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Inner City Feature
CENTRE 4800
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MUNICIPAL A5
COMMUNITY A6
A8 – A9 FREE oct 9 to oct 15 2015 issue 05-39 editorial 403-781-1324 advertising 403-263-4940 crebnow@creb.ca
real estate news from industry experts
A BUYER’S MARKET? CODY STUART, Managing Editor
Conditions shift in September, according to CREB® CREB®NOW STAFF
H
ousing statistics from September confirm that unbalanced conditions in some areas of Calgary’s resale residential market are starting to push the entire sector into buyers’ ter-
ritory, according to CREB®. Driven by excess inventory in the apartment sector, the overall market’s sales-to-new-listings ratio — a key indicator of a buyer’s market — declined further in September to 47 per cent, according to the board. That means less than five out of every 10 new listings sold during the month. In August, the ratio hovered around 60 per cent, which was firmly in balanced conditions, according to CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie In September, total sales declined by 32 per cent to 1,448 units, while new listings declined at a more moderate 4.8 per cent to 3,061, according to CREB®. As a result, unadjusted benchmark
MLS® MONTH END INVENTORY* SEPT ‘13 – SEPT ‘15
SEP13 3616 OCT13 3388 NOV13 2743 DEC13 1765 JAN14 2181 FEB14 2641 MAR14 3033 APR14 3820 MAY14 4528 4759 JUN14 4678 JUL14 4591 AUG14 4559 SEP14 4162 OCT14 3826 NOV14 3213 DEC14 4655 JAN15 5474 FEB15 5693 MAR15 5579 APR15 5342 MAY15 5070 JUN15 5055 JUL15 5146 AUG15 5526 SEP15
CITY OF CALGARY
prices eased to $456,100, a 0.26 per cent decline compared with last year. It represented the third consecutive month of small year-over-year declines. “Overall sales activity relative to new listings caused a softening in absorption rates, which resulted in inventory gains and ultimately placed moderate downward pressure on pricing,” said Lurie. She added months of inventory supply, or available inventory, is also indicative of the market’s health, with anything over three months and sustained over a prolonged period seen as a buyer’s market. In September, months of supply pushed up to 3.82, a 79 per cent increase from the same time last year.
*All statistics based on monthly data compiled by CREB® via MLS® activity. Includes detached, attached and apartment.
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“Right now, [Calgary’s months of inventory supply] is at 3.82, which is in buyer’s territory,” said Lurie. “However, most of this is due to the change in both the apartment and attached sectors. Furthermore, the elevated months of supply needs to persist for several months prior to it demonstrating all the traits associated with a buyer’s market. The apartment sector has had three consecutive months of buyer’s market conditions. In previous months, it was at still within the balanced range.” The apartment sector reported 4.95 months of supply in September, a 100 per cent increase from the same time the year prior. Sales in the sector declined by 40 per cent to 259 units,
CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says the apartment sector is driving Calgary’s housing market to buyers’ territory.
while new listings dropped by just 5.2 per cent to 656. The sales-to-new-listings ratio, meanwhile sat at 39 per cent. The is the second time Calgary’s resale residential housing market has dipped its toes into a buyer’s market, with months of supply rising to 5.31 months in January and 4.57 in February.
MARKET A3
CALGARY CONTENTS CONSTRUCTION NEWS BRIEFS DOWN IN AUGUST EVENT LISTING
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A6
CREB® STAFF
WEEKLY FEED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6
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FIVE THINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A7
algary’s construction industry softened further in August, with actual housing starts declining yearover-year by 30 per cent to 1,134 units, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). It represents the third consecutive month that total housing starts declined on a year-over-year basis. To the end August, total housing starts were down 30 per cent to 8,532 from 12,275 units over the same period in 2014.
CONSTRUCTION A3
Vital signs survey
MORTGAGE RATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A10 MLS® STATISTICS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A11 September 2015
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