Apartment sector sees largest year-over-year rebound

By Myke Thomas, orginially published Mar 7, 2020 in The Chronicle Herald

Calgary’s resale housing market continued to show slow improvement in February, according to the monthly report from the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).

Sales last month reached 1,197 homes, a 23 percent increase over February 2019, but remain below longer-term trends.

“However, this should not diminish the fact that conditions are still improving,” said CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Calgary is continuing to see slow reductions in the amount of oversupply in the market, from modest changes in demand and reductions in supply. This needs to occur before we can see more stability in prices.”

The apartment sector, for the longest time the largest lag in the market, had the largest sales increase, says Jesse Davies, founder, realtor of the Jesse Davies Team.

“Sales volume is up 16 percent for detached, attached is up 29 percent and apartments 39 percent compared to last year,” says Davies. “Prices still haven’t increased yet but a few more months of increased sales with decreased active listings inventory and we should hopefully start to see some positive price trends.

“We are seeing a varying degree of months of inventory and sales volumes in different property types and price points. When comparing data from last year, the last two months are definitely showing some positive signs of a month-over-month drop in active listings and increases in the number of sales.”

Buyers and sellers have attuned themselves to a new normal, says Davies.

“Sentiment for buyers is gaining strength as they are trying to time the bottom of the market. We are also finding sellers becoming more realistic on what their home is worth today and what it could be worth if this trend continues,” he says. “There are varying degrees of attitudes towards the market but overall sentiment is positive and we have lots of buyers waiting for the right home to come online.”

With the ‘spring selling season’ upon us, Davies offers this advice to sellers.

“Make sure your real estate agent knows how to provide an accurate market analysis based on comparable homes to yours and knows how to make market and feature adjustments so you don’t overprice or underprice your home,” he says. “Make sure you are hiring a realtor who can get as many eyes on your property as possible. In a market like we are experiencing, exposure outside the standard MLS system is key to finding a buyer. With increasing competition, buyers have so much to choose from, so staging and the cleanliness of your home helps make it stand out and can go a long way in convincing buyers your home is right for them.”

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