September Market Snapshot

October 5th, 2015

September Results are in and it looks like things are changing in the Real Estate front in Calgary.

Stay ahead of the curve 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 the effect on the price of Calgary Real Estate.  A simple way to keep up to date and ahead of most!

Below are the details along with a few comments, all numbers were taken from the Calgary Real Estate Boards Stats package for Realtors.

Calgary Listing Inventory

In September we saw an increase in inventory levels for all categories. New listings were up and sales we down causing this increase.

 Inventory  Aug   2015 Sept  2015 Change
Detached 2801 3012 +211
Attached 1130 1232 +102
Apartment 1215 1282 +67
Total City of Calgary 5146 5526 +380

 

Calgary Sales:

Sales for all categories decreased this month.  While the percentages look high it is important to note that some of this is strictly seasonal as September is always lower in sales than August.   In my opinion seasonal adjustments are a small part of this and  it is a bigger reflection of a weakened economy and uncertainty.

Sales Aug   2015 Sept  2015 Change % Change
Detached 1000 906 -94 -9.4%
Attached 364 283 –81 -22.3%
Apartment 279 259 -20 -7.1%
Total City of Calgary 1643 1448 -195 -11.8%

 

Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:  

Prices for Attached and Detached homes increased slightly this month while the Apartment Condo sector prices decreased.  Looking at today’s absorption rate I predict that Detached homes will continue with small increases or stay flat while attached homes and Apartment Condos will continue to see price declines in the next while.

  Sales Prices Aug   2015Benchmark Price  Sept  2015Benchmark Price Change
Detached 516,000 517,200 +1,200
Attached 356,700 357,000 +300
Apartment 294,100 290,600 -3,500
Total City of Calgary 456,300 456,100 -200

 

Sales Prices “Year to Date”   

Year to date prices –  Again increases in detached and attached while Apartment condos have decreased.

Sales Prices Dec 31, 2014   Benchmark Price  Sept  2015Benchmark Price Change$ % Change
Detached 510,900 517,200 +6,300 +1.2%
Attached 337,300 357,000 +19,700 +5.8%
Apartment 300,300 290,600 -9,700 -3.23%
Total City of Calgary 459,000 456,100 -2,600 -.63%

 

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 2.8 to 4.0 Prices typically remain stable
Seller’s Market <2.8 Drives prices up

 

*** Absorption Rate:   

In September all categories increased with attached homes increasing the most.  As mentioned earlier this will reflect in prices in the upcoming months.

Absorption Rate   Aug   2015 Sept  2015 Change
Detached 2.80 3.32 +.52
Attached 3.1 4.35 +1.25
Apartment 4.35 4.95 +.6
Total City of Calgary 3.13 3.82 +.69

 

Price Sensitivity

It is also very interesting that starter homes are the ones that are still selling in the first day in a lot of circumstances.  The higher priced homes are the ones seeing the least amount of activity.

 

**Please note that these numbers do change on a community basis and more so for towns.  If you would like to find stats on your community just let me know.  If you have any questions about this summary, the attached stats package or any Real Estate questions please feel free to contact us.

 

If you know anyone else who might enjoy seeing our monthly summary please feel free to pass this on. Gord, Eric, Brent, Melissa

TSW Real Estate Group

Building a Wish List for Home Buyers

September 29th, 2015

Building a WishlistThere’s a difference between what you need and what you want. We all need a place to eat, sleep and call home, but when the time comes to buy that place, there’s a lot to consider. In a dream world we could envision our perfect home and magically make it happen. But this is reality, and in reality we all have budgets and other parameters we must work within, which is why I encourage all of my clients to start with a wish-list. It helps you determine exactly what you need, want, and must-have. It lays down a blueprint for your house hunt and it keeps you in check.

Here are some suggestions to help get you started building your wish-list:

• Make a list of all the things you love and don’t want to give up in the place you’re currently – a kitchen island, a soaker tub, a fireplace – whatever gives you pleasure and makes your house feel like home.
• A wish-list can also be referred to as a “change-list” – meaning, these are all the things about my current living space that must change. So take note of all the things in your current space that you are not happy with and highlight anything that frustrates you to no end.
• Consider how long you’re going to be in this home and what you envision happening in your life during that period. If you’re finally going to get that pet dog you’ve always wanted, then you’ll have to consider that when choosing the property.
• Identify which items you must have now, and which items can be added over time. Maybe you really want a deck in your backyard and you’ve just seen a great house that has everything but. A deck is something you can add on down the road.
• Consider your wish-list a constantly changing thing. Trust me – once you start looking at properties, you’ll be adding and dropping things from your list. That’s the best part about house hunting – every place you see gives you a better sense of what you’re really looking for.

Are You being Mislead About True Home Values?

September 15th, 2015

true home values, what you need to knowAs with many homebuyers, you may think you are rightfully judging home values based on what you see listed on realtor.ca (mls.ca). But, this can be greatly misleading.

There is a huge disconnect between the active list price and what a home actually sells for. In order to determine fair market value you need to compare similar homes that have already been sold.

What did the home actually sell for?
This will give you a much better idea in terms of value of the home you desire to purchase. Let our professional staff help you!

Do I Need a Deposit?

September 9th, 2015

Do You NeedA Deposit-You found your dream home and have started the purchasing process. Now what?

When you find your dream home and decide to make an offer, in most cases, a deposit is a requirement.

How much is required?
A typical deposit can be anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 depending on the cost of the property and other factors.

How do you pay?
If closing is within 30 days, the deposit must be a money order or bank draft.

So, when preparing to make an offer, keep the deposit in mind and make sure you have the money available that it will require.

Let our professional staff help you

September Market Snapshot

September 2nd, 2015

Stay ahead of the curve 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 the effect on the price of Calgary Real Estate. A simple way to keep up to date and ahead of most!
Below are the details along with a few comments, all numbers were taken from the Calgary Real Estate Boards Stats package for Realtors.
Find out what your Neighbor’s home sold for – Our market report is set up based on your community! Register for our Market Report at http://www.calgaryareasolds.com/

August saw a small increase to our inventory levels and a decrease in sales numbers in all categories. Prices remained flat however our Absorption rate increased. This is somewhat typical of August with summer holidays and people away.

Inventory  July  2015 Aug   2015 Change
Detached 2728 2801 +73
Attached 1104 1130 +26
Apartment 1223 1215 -8
Total City of Calgary 5055 5146 +91

Calgary Sales:
Sales for all categories decreased this month. While the percentages look high the important thing to know is that sales in August have almost always been lower than July sales. Last year sales were down for the same period 18.1%

Sales July  2015 Aug   2015 Change % Change
Detached 1222 1000 -222 -18.2%
Attached 449 364 -85 -18.9
Apartment 324 279 -45 -13.8
Total City of Calgary 1995 1643 -352 -17.6

Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:
Prices in all categories changed very little this month. Based on the absorption rate below my prediction is that detached homes could see small price increases, Attached homes should remain fairly flat while apartment condos should see very small price decreases.

  Sales Prices July 2015

Benchmark Price 

Aug   2015

Benchmark Price

Change
Detached 515,300 516,000 +700
Attached 355,300 356,700 +1400
00Apartment 293,300 294,100 +800
Total City of Calgary 455,400 456,300 +900

Sales Prices “Year to Date”
Year to date prices – All categories have decreased except attached homes have gone up by $700.00

Sales Prices Dec 31, 2014   Benchmark Price  Aug   2015 Benchmark Price Change

$

% Change
Detached 518,600 516,000 -2,600 -.50%
Attached 356,200 356,700 +700 +.19%
Apartment 300,400 294,100 -6,300 -2.1%
Total City of Calgary 459,500 456,300 -3,200 .69%

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 2.8 to 4.0 Prices typically remain stable
Seller’s Market <2.8 Drives prices up

*** Absorption Rate:
In August the absorption rate increased for all categories. Inventory stayed almost the same while sales decreased meaning the number of months of supply increased. This leaves detached homes just in a seller’s market, attached homes in a balanced market while apartment condos have moved into a buyer’s market position.

Absorption Rate   July   2015 Aug  2015 Change
Detached 2.23 2.80 +.57
Attached 2.46 3.1 +.64
Apartment 3.77 4.35 +.58
Total City of Calgary 2.53 3.13 +60

**Please note that these numbers do change on a community basis and more so for towns. If you would like to find stats on your community just let me know. If you have any questions about this summary, the attached stats package or any Real Estate questions please feel free to contact us.

If you know anyone else who might enjoy seeing our monthly summary please feel free to pass this on. Gord, Eric, Brent
TSW Real Estate Group

CIR Realty’s Ultimate Family Vacation Contest

September 1st, 2015

CIR is offering one lucky family the chance to win an ultimate family vacation! This is an all expense paid trip to sunny San Diego. To enter:

1. Go to http://www.cirrealty.ca/contest/cir-contest.cir

2. Fill out your information

3. When they ask if you have a realtor tell them we sent you!

4. Fingers crossed!

san diego contest invite (1)

4 Westpoint Garden SW

August 28th, 2015

Every once and a while a truly exceptional property will be put on the market that we feel deserves a little extra attention from potential home buyers. Like this stunning two story home in West Springs. This corer lot property has a south facing back yard with tons of privacy – and as an added bonus the western sidewalk is cleared by the city so there’s not extra work! Not only is the home perfectly located but it has so many built-ins and upgrades we didn’t know where to start! So we asked the current owners of the property to tell us their favorite things about their home. There answers are below.

Need a closer look? Check out our YouTube video. Ready to check it out for yourself? You can contact us directly here or tell your real estate agent you want to view C4015648.

Features of the Home-page-001 (1)

Is Your Realtor Experienced

August 25th, 2015

You Are Not A Guinea Pig!Passing a program and gaining book knowledge is one thing, but real world experience is something else altogether.

How would you feel about being a dentist’s first patient?

Don’t Put Your Dreams in Inexperienced Hands
When it comes to buying a property, you don’t want to put your dreams in the hands of someone who has little experience buying or selling.

Everyone has to learn, but don’t be the guinea pig. Don’t let someone gain his or her experience by the mistakes made on your purchase.

Instead, let the professionals who know what they are doing assist you in the journey and rest assured knowing you have the best help possible!

Let our professional staff help you!

The Fear of Condo Fees

August 17th, 2015

Condo FeesMany people fear condo fees but don’t fully understand why they even exist.

Every condo board is different and, therefore, all condo fees are different.
When it comes to understanding fees, there are a couple of things to consider…
• What do the condo fees include? Some options are heat, water, and sewer.
• Are fees being collected for future repair? Shingles, exterior siding, elevators, and common area carpets are just a few of the things that must be repaired.
• Are there outside and public use areas to be maintained?

You must decide if the fees are worth it to you not to have to take care of costs and repairs like this yourself, as you must do with a home.

If you want to live in a nice, well kept building, condo fees are a necessity.

Let our professional staff help you

Presenting an Offer in Today’s World

August 12th, 2015

presenting anHere’s how it used to go down…

Years ago all offers we’re presented directly to the sellers and their agent.

Now…
In this fast paced world most agents just e-mail the offers.

How we’re different at
We like to go the extra mile by asking permission to present in person giving us the opportunity to discover the seller’s motivation and the opportunity to express why they should sell to you.
It is about having someone to directly represent you and your qualities.

You don’t buy houses online, so why should your offer be presented that way?
Often, face to face and office presentations provide better results. Make sure you have someone on your side face to face if possible.

Let our professional staff help you!