Mario Toneguzzi, Postmedia News | February 23, 2015
Calgary’s housing market is the hot topic of conversation these days not only in the city but across the country.
The once-sizzling real estate sector has cooled tremendously thanks to a precipitous decline in oil prices and that has people, from economists to realtors to homeowners and potential buyers, speculating and wondering what that will do to housing prices.
And there is no lack of opinion on the topic, ranging from forecasts of a small increase in average prices for the year to a 10% or more decline. MLS sales are expected to fall dramatically this year – TD recently said by as much as nearly 50% – with new listings rising at a steep pace.
“There is no surprise that the range is so vast. Trying to forecast an average sale price change . . . in today’s market is impossible,” said Don Campbell, senior analyst with the Real Estate Investment Network. “Why? Simply because the most important variable is not known.
“How long oil will stay under $70 and how confident the oil industry is about it levelling at that number. Without that knowledge, real estate market price forecasting is mathematically impossible.”
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, year-to-date up to and including Saturday there have been 1,758 MLS sales, down 37.17% from the same period last year, while new listings have risen by 24.66% to 5,551. The average sale price has dropped by 2.17% to $463,938.
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
Protect your home from harsh weather
First posted on Feb. 13, 2015 Calgary Sun
Although we have had mild weather recently, Mother Nature’s icy grip could return at a moment’s notice.
That’s why it’s important homeowners remain vigilant in protecting their homes from nature’s elements and the potential problems caused by cold temperatures.
“People are realizing that it’s just as important to protect homes from extreme fluctuations in temperatures as it is protecting homes from criminal activity with their monitored home security systems,” says Patrice De Luca, vice-president of marketing and customer care for Reliance Protectron Security Services, a leader in home security services who offers solutions to help thwart the threat of water damage and fire due to accidents caused by extreme temperatures.
This is especially true for snowbirds, those who travel for long periods on business or for vacation homes.
“No one wants to be concerned about their home and property while away on business or travel,” says De Luca.
“Damage caused by water and excessive temperature fluctuations like an overheated wine cellar or frozen pipes can be serious and expensive.
“That’s why monitored temperature sensors have been found to offer an effective safety measure for homeowners.”
Reliance Protectron’s temperature sensors are placed in strategic areas such as the furnace room to detect high or low temperatures. When extreme falling or rising temperatures are sensed, the alarm system sends a signal to Reliance Protectron’s monitoring centres where specially trained professional operators are standing by to dispatch appropriate emergency services if required.
They can alert you to low temperatures in your home so you can react before your pipes freeze.
“If your furnace stops working and your pipes freeze, time is of the essence,” says De Luca. “The quicker you can shut off the water or direct your plumber to the problem, the better chance you have to prevent pipes from bursting.”
You can also find out about high temperatures in the event of a flash fire that may create very little smoke, or detect abnormally high temperatures due to a chimney or furnace malfunction.
Go to www.protectron.com for more information.
Although we have had mild weather recently, Mother Nature’s icy grip could return at a moment’s notice.
That’s why it’s important homeowners remain vigilant in protecting their homes from nature’s elements and the potential problems caused by cold temperatures.
“People are realizing that it’s just as important to protect homes from extreme fluctuations in temperatures as it is protecting homes from criminal activity with their monitored home security systems,” says Patrice De Luca, vice-president of marketing and customer care for Reliance Protectron Security Services, a leader in home security services who offers solutions to help thwart the threat of water damage and fire due to accidents caused by extreme temperatures.
This is especially true for snowbirds, those who travel for long periods on business or for vacation homes.
“No one wants to be concerned about their home and property while away on business or travel,” says De Luca.
“Damage caused by water and excessive temperature fluctuations like an overheated wine cellar or frozen pipes can be serious and expensive.
“That’s why monitored temperature sensors have been found to offer an effective safety measure for homeowners.”
