Calgary home sales in March are on pace to exceed sales recorded in February and many of those sales have closed over asking prices..“Most single-family home sales activity in Calgary occurred in the $500,000 to $800,000 range and in the past 30 days there were 656 sales of which 210 sold over list which generally suggests more than one offer and 48 sold at list price,” says, Jim Hughes, a realtor with Royal LePage Benchmark in Calgary..“Approximately every third sale (32%) has been at over list price.”.“In the $300,000 to $500,000 range there were 282 single-family home sales and 80 were over or at list price. Over a quarter of all detached sales were into bidding challenges.”.In the $800,000 to $1 million single-family price range, there were 133 sales, with 26 selling over list price and eight at list price, with most others very close to list. There were 106 sales over $1 million with 28 over list and 11 at list price, says Hughes..“A home in Scarboro was listed at $895,000, but this 1911 built home sold at $1,002,000. Another McKenzie Lake listing at $700,000 sold for $800,000 in just five days,” says Hughes..“A seller in Patterson listed at $749,000, but probably did not expect the final sale price of $824,900. In Coach Hill an $849,900 listing attracted a $950,000 buyer while the northwest district of Varsity saw an $829,900 home sell at $920,000.”.“There could be many different underlying reasons why these homes sold so much higher than list, but the reality check is that, in most cases in competing offers, you might anticipate a final offer four to six percent above list.” .As expected, the Calgary housing sector is not the record-setter it was in 2022, but one dynamic is the same as last year, says Hughes. .“The first three months of 2022 was a torrent pace in Calgary real estate, with March 2022 setting an all-time monthly record with 4,108 sales, of which 2,627 were single-family,” he says. “This was not because we were benefitting from a booming economy but rather mainly a problem of very low housing inventory and appealing interest rates. Simply put it is a matter of supply and demand.”.“A similar scenario is repeating itself in 2023, only this year inventories are dramatically lower. For the month of February 2023, new listings were down 49% year-over-year and total inventory down 24%. This represents the lowest February inventory since 2006.”.“As it stands right now there are more buyers than sellers and this has trended overall sale prices up approximately five percent over the past two months,” says Hughes. “The consensus is that we will continue to be in a low inventory market until sellers feel confident that interest rates are stable.”.The pressure demand is putting on prices in all housing types, with the exception of semi-detached homes, is reflected in average sales prices posted on creb.com on Monday, comparing the first two weeks of March to averages at the end of February. .In that time frame, the composite average has risen from $460,000 to $495,000; the single-family homes’ average was $679,479 in February, rising to $726,891; in the townhome sector, the average has risen from $388,463 to $407,426; semi-detached homes in February averaged $585,265, dropping to $565,354; and apartments from $280,701 to $301,246..“The major problem for buyers in the current Calgary market is not just finding a potential new home but then arranging a viewing and upon your satisfaction, having the ability to write an offer at the earliest possible point of the listing,” says Hughes..“The reason some are finding more success is because they are totally prepared. That means being pre-approved with a mortgage broker and having a plan, and a plan ‘b’ should you be the successful purchaser.
Calgary home sales in March are on pace to exceed sales recorded in February and many of those sales have closed over asking prices..“Most single-family home sales activity in Calgary occurred in the $500,000 to $800,000 range and in the past 30 days there were 656 sales of which 210 sold over list which generally suggests more than one offer and 48 sold at list price,” says, Jim Hughes, a realtor with Royal LePage Benchmark in Calgary..“Approximately every third sale (32%) has been at over list price.”.“In the $300,000 to $500,000 range there were 282 single-family home sales and 80 were over or at list price. Over a quarter of all detached sales were into bidding challenges.”.In the $800,000 to $1 million single-family price range, there were 133 sales, with 26 selling over list price and eight at list price, with most others very close to list. There were 106 sales over $1 million with 28 over list and 11 at list price, says Hughes..“A home in Scarboro was listed at $895,000, but this 1911 built home sold at $1,002,000. Another McKenzie Lake listing at $700,000 sold for $800,000 in just five days,” says Hughes..“A seller in Patterson listed at $749,000, but probably did not expect the final sale price of $824,900. In Coach Hill an $849,900 listing attracted a $950,000 buyer while the northwest district of Varsity saw an $829,900 home sell at $920,000.”.“There could be many different underlying reasons why these homes sold so much higher than list, but the reality check is that, in most cases in competing offers, you might anticipate a final offer four to six percent above list.” .As expected, the Calgary housing sector is not the record-setter it was in 2022, but one dynamic is the same as last year, says Hughes. .“The first three months of 2022 was a torrent pace in Calgary real estate, with March 2022 setting an all-time monthly record with 4,108 sales, of which 2,627 were single-family,” he says. “This was not because we were benefitting from a booming economy but rather mainly a problem of very low housing inventory and appealing interest rates. Simply put it is a matter of supply and demand.”.“A similar scenario is repeating itself in 2023, only this year inventories are dramatically lower. For the month of February 2023, new listings were down 49% year-over-year and total inventory down 24%. This represents the lowest February inventory since 2006.”.“As it stands right now there are more buyers than sellers and this has trended overall sale prices up approximately five percent over the past two months,” says Hughes. “The consensus is that we will continue to be in a low inventory market until sellers feel confident that interest rates are stable.”.The pressure demand is putting on prices in all housing types, with the exception of semi-detached homes, is reflected in average sales prices posted on creb.com on Monday, comparing the first two weeks of March to averages at the end of February. .In that time frame, the composite average has risen from $460,000 to $495,000; the single-family homes’ average was $679,479 in February, rising to $726,891; in the townhome sector, the average has risen from $388,463 to $407,426; semi-detached homes in February averaged $585,265, dropping to $565,354; and apartments from $280,701 to $301,246..“The major problem for buyers in the current Calgary market is not just finding a potential new home but then arranging a viewing and upon your satisfaction, having the ability to write an offer at the earliest possible point of the listing,” says Hughes..“The reason some are finding more success is because they are totally prepared. That means being pre-approved with a mortgage broker and having a plan, and a plan ‘b’ should you be the successful purchaser.
