Have you ever driven up to a restaurant and your first impression was
disappointing? Perhaps the windows looked dark and gloomy, the façade
was worn and unattractive or for some other reason it just didn’t look like a
tempting place to eat.
It could still be a fantastic restaurant – a real gem. But, your first impression
has soured your anticipation. If you still walk through the front door, it will
likely be with the expectation of being disappointed.
This scenario often plays out in the real estate market as well.
A buyer drives up to a home for sale and quickly forms an impression based
on what he sees “from the curb”. That’s why you’ll hear real estate experts
talk about the importance of “curb appeal”. It’s one of the most important
selling points of a property.
If you plan to put your home on the market, you obviously want your home
to look as attractive as possible from the street. Fortunately, there are many
simple things you can do to improve curb appeal.
For example, you can trim shrubs and hedges, plant flowers, clean the
walkway and driveway, paint the front door and garage door, and clean the
exteriors of the windows. All these projects are relatively easy and
inexpensive. Yet, each can make a dramatic improvement to how your
home looks at first glance.
Don’t be like the great restaurant that’s hidden behind an unkept façade.
Make sure your curb appeal reflects the overall value of your property.
Looking for more advice on selling your home quickly and for the best price?
Call today
Your Home at a glance
January 2nd, 2015Jan. 2015 Calgary Real Estate Market Snapshot
January 2nd, 2015Stay ahead of the curve by following our Monthly Market Snapshot of the Calgary Real Estate Market. This shows what’s really happening in the Calgary Real Estate Market. 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.
Want to see stats specific to your Community? Register for our Market Report at http://www.calgaryareasolds.com/
Find out what your Neighbor’s home sold for – Register for our Market Report at http://www.calgaryareasolds.com/
An interesting month in the Calgary Real Estate Market. Yes, Sales numbers for December dropped but the real question should be “Is this an annual trend or is it due to the price of oil? Keep reading to find out. Attached please find a copy of the stats package from the Calgary Real Estate Board for the month of December 2014. Below is a summary of some key areas with a few short comments.
Calgary Listing Inventory: As I would expect, all Inventory levels decreased this last month. Inventories typically decrease at this time of year as many people wait until the New Year to list. Of interest for the first 6 months of the year our inventory hovered about 600 listings lower than 2013 and for the last half of the year our inventory hovered about 600 listings online casino higher than last year.
| Inventory | Nov 2014 | Dec 2014 | Change |
| Single Family Home | 2373 | 1985 | -388 |
| Condo Townhouse | 511 | 434 | -77 |
| Condo Apartment | 985 | 823 | -162 |
| Total | 3869 | 3242 | -627 |
Calgary Sales:
Typically at this time of year we also see sales numbers decreasing. Sales in December decreased in all categories. Yes, this drop looks drastic but wait…… This year the drop from November to December was 39.2% and for 2013 the drop was 32.1% Still a drop but not as drastic as it appears.
| Sales | Nov 2014 | Dec 2014 | Change | % Change |
| Single Family Home | 1181 | 708 | -473 | -40.0 |
| Condo Townhouse | 277 | 157 | -120 | -43.3 |
| Condo Apartment | 324 | 218 | -106 | -32.7 |
| Total | 1782 | 1083 | -699 | -39.2 |
Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:
In December the benchmark price decreased very slightly for all categories. The change is so small it’s really insignificant. Now that we have moved to a balanced market position pricing should remain stable.
| Sales Prices | Nov 2014 Benchmark Price | Dec 2014 Benchmark Price | Change |
| Single Family Homes | 511,300 | 510,900 | -$400 |
| Condo Townhouse | 338,600 | 337,300 | -$1300 |
| Condo Apartment | 300,700 | 300,300 | -$400 |
Sales Prices “Year to Date”
Year to date prices – Prices have increased in all categories and exceeded most predictions for what would happen in 2014. Good news if you are a homeowner.
| Sales Prices | Dec 31 2013 Benchmark Price | Dec 2014 Benchmark Price | Change$ | % Change |
| Single Family Homes | 472,200 | 510,900 | 37,800 | 8.0 |
| Condo Townhouse | 307,100 | 337,300 | 30,200 | 9.8 |
| Condo Apartment | 278,600 | 300,300 | 21,700 | 7.8 |
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 |
| Balanced Market | Between 2.8 to 4.0 |
| Seller’s Market | <2.8 |
*** Absorption Rate:
This month the absorption rate increased for all categories. If you have been following my stats this is the largest change that we have seen in some time. Townhouses remain in a sellers market position but both Condos and Single Family homes have moved into a balanced market position.