Reliance Protectron’s temperature sensors are placed in strategic areas such as the furnace room to detect high or low temperatures. When extreme falling or rising temperatures are sensed, the alarm system sends a signal to Reliance Protectron’s monitoring centres where specially trained professional operators are standing by to dispatch appropriate emergency services if required.
They can alert you to low temperatures in your home so you can react before your pipes freeze.
“If your furnace stops working and your pipes freeze, time is of the essence,” says De Luca. “The quicker you can shut off the water or direct your plumber to the problem, the better chance you have to prevent pipes from bursting.”
You can also find out about high temperatures in the event of a flash fire that may create very little smoke, or detect abnormally high temperatures due to a chimney or furnace malfunction.
Go to www.protectron.com for more information.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Calgary’s housing market slumps as oil’s fall takes a toll
TAMSIN MCMAHON - REAL ESTATE REPORTER
The Globe and Mail
Calgary’s housing market has taken a sudden turn downward, raising new concerns about the state of Alberta’s economy in the midst of falling oil prices.
Figures released Monday showed soaring listings and plummeting home sales in Calgary, once one of the hottest markets in the country. The sharp slump comes two weeks after Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz cut the bank’s key lending rate, warning that he was seeking to counteract the economic damage of plunging oil prices on the country’s indebted households.
Only a month after predicting that home prices in the region would be stable in 2015, the Calgary Real Estate Board admitted that low oil prices and fears over the fate of the region’s fragile economy have hammered consumer confidence. Home sales plunged 35 per cent in January to their lowest levels in more than seven years while new listings shot up 40 per cent. Just 880 homes changed hands in January, well below the 1,439 homes that sold in January of last year and the lowest level for any January since 2009, according to the board. Even as sales fell, new listings rose to their second-highest level for any January in a decade, behind only 2008. The ratio of sales to new listings plunged 55 per cent as inventories of homes listed for sale rose to more than five months compared to just 1.5 months a year ago.
The region’s deteriorating housing market has yet to hit prices, the board said. Among detached homes and townhouses, prices were flat compared to a month earlier, but up an average of 7.7 per cent compared to January, 2014, largely thanks to a strong housing market for most of 2014.
It was a more dire picture in the condo market, however, where the inventory of units up for sale leaped from less than two months in January of last year to more than seven months and the median price fell 3 per cent to $268,000. The number of days on the market also rose sharply, with condos taking an average of 55 days to sell, compared to 43 days in December.
“Consumers are a bit uneasy about what’s happening in the market,” said the board’s chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “They see that we’re having these continued low oil prices, potentially having concerns about what’s going to happen to their employment situation and this is making them very hesitant to transact.”
With crude oil prices touching seven-year lows, more than 40 per cent of Alberta oil producers are expected to slash capital expenditures and a third expected to cut jobs, according to a report released Monday by human resource firm Mercer. Already, companies such as Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Suncor Energy Inc. have announced plans to slash thousands of jobs, although employment losses have yet to show up in the region’s labour force statistics, said Royal Bank of Canada senior economist Robert Hogue.
Even so, he said the central bank’s rate cut won’t be enough to offset the economic uncertainty that is plaguing Alberta’s housing market. “At this stage it’s more of a psychological game,” Mr. Hogue said. “If confidence is eroding, I’m not quite sure the Bank of Canada move is going to do much to reverse that in the near term.”
Bank of Montreal senior economist Sal Guatieri predicted prices in Calgary could fall as much as 10 per cent this year as “layoffs in the energy sector and a reversal in migration flows will weigh on the housing market.”
So far the slowdown in the market is mainly affecting high-end homes with price tags above $1-million, said Calgary realtor Josh Nelson. He has prospective buyers working in the oil and gas industry who are watching from the sidelines as prices of some multimillion-dollar homes have dropped as much as $500,000. “Now that news has started to come out I think you are getting people a little bit gun-shy to make that decision,” he said. “They know that prices were high and supply was down in 2014. There are people sitting on the fence now saying, ‘okay, let’s see what’s happening.’”
