High-end real estate market sliding: Sotheby’s report

Calgary’s top-tier real estate market had a glimmer of recovery in 2017 but has since slipped, said a report released Tuesday by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

The regression has been attributed to rising interest rates and an introduction of stricter federal mortgage rules, constraining the ability to borrow money. The report claims those factors helped stall progress in a city still recovering from an economic downturn.

Downward price adjustments have been seen across high-end condos, attached and single-family homes. The report says $1-millionplus real estate sales have decreased 11 per cent year-over-year to 350 units sold in the first half of 2018.

“The collision of rising mortgage rates, stricter lending guidelines and cascading governmental policies and taxes have impacted the performance of several toptier Canadian markets,” said Brad Henderson, president and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, in a statement. “While the Toronto top-tier market remained remarkably resilient in the first half of 2018, and Montreal continued to exude growth and confidence, the Vancouver and Calgary markets decelerated as consumer optimism and local purchasing power diminished.”

According to a Royal LePage House Price Survey also released Tuesday morning, the average house price in Calgary rose by 2.4 per cent to $484,694.