Boom hits resale-housing market in towns surrounding Calgary

The resale housing market remains strong in towns surrounding Calgary.

The Calgary Real Estate Board said year-to-date MLS sales in nearby communities grew to 4,878 through November, an increase of 39 per cent compared with the same period in 2011.

In comparison, year-to-date sales of 20,128 in the City of Calgary are up 15 per cent compared with last year.

“I think what’s happening is the buyers can’t find necessarily what they want in the city,” said Bob Jablonski, CREB’s president. “There’s less product to look at here in Calgary. And they’re finding they can find what they’re looking for in surrounding towns for the price points and getting a bigger bang for their bucks. So they don’t mind the commute.”

In the towns market, so far this year the average MLS sale price has dipped by 0.18 per cent to $354,897 while in the city it has risen by 3.16 per cent to $428,208.

Don Campbell, president of the Real Estate Investment Network in Canada, said communities such as Airdrie and Okotoks experience what’s called the Doppler effect in the real estate industry.

“It’s where a centre booms and then the smaller centres around it follow either a year, or a year and a half, later,” said Campbell.

Completion of the Stoney Trail ring road and the expansion of Highway 2 have brought more attention to Airdrie and Okotoks respectively, he said. Both locations have also seen a growth in business development.

“Rather than live in the northeast, people are living in Airdrie, which is almost the exact length of time to get to work,” he said.