Media release: COVID-19 weighing on housing market
City of Calgary, April 1, 2020 – After a strong start to 2020, economic conditions have dramatically changed, as COVID-19 is impacting all aspects of society. The economic impact is starting to be felt across many industries. This includes the housing market. March sales activity started the month strong, but quickly changed, as concerns regarding the spread of COVID-19 brought about social distancing measures. This had a heavy impact on businesses and employment. “This is an unprecedented time with a significant amount of uncertainty coming from both the wide impact of the pandemic and dramatic shift in the energy sector. It is not a surprise to see these concerns also weigh on the housing market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. By the end of March, sales activity had fallen 11 per cent compared to last year. This is 37 per cent lower than long-term averages. The drop in sales pushed March levels to the lowest recorded since 1995. “The impact on the housing market will likely persist over the next several quarters,” said Lurie. “However, measures put in place by the government to help support homeowners through this time of job and income loss will help prevent more significant impacts in the housing market.” New listings dropped by 19 per cent this month. This decline in new listings compared to sales caused supply levels to ease and helped prevent a larger increase in oversupply. Overall, the months of supply remain just below five months, similar to levels recorded last year. Prices were already forecasted to ease this year due to oversupply in our market. In March, the citywide benchmark price was $417,400. This is nearly one per cent lower than last year’s levels. The reduction in both sales and new listings should help prevent significant price declines in our market. However, price declines will likely be higher than originally expected due to the combined impact of the pandemic and energy sector crisis. HOUSING MARKET FACTS Detached
Airdrie
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City of Calgary, March 2, 2020 –
This month saw a double-digit gain in sales, but last February was one of the slowest levels of activity since the late ’90s. With the extra day this February, monthly sales totaled 1,197 units. A combination of these two factors resulted in a 23 per cent improvement over last year, but sales remain well below longer-term trends and consistent with the lower levels reported over the past five years. “However, this should not diminish the fact that conditions are still improving,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Calgary is continuing to see slow reductions in the amount of oversupply in the market, from modest changes in demand and reductions in supply. This needs to occur before we can see more stability in prices.” The overall unadjusted benchmark price was $416,900 in February. This is similar to last month, but nearly one per cent below last year’s levels. Overall, prices remain nearly 11 per cent below the monthly high recorded in 2014. HOUSING MARKET FACTS Detached
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REGIONAL MARKET FACTS Airdrie
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City of Calgary, February 3, 2020 –
Housing market conditions continue to follow similar trends to last year, with gains in sales. At the same time, there have been further reductions in new listings, inventory and more declines in prices. January sales activity was 863 units, nearly eight per cent higher than last year’s levels. While sales remained well below January activity recorded before 2014, they remain consistent with activity recorded over the past five years. “A persistent slowdown in the energy sector has resulted in a reset in many aspects of our economy. This includes the housing market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “We continue to see the slow adjustment to more balanced conditions, but it will take time before that starts to translate into price stability.” Citywide unadjusted benchmark prices were $417,100 in January. This is slightly lower than the previous month and nearly one per cent lower than last year’s levels. Benchmark prices eased, but there were some modest improvements in both the average and median prices. This is likely a reflection of some changes in the distribution of sales. HOUSING MARKET FACTS Detached
Airdrie
City of Calgary, November 1, 2019 – Sales activity in October improved by nearly 10 per cent compared to last year, driven mostly by improvements for apartment and attached product.