| Absorption Rate | Nov 2014 | Dec 2014 | Change |
| Single Family Homes | 2.01 | 2.80 | .79 |
| Condo Townhouse | 1.84 | 2.76 | .92 |
| Condo Apartment | 3.04 | 3.78 | .74 |
| Total Calgary | 2.17 | 2.99 | .82 |
**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.
CREB® supports Condominium Property Amendment Act
December 13th, 2014|
New bill is a win for consumers and the real estate industry |
|
CREB® supports the provincial government in tabling the Condominium Property Amendment Act this week and bringing over 50 amendments for enhanced consumer protection and stronger governance within the condominium industry. In particular, the new Act will regulate a disclosure of information related to the sale and governance of condominium units.
“Information is power, and these changes will empower consumers and REALTORS® to make more informed purchasing decisions,” said Bill Kirk, CREB® president. “In a particular, it will create clarity around reserve funds and special assessments, and reduce those surprises for consumers on things like special levies.” The amendments include the creation of a condominium tribunal, that reduces the time and costs associated with dispute resolution between condo owners and corporations. As well, there will be increased regulation of the industry with the introduction of licensing requirements for condominium managers by the Real Estate Council of Alberta. As a stakeholder in industry consultations, CREB® is pleased to see its members’ concerns addressed in the amendments. The Act is a positive direction towards the modernization of condominium legislation and reflects the changes to the industry since the Condominium Property Act was first introduced in 2000. “Thanks to the input of owners, their associations and over 4,000 Albertans, Bill 9 makes intelligent and purposeful changes to protect current and future condo owners, brings consistency for condo developers and provides structure and stability to governance for condo boards,” said Stephen Khan, Minister of Service Alberta. “We followed the leadership of Albertans to develop legislation, and will continue to work with them to implement it.” Service Alberta indicates most of the regulations from the Bill will be implemented over the next year. CREB® looks forward to the implementation of the amendments and continuing to serve as advocates on issues that affect its members. There are over 320,000 condominium owners in the province and condominium sales account for approximately 20 percent of residential sales annual.
To view an overview of the changes click here |
Nov 2014, Calgary Real Estate Market Snapshot
December 2nd, 2014Stay ahead of the curve by following our Monthly Market Snapshot of the Calgary Real Estate Market. This shows what’s really happening in the Calgary Real Estate Market. 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.
Want to see stats specific to your Community? Register for our Market Report at http://www.calgaryareasolds.com/
Find out what your Neighbor’s home sold for – Register for our Market Report at http://www.calgaryareasolds.com/
Calgary housing market softens slightly as we approach Christmas. Single family homes and apartment Condos moved slightly toward a balanced market while the Townhouse market went slightly deeper into a Sellers market. Below is a summary of some key areas with a few short comments.
Calgary Listing Inventory: As I would expect all Inventory levels decreased this last month. Inventories typically decrease at this time of year as some people now wait until the New Year to list. Interestingly the decrease was about 40% less than our decrease in November last year.
|
Inventory |
Oct 2014 |
Nov 2014 |
Change |
|
Single Family Home |
2780 |
2373 |
-408 |
|
Condo Townhouse |
568 |
511 |
-57 |
|
Condo Apartment |
1088 |
985 |
-103 |
|
Total |
4436 |
3869 |
-567 |
Calgary Sales:
Typically at this time of year we also see sales numbers decreasing. Sales in November decreased in all categories. Compared to last year sales from October to November decreased slightly more than last year however sales numbers are still higher than November 2013.
|
Sales |
Oct 2014 |
Nov 2014 |
Change |
% Change |
|
Single Family Home |
1462 |
1181 |
-281 |
-.19 |
|
Condo Townhouse |
300 |
277 |
-23 |
-.07 |
|
Condo Apartment |
385 |
324 |
-61 |
-.16 |
|
Total |
2147 |
1782 |
-365 |
.17 |
Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:
In November the benchmark price decreased for single family homes and increased for Townhouses and apartment condos. The change is so small it’s insignificant. December pricing should remain fairly stable. Based on what I am seeing my early prediction for the New Year is for prices to continue to increase for Single family homes, and less so for Townhouses. Apartment condo prices should remain fairly stable as we are in a balanced market state.
