The market's considerable home purchase affordability will drive much of this activity
Calgary is likely to see more renters choosing to enter home ownership in the near future, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released last week.
“Although our resale market is still challenged, rental vacancy rates are low, and rent is expected to go up 4% this year. This may contribute to more renters deciding to become homeowners instead, and specifically condominiums,” Royal LePage Benchmark broker and owner Corinne Lyall said.
“We see this is already happening in the condo market and is expected to continue.”
A considerable motivating factor in this development is Calgary’s highly affordable housing purchases, especially when compared to the grossly elevated costs in red-hot markets like Toronto and Vancouver.
Indeed, condo unit prices in the city went up by just 0.2% annually to reach a median price of $286,453 during Q1 2019, while two-storey home values actually fell by 0.9% during the same time frame to end up at $513,616. Bungalow prices shrunk even further by 3.7% year-over-year to reach $490,170.
Overall, the city’s aggregate home price dropped by 1.5% annually, down to $468,974.
“Fewer new listings are resulting in some multiple offers for properties in desirable neighbourhoods that are priced right. That said, this activity is being spurred by price reductions and recently decreased interest rates,” Lyall added, predicting that the aggregate price might decrease by 0.5% quarter-over-quarter to $466,727.
“Despite fewer properties being listed, our inventory is still high and there are many options for buyers who are looking. As well, I imagine that will shift as we are moving into our Spring market when sellers start preparing to move before the end of Summer.”
