Worst may be over for resale housing
A recent RBC report declared resale housing activity in Calgary had stabilized, suggesting the worst could be over for the local market.
More evidence to support that position can be found in June MLS data compiled by the Calgary Real Estate Board and released Thursday.
Total MLS sales in the city were down by 18 per cent, to 2,183 last month, the slowest pace of yearoveryear decline in 2015. New listings also fell by 18 per cent to 3,122. The average sale price of $ 483,398 was down 1.67 per cent, while the median price rose 0.7 per cent to $ 430,000.
“There’s still a sense of uncertainty in the real estate market right now — the decline in oil prices and questions about the economy are still influencing consumer sentiment” said Grace Yan, a realtor with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.
“Even though overall sales activity is slower than recent years, what many people aren’t aware of is that there are several neighbourhoods where demand has been stable, including prime areas in the inner city and neighbourhoods like Lake Bonavista.”
The average number of days for a property to sell rose from 29 last year to 40 this year.
CREB said June MLS sales were five per cent below the 10- year average for the month but three per cent above levels over the past five years. “Sales activity in Calgary, continues to ease, but not at the same pace as the first quarter of the year. This is partly due to some improvements in consumer confidence as the worst- case scenario has not yet played out in either the energy sector or the housing market,” said Ann- Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist.
“As far as Calgary housing is concerned, much is dependent on recovery in the energy sector. It is anticipated that the full impacts of the energy sector slowdown have not been fully realized in the employment figures, as job contractions are expected in the second half of this year. Furthermore, if the energy sector remains weak moving into 2016, this can have further implications for migration levels, employment in other sectors as well as Calgary housing market.”
Yan said the local housing market is historically slows during the summer months, though the industry will have a clearer outlook for the remainder of 2015 after the Bank of Canada’s next interest rate announcement and the provincial government’s budget is released.