|
Sales Prices |
Oct 2014 Benchmark Price |
Nov 2014 Benchmark Price |
Change |
|
Single Family Homes |
513,500 |
511,300 |
-2,200 |
|
Condo Townhouse |
337,800 |
338,600 |
+800 |
|
Condo Apartment |
299,800 |
300,700 |
+900 |
Sales Prices “Year to Date”
Year to date prices – Prices have increased in all categories. Good news if you are a homeowner.
|
Sales Prices |
Dec 31 2013 Benchmark Price |
Nov 2014 Benchmark Price |
Change $ |
% Change |
|
Single Family Homes |
472,200 |
511,300 |
39,100 |
+9.3% |
|
Condo Townhouse |
307,100 |
338,600 |
31.500 |
+10.25% |
|
Condo Apartment |
278,600 |
300,700 |
22,100 |
+7.9% |
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 |
|
Balanced Market |
Between 2.8 to 4.0 |
|
Seller’s Market |
<2.8 |
*** Absorption Rate:
This month the absorption rate increased for Single Family homes and Apartment Condos while Townhouses decreased slightly. This moves Single family homes closer towards a balanced market, Townhouses in a deeper Sellers market and apartment condos move stronger into a balanced market.
|
Absorption Rate |
Oct 2014 |
Nov 2014 |
Change |
|
Single Family Homes |
1.90 |
2.01 |
+.11 |
|
Condo Townhouse |
1.89 |
1.84 |
-.05 |
|
Condo Apartment |
2.83 |
3.04 |
+.21 |
|
Total Calgary |
2.06 |
2.17 |
+.11 |
**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.
October 2014, Calgary Real Estate Market Snapshot
November 3rd, 2014Stay ahead of the curve by following our Monthly Market Snapshot of the Calgary Real Estate Market. This shows what’s really happening in the Calgary Real Estate Market. 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.
Want to see stats specific to your Community? Register for our Market Report at http://www.calgaryareasolds.com/
An interesting month in the Calgary Real Estate market. Apartment Condos and Townhouses continued to slowly shift away from a seller’s market towards a more balanced market. I find it interesting that Single Family homes moved slightly deeper into a Seller’s market. Attached please find a copy of the stats package from the Calgary Real Estate Board for the month of Oct 2014. Below is a summary of some key areas with a few short comments.
Calgary Listing Inventory: Inventory levels typically decrease at this time of year as some people now wait until the New Year to list. That was the case for Single Family homes. Townhouses and Apartment condos increased very slightly but not big enough to make any substantial difference.
| Inventory | Sept 2014 | Oct 2014 | Change |
| Single Family Home | 2961 | 2780 | -181 |
| Condo Townhouse | 552 | 568 | +16 |
| Condo Apartment | 1081 | 1088 | +7 |
| Total | 4594 | 4436 | -158 |
Calgary Sales:
Typically at this time of year we also see sales numbers decreasing. Sales in October decreased marginally for Townhouses and Apartment Condos while sales for Single Family Homes increased. I believe this may be still a backlog of buyers waiting for the perfect home to come on the market. It is critical to note that even though the sales are decreasing we are still substantially above our sales for 2013.
| Sales | Sept 2014 | Oct 2014 | Change | % Change |
| Single Family Home | 1397 | 1462 | +65 | +4.6 |
| Condo Townhouse | 318 | 300 | -18 | -5.6 |
| Condo Apartment | 432 | 385 | -47 | -10.9 |
| Total | 2267 | 2147 | -120 | -5.3 |
Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:
In October, the benchmark price increased for all categories. Based on what I am seeing my prediction is for prices to continue to increase for Single family homes, and less so for Townhouses but Apartment condo prices should flatten as they are now in a balanced market state. If you have been following my reports you will notice the increases are continuing to get smaller every month.
| Sales Prices | Sept 2014 Benchmark Price | Oct 2014 Benchmark Price | Change |
| Single Family Homes | 512,800 | 513,500 | +700 |
| Condo Townhouse | 336,300 | 337,800 | +1500 |
| Condo Apartment | 298,800 | 299,800 | +1000 |
Sales Prices “Year to Date”
Year to date prices – Prices have increased in all categories. Good news if you are a homeowner.