New listings also eased, which helped reduce inventory levels and the oversupply in the market. Despite the move to more balanced conditions, the market remains oversupplied and prices continue to remain below last year's levels. "Employment has shifted in the city, with job growth occurring in our non-traditional sectors and often at a different pay scale. This is consistent with the shift to more affordable housing product," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. "However, at the higher end of the market the amount of oversupply is rising, as supply cannot shift enough to compensate for the reductions in demand. This is likely causing divergent trends in pricing and preventing prices from stabilizing across the city." This is a market where signs of improvement are not consistent across all product types and price ranges. Improvements in sales are occurring in the lower price ranges across all product types. This is not yet translating into price shifts, as persistently elevated supply levels continue to place downward pressure on prices. As of October, citywide unadjusted benchmark prices were $422,900, just below last month's levels and two per cent lower than last year's levels. HOUSING MARKET FACTS Detached
REGIONAL MARKET FACTS Airdrie
Media release: Shifting to stability
City of Calgary, October 1, 2019 – For the third consecutive month, sales activity improved over last year’s figures, and year-over-year new listings and inventories eased. This trend will help support more stability in the housing market. “Price declines have likely brought some buyers back into the market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie, noting improvements in the market continue to be driven by homes priced below $500,000. In the condominium apartment market, sales improved by 16 per cent this month. This represents the segment’s best September since 2015. Year-to-date growth in both the attached and apartment sector were enough to offset the modest decline in the detached sector resulting in year-to-date sales growth of nearly one per cent in the city. Despite improving sales and reductions in inventory, the overall market remains oversupplied. This continues to weigh on prices. “While housing demand is modestly improving, sales activity remains relatively weak,” said Lurie. “The market is moving toward more stable conditions, but this is mostly related to supply adjustments in the city.” September inventory levels are still elevated at 6,889 units, but this figure represents a decline of 13 per cent compared to last year. The months of supply in the Calgary market currently sits at five months. These conditions continue to favour the buyer, but not to the same degree seen at this time last year. September’s citywide unadjusted benchmark price of $424,900 is two per cent lower than last year’s levels. HOUSING MARKET FACTS Detached
Airdrie
Sales activity increase led by lower-priced homes
City of Calgary, September 3, 2019 – Increased sales and easing new listings reduced housing inventories in August. Sales were primarily driven by homes priced below $500,000. “Employment numbers have been improving, but mostly in industries that are traditionally lower paid,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “This is contributing to the shift that we are seeing in the housing market, with growth being limited to product priced below $500,000.” Rising sales for homes priced under $500,000 offset sales declines in the higher price ranges. This caused August sales to improve by six per cent compared to last year. Sales activity improved for all product types. The growth was largest for apartment-style and attached properties. Attached sales increased for the sixth consecutive month compared to the previous year. This is also the only property type with year-to-date sales higher than last year’s levels. New listings continued to ease this month, which caused inventory to decline. This is helping the market shift toward more balanced conditions. The amount of downward pressure on prices is also easing. At $426,000, the unadjusted citywide benchmark price this month remained comparable to last month, but 2.6 per cent lower than last year’s levels. Despite improving sales and reductions in inventory, housing market recovery will take time. Inventory levels remain elevated and sales activity is still well below historical norms. The market continues to favour the buyer, with over four months of supply. HOUSING MARKET FACTS Detached
REGIONAL MARKET FACTS Airdrie
City of Calgary, August 1, 2019 – For the fourth consecutive month, inventories in the market declined compared to last year. This is due to the combination of improving sales and a decline in new listings.
The market continues to favour the buyer, but a continuation in supply reduction compared to sales is needed to support more balanced conditions. “We are starting to see reductions in supply across the resale, rental and new-home markets,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “This adjustment in supply to the lower levels of demand will support more balanced conditions. It is starting to support more stability in prices. If this continues, the housing market should be better positioned for recovery as we move into 2020.” Year-to-date sales activity remains just below last year’s levels and well below longer-term averages. However, the reduction in inventory has caused the months of supply in July to ease to 4.5 months, a significant improvement from the 5.5 months recorded last year. With less oversupply in the market, prices are showing some signs of stability on a monthly basis. This is causing the rate of price decline to ease on a year-over-year basis. Overall, year-to-date benchmark prices remain over four per cent below last year’s levels. HOUSING MARKET FACTS Detached
REGIONAL MARKET FACTS Airdrie
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