite recent gains, year-to-date sales have declined by 19 per cent over last year.

In line with seasonal expectations, sales and new listings trended down compared to last month. However, this had minimal impact on inventory levels, which remained near the July record low set in 2006. With a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 82 per cent and a months of supply of 1.3 months, conditions continue to favour the seller.

“Continued migration to the province, along with our relative affordability, has supported the stronger demand for housing despite higher lending rates,” said CREB^® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “At the same time, we continue to struggle with supply in the resale, new home and rental markets resulting in further upward pressure on home prices.” 

In July, the unadjusted total residential benchmark price reached $567,700, marking the seventh consecutive monthly gain. Prices are now over four per cent higher than the previous peak in May of 2022.

Detached

With 1,197 sales and 1,587 new listings in July, inventory levels trended up over last month. However, with 1,720 units available, inventory levels are at the lowest ever reported for July. Inventory levels have declined across all properties priced below $1,000,000. 

Shifts in sales and inventory have caused the months of supply to trend up over the one month reported over the past several months. However, conditions remain relatively tight, and prices continued to rise this month. In July, the unadjusted benchmark price rose to $690,500, a monthly gain of nearly one per cent and over seven per cent higher than last July. Both year-over-year and monthly price growth was strongest in the city’s most affordable North East and East districts.

Semi-Detached

With only 248 new listings in July and 211 sales, the sales-to-new-listings ratio once again pushed above 85 per cent. The pullback in new listings relative to sales ensured that inventory levels remained low, and the months of supply remained just over one month. 

With no shift in the sellers’ market conditions, the unadjusted benchmark price continued to trend up in July, reaching $616,800. Monthly gains were strongest in the North East and East district as both rose by over two per cent compared to June. The only district that experienced stability in monthly prices was the City Centre. 

Row

July reported 488 new listings and 467 sales, resulting in a sales-to-new listings ratio of 96 per cent. This prevented any additions to the inventory and left the months of supply below one month for the fourth consecutive month.

The persistent sellers’ market conditions caused further price gains for row properties. As of July, the benchmark price reached $407,500, nearly two per cent higher than last month and 14 per cent higher than prices reported last July. Prices trended up across all districts, with the highest monthly gain occurring in the west district at nearly four per cent. The slowest monthly gains happened in the City Centre.

Apartment Condominium

July sales continued to rise over last year’s levels, leaving year-to-date sales 16 per cent higher than levels reported last year. This is the only property type that has reported a year-to-date gain in sales activity. This has been possible thanks to recent gains in new listings. However, conditions remain tight for apartment condominiums with a sales-new-listings ratio of 84 per cent and a months of supply of 1.4 months. 

The strong demand relative to supply for this property type has driven further price gains this month. As of July, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $305,900, nearly one per cent higher than last month and over 12 per cent higher than last July. While prices are higher than last year in every district, the city center has yet to see the same level of pressure on prices and has reported the lowest year-over-year growth at nearly nine per cent.

REGIONAL MARKET FACTS

Airdrie

New listings this month remained comparable to last month. Meanwhile, sales trended down, supporting a modest gain in inventory and a sales-to-new listings ratio of 84 per cent. This also helped push the months of supply back above one month.

Despite the monthly gain in the months of supply, conditions remain exceptionally tight and continue to favour the seller. This caused further price growth as the unadjusted benchmark price rose nearly one per cent over last month to $514,100. Prices have been improving across all property types, but the detached benchmark price has pushed above $600,000 in Airdrie for the first time.

Cochrane

With 110 new listings and 85 sales, the sales-to-new-listings ratio remained at 77 per cent this month. This helped contribute to a modest gain in inventory levels, and the months of supply rose to nearly two months. 

Despite this shift, conditions remained exceptionally tight in the Centre, and prices continued to trend up. As of July, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $529,700, nearly one per cent higher than last month and over three per cent higher than last July. Price growth has occurred across all property types, and the detached benchmark price now sits at $626,100.

Okotoks

July reported 78 new listings and 67 sales, keeping the sales-to-new-listings ratio elevated at 86 per cent and preventing any significant shift in inventory levels. Nonetheless, the months of supply did rise to above one month following the exceptionally low levels reported over the past two months.

While conditions are not as tight as last month, the market still favours the seller, and prices trended up over last month, with a benchmark price reaching $586,900. Prices now sit over seven per cent higher than last year, with the most significant year-over-year gain occurring in the semidetached sector. Detached benchmark prices pushed up to $655,100 in July, 

Click here to view the full City of Calgary monthly stats package.

Click here to view the full Calgary region monthly stats package.