Since listing her condo townhouse at about $340,000 three weeks ago, Calgary entrepreneur Susan Benoit has received only a handful of phone calls from interested buyers and just a single viewing. She purchased the unit six years ago, shortly before the market crash brought on by the financial crisis, which instantly wiped more than $100,000 off the assessed value of the home. It’s taken this long for home prices to rebound to a point where Ms. Benoit hopes to break even on selling the property, which she began renting out after she got married.
“I probably should be more worried because I have a rental property I’m trying to sell,” she said. “Right now I’m not worried. Maybe that’s naive or wishful thinking, but so many people say even though oil and gas is going down, [home] prices are still going up.”
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
First Time Home-buyers: Ways to Start Planning Early
by Justin McHood
If you have purchasing a home on your to-do list in the next five years or so, the time to start getting ready is now. You might wonder why you should be so concerned with something that is not going to happen for several years, but proper planning will help you reach your goals. There is no surefire way to tell what credit restrictions and mortgage guidelines will be five years from now, but to err on the side of caution, here are five things that you can start doing now to ensure that you get into the home of your dreams in the future.
You will need a credit history. If you are a student or at home living with mom and dad, this could be difficult – but not impossible. It is especially important if you are not going to have a rental history to provide a lender with when you apply for a loan. Start applying for credit cards responsibly. If you do not have any credit cards, now is the time to apply for one, even if it is a secured card. Once you have a credit card, use it, but sparingly. You need to build up your history by charging purchases and paying them off as soon as possible. The activity on your credit will help your credit score to increase. Just be careful not to charge so much that you cannot afford to pay it off. Other ways to build up your credit including taking out a car loan or student loans, just be mindful of timely payments and your credit history will build on a positive note.
Start here with a free quote why wait?
It is never too early to start saving for a home. Even if you can only put a small percentage of your income away at a time, every little bit counts. Many first-time homebuyers rely on gift money from relatives to get into their first home, but if you can do without that, it will put you in a better position with various lenders. The larger that your initial down payment is on your home, the more programs that you will be eligible for and the lower the rates will be on your mortgage.
When you apply for a mortgage, you will need records of just about any financial transaction that occurs in your life. This means that you will need to keep your tax returns, W-2s and paystubs as proof of your income. You might need bank statements and deposit slips to show proof of various deposits and you might even need cancelled checks or statements to prove that your debts are paid off as well as paid on time. Start a file now with all of the important financial records that could be needed for your mortgage application to cut down the stress of rifling through papers when the time comes to apply.
Find out today where you stand with a free quote.
If you are a student or a recent graduate, it can be difficult to keep your income steady, but it is important to try your best. Lenders today want to see at least two years of steady income. This means not bouncing from job to job or leaving large gaps in your employment history where you had no income at all. The more regular your income is during the years leading up to your mortgage application, the more favorable lenders will look at your file. For some students this might mean putting off purchasing a home until their income has enough time to show a consistent history, but the benefits of waiting pay off in the form of more favorable loan terms and rates in the end.
It is possible for first-time home-buyers to get a loan on their own as long as there is plenty of preparation in the years leading up to the purchase. It is not possible to wake up one day and decide that you are going to apply for a mortgage and expect an approval. Years of proper planning, record keeping and saving are necessary in order to ensure a positive outcome.
If you have purchasing a home on your to-do list in the next five years or so, the time to start getting ready is now. You might wonder why you should be so concerned with something that is not going to happen for several years, but proper planning will help you reach your goals. There is no surefire way to tell what credit restrictions and mortgage guidelines will be five years from now, but to err on the side of caution, here are five things that you can start doing now to ensure that you get into the home of your dreams in the future.
Build up your Credit
You will need a credit history. If you are a student or at home living with mom and dad, this could be difficult – but not impossible. It is especially important if you are not going to have a rental history to provide a lender with when you apply for a loan. Start applying for credit cards responsibly. If you do not have any credit cards, now is the time to apply for one, even if it is a secured card. Once you have a credit card, use it, but sparingly. You need to build up your history by charging purchases and paying them off as soon as possible. The activity on your credit will help your credit score to increase. Just be careful not to charge so much that you cannot afford to pay it off. Other ways to build up your credit including taking out a car loan or student loans, just be mindful of timely payments and your credit history will build on a positive note.