| Sales Prices | Dec 31 2013 Benchmark Price | Oct 2014 Benchmark Price | Change$ | % Change |
| Single Family Homes | 472,200 | 513,500 | +41,300 | 8.75 |
| Condo Townhouse | 307,100 | 337,800 | +30,700 | +9.99 |
| Condo Apartment | 278,600 | 299,800 | +21,200 | +7.61 |
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 |
| Balanced Market | Between 2.8 to 4.0 |
| Seller’s Market | <2.8 |
Absorption Rate:
This month the absorption rate increased for Townhouses and Apartment Condos and decreased for single family homes. This puts single family homes in more of a sellers market while it puts apartment condos into a balanced market.
| Absorption Rate | Sept 2014 | Oct 2014 | Change |
| Single Family Homes | 2.11 | 1.90 | -.12 |
| Condo Townhouse | 1.74 | 1.89 | +.15 |
| Condo Apartment | 2.50 | 2.83 | +.33 |
| Total Calgary | 2.14 | 2.06 | -.08 |
**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.
Existing Home Market Sales Projected to Reach Highest Level on Record
October 31st, 2014CMHC has just released their Calgary Fall 2014 Housing Market Outlook. They show what has happened and they also predict what they believe is going to happen.
A few interesting tidbits
- MLS sales are expected to increase through 2016
- New MLS listings are expected to increase through 2016 giving buyers more selection.
- Prices in Calgary are expected to rise.
What’s best about this report is that it also gives you they WHY they are making the predictions
If you want to keep on top of the Calgary Housing Market this report is a must read.
Check it out here
Calgary Real Estate Market Snapshot Sept 2014
October 3rd, 2014Stay ahead of the curve by following our Monthly Market Snapshot of the Calgary Real Estate Market. This shows what’s really happening in the Calgary Real Estate Market. 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! The Calgary housing market is deeply entrenched is a Sellers Market however is slowly changing and is moving toward a balanced market.
Below are the details along with a few comments, all numbers were taken from the Calgary Real Estate Boards Stats package for Realtors.
Want to see stats specific to your Community? Register for our Market Report at http://www.calgaryareasolds.com/
Calgary Listing Inventory: Inventory levels for Single Family homes decreased while everything else increased this month. Typically this time of year we show increases in inventory. Single family home inventory went down which is not normal. I believe the reason is that we still have a large backlog of buyers waiting for the perfect home to come on the market, especially in the starter home price range.
| Inventory | Aug 2014 | Sept 2014 | Change |
| Single Family Home | 3021 | 2961 | -60 |
| Condo Townhouse | 437 | 552 | +115 |
| Condo Apartment | 1056 | 1081 | +25 |
| Total | 4514 | 4594 | +80 |
Calgary Sales:
Sales in September decreased marginally in all categories. Sales numbers decreasing is very normal at this time of year. It is critical to note that even though the sales are decreasing we are still substantially above our sales for 2013.
| Sales | Aug 2014 | Sept 2014 | Change | % Change |
| Single Family Home | 1477 | 1398 | -79 | -5.3 |
| Condo Townhouse | 338 | 318 | -20 | -5.9 |
| Condo Apartment | 452 | 432 | -20 | -4.4 |
| Total | 2267 | 2148 | -119 | -5.2 |
Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices:
In September, the benchmark price increased for all categories. Based on the inventory change, prices are likely to increase moderately for a few more months as we move from a seller’s market to a more balanced market. If you have been following my reports you will notice the increases are continuing to get smaller every month.
| Sales Prices | Aug 2014 Benchmark Price | Sept 2014 Benchmark Price | Change |
| Single Family Homes | 512,300 | 512,800 | +500 |
| Condo Townhouse | 328,300 | 330,200 | +1900 |
| Condo Apartment | 298,200 | 298,800 | +600 |
Sales Prices “Year to Date”
Year to date prices – Prices have increased in all categories. Good news if you are a homeowner.
| Sales Prices | Dec 31 2013 Benchmark Price | Sept 2014 Benchmark Price | Change$ | % Change |
| Single Family Homes | 472,200 | 512,800 | +40,600 | +8.6 |
| Condo Townhouse | 307,100 | 330,200 | +23,100 | +7.5 |
| Condo Apartment | 278,600 | 298,800 | +20,200 | +7.3 |
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 |
| Balanced Market | Between 2.8 to 4.0 |
| Seller’s Market | <2.8 |
Absorption Rate:
This month the absorption rate increased in all categories. For Single Family homes the ratio went up even though our inventory decreased – this is because sales decreased more. Condo Townhouses took the largest jump of .45, I believe this is just catching up as last month it went opposite of everything else.
| Absorption Rate | