Archive for October, 2017

Housing Market Outlook, Fall of 2017 Produced by Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC)

Friday, October 27th, 2017

Every quarter CMHC provides a housing outlook report.  In the report you will find

  • New home market
  •  Resale Market
  • Rental Market
  • Economic Trends

The report show stats from the past and future predictions, In my opinion it is a great report.

To see full report click here

Tips to Winterize your home

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017

To ensure your home is ready for the winter follow our tips to winterize. Most items you can do yourself but some will require a professional.

  1.  Hose bibs:  Turn off the water to all exterior hose bibs to prevent freezing.  Once water is off open the tap slightly to let water drain.   If you are in a newer home you will likely have a valve inside to drain all the water from the pipes.
  2. Irrigation systems:  If you have an irrigation system it is imperative that you have the lines blown out to remove all moisture from the lines. This again will prevent freezing of the pipes and ensures your system works next year.
  3.  Clean or replace your furnace filter.  Dirty filters make your furnace work harder and reduce its efficiency.
  4.  Have your heating system professionally inspected.  Atco gas will come out and check your system (I believe at no charge).
  5. If you have not done so recently have someone in to clean your vents.  This will reduce dust and give you better quality air inside your home.
  6. Clean your gutters and eavestroughs.  Clean eaves allow for proper flow of water so it does not just run over the gutters and land near your foundation.
  7. Do an  inspection of your windows and doors, are there any cracks or gaps that you can fill to reduce the amount of air that comes in cooling your home.
  8. *** Ensure the grade of your lot is sloping away from your foundation.  Grading towards the home is the number 1 cause of water seeping into basement.
  9. If you have a fireplace, get your Chimney professionally cleaned.  A dirty chimney is a fire hazard.

 

Calgary Real Estate Market Snapshot – Oct 1, 2017

Monday, October 2nd, 2017

Calgary Absorption Rate

What is really happening in the Calgary Real Estate Market?

Stay ahead of everyone else by following our Monthly Market Snapshot of the Calgary Real Estate Market This shows what’s really happening! The market is driven by supply and demand so here we show the inventory (supply) and sales (demand) and most importantly the relationship between the two and how it affects the price of Calgary Real Estate.  A simple way to keep up to date with how the market is trending and to stay ahead of most! All numbers are taken from the Calgary Real Estate Boards Stats package for Realtors. I have also included some general comments which are simply my opinion.

Absorption Rate (Months of Inventory)   (the inventory divided by the number of sales in the last month). What does this mean you might ask?

Buyer’s Market >4.0 Drives prices down
Balanced Market Between 2.4 to 4.0 Prices typically remain stable
Seller’s Market <2.4 Drives prices up

 

Absorption Rate

The Absorption rate for September increased in all categories except attached-row homes where it dropped marginally.   The one to note is apartment condos which increased by 1.29 putting us at 8.42 months of inventory.  

  Aug  2017  Sept  2017  Change
Detached 3.32 3.79 0.46
Semi Detached 3.27 4.31 1.04
Attached – Row 5.27 5.25 -0.02
Apartment 7.13 8.42 1.29
Total City 4.13 4.69 0.56

 Calgary Listing Inventory

In September all categories stayed flat except for detached homes which saw an increase of 199 listings.

Inventory Aug  2017  Sept  2017  Change
Detached 3280 3479 199
Semi Detached 585 621 36
Attached – Row 991 993 2
Apartment 1769 1768 -1
Total City 6624 6861 237

 

Calgary Sales:

Sales for September saw a decrease in all categories except attached-row homes which increased by 1.  A decrease at this time of year is fairly normal and I would classify this as simply seasonal.

Of interest Calgary year to date sales are 7% above last year’s sales.

Calgary Sales  Aug  2017  Sept  2017  Change % Change
Detached 987 919 -68 -6.89%
Semi Detached 179 144 -35 -19.55%
Attached – Row 188 189 1 0.53%
Apartment 248 210 -38 -15.32%
Total City 1602 1462 -140 -8.74%

  

Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:

Okay, I will eat my words here.  Last month I predicted that prices would remain fairly even except for attached – row houses and apartment condos which I said should drop.  As you can see below I was wrong however with the absorption rates I again will predict all categories will remain fairly flat with the exception of apartment condos where a decrease is likely.

  Sales Prices Aug   2017Benchmark Price   Sept  2017  Benchmark Price Change
Detached 510,900 508,900 -2,000
Semi Detached 419,600 419,400 -200
Attached – Row 307,000 306,900 -100
Apartment 263,300 263,700 400
Total City 442,300 441,500 -800

  

Sales Prices “Year to Date”  

Sales Prices Jan 1, 2017    Benchmark Price  Sept  2017  Benchmark Price Change

$

% Change
Detached 498,700 508,900 10,200 2.05%
Semi Detached 406,800 419,400 12,600 3.10%
Attached – Row 302,600 306,900 4,300 1.42%
Apartment 265,000 263,700 -1,300 -0.49%
Total City 433,400 441,500 8,100 1.87%

 **Please note that these numbers include only Calgary homes and do change on a community basis and more so for towns.  This report does not include rural properties.  If you would like to find stats on your community just let me know.  If you have any questions about this summary or Real Estate questions please feel free to contact us.

 

TSW Real Estate Group

 

 

3 Reasons to Talk to a Realtor Today

Sunday, October 1st, 2017

You might naturally assume that it is most important to talk to a Realtor when you’re selling or buying a home. But there are many other circumstances in which it makes sense to give me a call. Here are a few examples.

1. When you’re at the “thinking about it” stage.  If you’re just thinking about selling your home, and haven’t made a firm decision yet, you might feel uncomfortable calling a Realtor. Don’t be. It’s better to gather the facts to assist you in your decision making,  I welcome your call.  We can discuss what your current property will likely sell for in today’s market, and determine the type of home you qualify to buy. That way, you’ll have some clarity and be able to make a more informed decision.

2. If you’re nervous about the selling process.   If you haven’t sold a home before, you might be concerned about what’s involved in the process. You might even worry that putting your home on the market is going to be a lot of work and create a lot of turbulence for you and your family. Fortunately, selling your home doesn’t need to be scary. In fact, a big part of my job as a Realtor is to make the process as smooth and trouble-free as possible. So if you have concerns about selling your home, you should give me a call.

3. If you have questions You likely have questions about the local real estate scene from time to time. You might have questions like: “How much did that home around the corner sell for?  How is the Market?  Is a condo or a house a better investment.  How much does it cost to build a house in Calgary? There are many types of questions and we will do our best to get you the answers you need.

Contact us