Start here with a free quote why wait?
Start Saving
It is never too early to start saving for a home. Even if you can only put a small percentage of your income away at a time, every little bit counts. Many first-time homebuyers rely on gift money from relatives to get into their first home, but if you can do without that, it will put you in a better position with various lenders. The larger that your initial down payment is on your home, the more programs that you will be eligible for and the lower the rates will be on your mortgage.
Keep Careful Records
When you apply for a mortgage, you will need records of just about any financial transaction that occurs in your life. This means that you will need to keep your tax returns, W-2s and paystubs as proof of your income. You might need bank statements and deposit slips to show proof of various deposits and you might even need cancelled checks or statements to prove that your debts are paid off as well as paid on time. Start a file now with all of the important financial records that could be needed for your mortgage application to cut down the stress of rifling through papers when the time comes to apply.
Find out today where you stand with a free quote.
Keep a Steady Income
If you are a student or a recent graduate, it can be difficult to keep your income steady, but it is important to try your best. Lenders today want to see at least two years of steady income. This means not bouncing from job to job or leaving large gaps in your employment history where you had no income at all. The more regular your income is during the years leading up to your mortgage application, the more favorable lenders will look at your file. For some students this might mean putting off purchasing a home until their income has enough time to show a consistent history, but the benefits of waiting pay off in the form of more favorable loan terms and rates in the end.
It is possible for first-time home-buyers to get a loan on their own as long as there is plenty of preparation in the years leading up to the purchase. It is not possible to wake up one day and decide that you are going to apply for a mortgage and expect an approval. Years of proper planning, record keeping and saving are necessary in order to ensure a positive outcome.
Monday, February 2, 2015
2015年一月份统计
消费者信心影响着市场需求
---一月份共成交880套，远低于正常交易量
2015年的经济形势比2014年十二月预期时要弱！这一变化部分是由于石油价格的持续走低，影响了消费者信心。而转机有不明朗，很多关于就业形势的疑虑影响到整个一月份的微弱市场。公寓、排屋连体房、独立屋总体成交量比10年均线低了35%！同时新挂牌量急增39%，导致库存可售房源增加。
卖家挂牌的原因众多，其中之一可能就是不确定卡尔加里经济的走向，以及自家对未来风险的承受了。在各个价位段房源增加的同时，主要的原因就是高价位段挂牌亮增加。独立屋一月份新挂牌量大涨32%，全是40万以上的房源（40万以下的房源本来就不多，另外那些房主还有可能干脆就出租了呢，他们担心啥）。
别看近期供给上市房源增加，可一月份的市场基准价却稳稳保持在$459,100, 比2014年涨了7.7 %，和2014年12月份相差无几。尽管民宅家格相对保持稳定，但是不同产品段还是表现不同的。公寓产品段挂牌量是最高的，库存可售房源几乎上涨了两位数值达到1,148 单元。挂牌量上涨的一个原因就是需求上升空间受到阻力从而成交量减低，市场基准价从十二月份的$300,400调低到$298,700（公寓卖家急于抓住机会脱手）。
对于卖家而言，重要的是调整对于市场的期待。他们需要想想自己房屋的类别、同一社区的对比房源、其他卖家的可能出售原因，当然还有其他卖家什么时候想最后售出他们的房子。
一月份民宅独立屋市场基准价为$518,600，和十二月份相似，但是比2014年12月份超了 7.9%。同时，排屋保持在$356,000, 和12月份差不多。（这些都表明了对于投资客而言，普通公寓抗跌性差！）
很多消费者对于房屋消费的决定可能会持续延迟到他们能够观察到春天经济形势的走向， 尽管如此，如果供给量持续增加并超过需求增长的话，我们恐怕就会开始看到这一变化对于整个城市房地产价格的影响。
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