STAY STRONG

Calgary MLS sales in August on pace for 2nd highest ever
August 2005 set the record
By Mario Toneguzzi
Calgary Herald August 23, 2013

CALGARY — Calgary home sales are on pace for the highest August total since 2005 and the second highest on record for the month, says a Calgary realtor.

Mike Fotiou, associate broker of First Place Realty, said month-to-date between August 1-21 there have been 1,462 MLS sales in the city, up 32.4 per cent from last year.

That’s down from the 1,516 sales pace set in August 2005 for the same period. Sales ended up at 2,326 for the entire month of August in 2005.

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, for the first three weeks of August, the average sale price increased by 10.14 per cent to $456,105 and active listings of 4,089 were down 24.57 per cent.

Tanya Eklund, with RE/MAX Real Estate (Central) in Calgary, said there are so many factors that have helped the real estate market reach such impressive numbers.

“The flood did throw a wrench into things in some communities, yet we have seen other communities flourish from the flood. As long as the price of oil stays strong, the pipeline out east goes forward, the vacancy rate stays low, all of these will contribute to the continued strength in our economy,” said Eklund in a live Herald web chat on the real estate market with Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist and Don Campbell, senior analyst and founding partner of the Real Estate Investment Network.

“We are in a seller’s market currently I would say. I base it on number of sales versus listings and I also consider days on market. We are fairly low in inventory based on last year and our sales have increased substantially.”

Campbell said Calgary entered the year with a real estate market that was performing exactly how it should have been, based on its underlying economics.

“While the world turmoil was continuing to grow, Calgary’s economy almost felt sheltered from the storm. Economic growth, population growth, housing demand right on trend ... then the floods hit and turned the city and its market upside down,” he said.

He said, now post flood, the numbers will not be indicative of the actual underlying market and although will still look good, they won’t be reflective of how the market is really performing.

“The bottom line is this: the results of this flood will play a role in the housing numbers for at least 12 months in all cities and towns affected by it and will skew the market health readings,” he said.

Lurie said strong resale growth numbers will likely persist for much of this year, outside of the flood, as migration levels posted stronger than expected levels, supporting stronger than expected demand growth.

“The housing market will continue to benefit due to strong fundamentals, assuming the energy sector remains strong,” she said.