Archive for December, 2011

Should I sell my home now or wait till Spring?

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

As a Real Estate agent in Calgary for 10 years I cannot tell you how many times I have heard clients say that they are going to wait till spring to sell their home.  Read on to find out if this myth is true?

Yes it is true that Spring always brings out more buyers so there is more activity in the market.

Yes it is also true that Spring brings out more sellers so the competition is also more fierce.

In my opinion every year is different and you cannot predict the future with 100% certainty.  If you wait till spring more sellers may come out than buyers in which case you would be at a disadvantage by waiting till spring. 

The key ratio you want to look at is the Inventory turnover which is simply  the Total number of listings divided by the number of sales for the last 30 days.   This gives you a number called Inventory Turnover or Absorption rate.  The lower the number the better the market is for sellers.

To find out current numbers please contact your favourite Realtor.

Gord, Eric and Brent

CIR Realty

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November 2011 Calgary Real Estate Market Snapshot

Friday, December 2nd, 2011

It is our pleasure to provide key information from the Calgary Real Estate Boards monthly stats package and add a few short comments to help you really understand what is happening in the market.   The key areas that we look at include Inventory, Sales and the Median Price as this gives  a great snapshot of the market.

Calgary Listing Inventory:  Inventory levels for both Single Family homes and Condo’s decreased this month.   This is the first month in a long time that we have seen our inventory consistently decrease every week.  This movement is normal for this time of year as many people believe it is now better to wait till spring.

Inventory   October 2011  November 2011 Change
Single Family Home 4486 3761  Decrease of 725
Condo’s 1935 1676  Decrease of 259
Total 6421 5437 Decrease of 984

 Calgary Sales:  Calgary Single Family home sales for the month of November remained almost flat this month.  You may have read the news that says “sales are up” but that number is comparing sales to Nov 2010.  The normal trend at this time of year is to see sales drop so remaining flat is a sign of strength.        

Sales October 2011 November 2011 Change
Single Family Home 988 962 (26)
Condo’s 368 393 + 25
Total 1356 1355 (1)     

 Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:  Single family home prices increased by $7,975 while the median price of condo’s decreased by $12,625.  The median prices are not showing any certain direction but are bouncing up and down every month.  Let’s look at the year to date numbers to really see what’s happening.

Single Family Home:  Dec 31, 2010 the median price was $406,000 so for the year the median price has decreased by $3,075

Condos:  Dec  31, 2010 the median price for condos was 267,250 compared to today at $250,000 showing a decrease of $17,250        

Sales Prices October Median Prices November Median Prices Change
Single Family Homes $395,000 $402,925 +$7,975
Condo’s $262,625 $250,000 $(12,625)

Overall we are still in a buyer’s market although with the decreased inventory levels and sales maintaining we are moving closer to a balanced market.

If you have any questions or comments about this snapshot please let us know.

For a full copy of the November Calgary Real Estate Boards Monthly Stats package please contact us.

Gord, Eric and Brent

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