Calgary real estate market rough for buyers, sellers
Posted Jun 8, 2018 9:46 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Spring tends to be the time when the housing market heats up, buyers are eager to get into a new home before it gets cold again and sellers know it.
But with just a couple weeks left until summer, the numbers show it was a very disappointing season in Calgary.
Detached sales are up, but are not making up for increased inventories across all price ranges, with the excess supply most notable for homes priced above $500,000.
In fact, sales by percentage of inventory is the worst it’s been for sellers in more than a decade according to Calgary Real Estate Board Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie.
She says it’s still related to the economy.
“Our economy, while it’s got a little bit better, isn’t enough to offset some of the changes that we’ve had with higher rates and changes with qualifications in the market,” she explained.
City-wide sales activity in May was 19 per cent below last years’ levels and 24 per cent below longer term averages.
Interest rates have gone up and new rules also mean someone who would have qualified for a mortgage last year this time may not anymore.
“Now there’s the extra layer added to it that they’re not having to qualify at the rate that they’ll be paying, they need to qualify at a rate much higher,” she said.
Lurie believes it will still be a rocky road until supply levels come down and employment levels come up.
