CALGARY - Calgary’s resale housing market is on pace to break the record for MLS sales during the month of September - a peak that has been in place since 2005.
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, month-to-date from September 1-21, there have been 1,500 sales in the city, which is up 11.61 per cent from the same period a year ago.
The September monthly record was established in 2005 with 2,197 transactions. Last year for the entire month of September there were 1,919 sales, which was the second best September on record.
“Whenever a market sees record growth one should ask what is going on behind the scenes to cause this? Many factors propel a strong real estate market,” said Tanya Eklund, realtor with RE/MAX Real Estate (Central) in Calgary. “Buyer confidence is influenced by low unemployment rates, continued low interest rates, low vacancy and high migration into Calgary all of which are driven by strength in the oil and gas sector. Calgarians are in a good place and are feeling confident in the real estate market.”
The average MLS sale price this month of $482,113 is up 5.73 per cent from a year ago while the median price has risen by 3.58 per cent to $420,000.
New listings in September have increased by 14.03 per cent to 2,390 while active listings as of Sunday were 4,785, up 16.37 per cent from last year.
“The dramatic population growth we experienced in 2013 is now being felt in the Calgary real estate market. It usually takes 18 months for the population growth to impact a real estate sales market, but due to the very low vacancy and the continued influx of new residents, this has pushed this to a much shorter time line,” said Don Campbell, senior analyst with the Real Estate Investment Network.
“Yes, the market will eventually slow when winter hits. However what we are witnessing here in Calgary . . . is a widening of the busiest months. It used to peak in April and May, but now due to the growth in jobs and population, the busy season is now encompassing April to October. A new trend has formed and real estate professionals must adjust their businesses accordingly.”
According to Mike Fotiou, associate broker with First Place Realty, overall September prices are at their highest September level ever.
Those prices are also being boosted by 49 luxury home sales so far this month, which surpasses every previous September month-end total except last year which set the peak at 59 transactions at the million-dollar plus level, said Fotiou.
After two straight months of year-over-year sales declines, the single-family market is poised to break the string this month as transactions so far are 962, up 1.69 per cent from a year ago. The average sale price of $564,017 has increased by 10.1 per cent and the median price has jumped by 6.94 per cent to $481,250.
In August, Calgary recorded its 17th consecutive month of year-over-year gain in MLS sales and 31st consecutive month of annual price hikes.
By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald
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