There’s hot and then there’s too hot. And that describes Calgary’s housing market, with homes selling over asking prices and rental properties attracting hundreds of applicants. In the case of the latter, Global News reports a three-bedroom townhome in Calgary’s northeast was posted for rent on Facebook for $1,700 per month, attracting more than 900 messages in less than one day, and they kept coming. “So many people. Over 1,000 in three days. It’s just crazy,” property manager Patrick McNamara told Global. People even showed up at the door, said current tenant Cori Alfreds. “There’s a lot of people looking for a home out here,” Alfred said. “We’re having people show up at the door. We had one family show up and I was in the bath and my husband, he just showed them around.” “I had to make a little sign to say, ‘We really need you to come by appointment only.” McNamara, who manages several rental properties, says people are desperate. “It’s just mind-blowing the amount of people that are looking for a place,” he told Global. “People are like, ‘I need it today. I’m out of a house. I’ll bring the deposit and first months right today.” In its spring Housing Market Outlook report, the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation, (CMHC) has bad news for renters in Calgary. “Despite a growing rental universe, the vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments is forecasted to edge lower in 2024 and 2025. Rental units will remain in short supply as demand continues to be driven by population growth combined with less mobility into homeownership,” said CMHC. There’s good news, and bad, in the ownership market, with over bidding, as well as under bidding becoming more common in some neighbourhoods, says a new market analysis from digital real estate platform Wahi in its first Calgary Market Pulse report. The analysis found in 49% of Calgary neighbourhoods, homes were selling above list prices between January 1 and April 30. Additionally, the Wahi report said another 14% saw homes selling at asking price, with the remaining 37% in under bidding territory. “Whether it’s buyers from other provinces attracted by Calgary’s relative affordability or locals benefitting from Alberta’s resilient economy, demand remains strong for Calgary real estate,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “The share of overbidding neighbourhoods was roughly the same regardless of property type.” “For example, looking only at condo sales, 49% of neighbourhoods were overbid, while for non-condos, the overbidding share was 51%.” Katchen added Calgary’s real estate market is more competitive than other major Canadian real estate markets that Wahi tracks. “For example, in April, 39% of Greater Toronto Area neighbourhoods were overbid, down from 43% in March,” he said. “Meanwhile, just 2% of Ottawa neighbourhoods were overbid in the first quarter of the year.” Calgary neighbourhhoods with the hottest bidding activity were led by Hawkwood and North Haven in the northwest. “However, two of the five top overbidding neighbourhoods were located in lower-priced pockets of southeast Calgary, Deer Ridge ranked third and Deer Run placed fifth, said Katchen. “Relative affordability appears to be an overarching factor, as the median sale prices in the top overbidding neighbourhoods were all below $750,000, the most underbid neighbourhoods tended to have higher price points. In its report, Wahi pointed out “when a neighbourhood is in overbidding territory, it doesn’t necessarily mean that every home is selling above asking. Instead, it’s a general reflection of overall market behaviour, which can be influenced by seasonal factors, for example, or decisions by sellers, such as to list homes below market value to try and attract more bids.” Many homes selling below the asking price were priced at more than $1 million. “The strongest underbidding activity was concentrated in southwest Calgary and in established neighbourhoods with premium price points,” says Katchen. Methodology According to Wahi, it compares the differences between median list and sold prices to determine whether neighbourhoods are in overbidding or underbidding territory. The top overbidding and underbidding neighbourhoods are ranked by the median overbid or underbid amount. The median overbid and underbid amounts are calculated by subtracting the list price from the sold price of each individual listing in a given neighbourhood. These are then ranked by the median of all subtractions and presented as the median overbid or underbid amount. Wahi analyzed 204 neighbourhoods, excluding 15 with fewer than five sales over the study period.
There’s hot and then there’s too hot. And that describes Calgary’s housing market, with homes selling over asking prices and rental properties attracting hundreds of applicants. In the case of the latter, Global News reports a three-bedroom townhome in Calgary’s northeast was posted for rent on Facebook for $1,700 per month, attracting more than 900 messages in less than one day, and they kept coming. “So many people. Over 1,000 in three days. It’s just crazy,” property manager Patrick McNamara told Global. People even showed up at the door, said current tenant Cori Alfreds. “There’s a lot of people looking for a home out here,” Alfred said. “We’re having people show up at the door. We had one family show up and I was in the bath and my husband, he just showed them around.” “I had to make a little sign to say, ‘We really need you to come by appointment only.” McNamara, who manages several rental properties, says people are desperate. “It’s just mind-blowing the amount of people that are looking for a place,” he told Global. “People are like, ‘I need it today. I’m out of a house. I’ll bring the deposit and first months right today.” In its spring Housing Market Outlook report, the Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation, (CMHC) has bad news for renters in Calgary. “Despite a growing rental universe, the vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments is forecasted to edge lower in 2024 and 2025. Rental units will remain in short supply as demand continues to be driven by population growth combined with less mobility into homeownership,” said CMHC. There’s good news, and bad, in the ownership market, with over bidding, as well as under bidding becoming more common in some neighbourhoods, says a new market analysis from digital real estate platform Wahi in its first Calgary Market Pulse report. The analysis found in 49% of Calgary neighbourhoods, homes were selling above list prices between January 1 and April 30. Additionally, the Wahi report said another 14% saw homes selling at asking price, with the remaining 37% in under bidding territory. “Whether it’s buyers from other provinces attracted by Calgary’s relative affordability or locals benefitting from Alberta’s resilient economy, demand remains strong for Calgary real estate,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “The share of overbidding neighbourhoods was roughly the same regardless of property type.” “For example, looking only at condo sales, 49% of neighbourhoods were overbid, while for non-condos, the overbidding share was 51%.” Katchen added Calgary’s real estate market is more competitive than other major Canadian real estate markets that Wahi tracks. “For example, in April, 39% of Greater Toronto Area neighbourhoods were overbid, down from 43% in March,” he said. “Meanwhile, just 2% of Ottawa neighbourhoods were overbid in the first quarter of the year.” Calgary neighbourhhoods with the hottest bidding activity were led by Hawkwood and North Haven in the northwest. “However, two of the five top overbidding neighbourhoods were located in lower-priced pockets of southeast Calgary, Deer Ridge ranked third and Deer Run placed fifth, said Katchen. “Relative affordability appears to be an overarching factor, as the median sale prices in the top overbidding neighbourhoods were all below $750,000, the most underbid neighbourhoods tended to have higher price points. In its report, Wahi pointed out “when a neighbourhood is in overbidding territory, it doesn’t necessarily mean that every home is selling above asking. Instead, it’s a general reflection of overall market behaviour, which can be influenced by seasonal factors, for example, or decisions by sellers, such as to list homes below market value to try and attract more bids.” Many homes selling below the asking price were priced at more than $1 million. “The strongest underbidding activity was concentrated in southwest Calgary and in established neighbourhoods with premium price points,” says Katchen. Methodology According to Wahi, it compares the differences between median list and sold prices to determine whether neighbourhoods are in overbidding or underbidding territory. The top overbidding and underbidding neighbourhoods are ranked by the median overbid or underbid amount. The median overbid and underbid amounts are calculated by subtracting the list price from the sold price of each individual listing in a given neighbourhood. These are then ranked by the median of all subtractions and presented as the median overbid or underbid amount. Wahi analyzed 204 neighbourhoods, excluding 15 with fewer than five sales over the study period.
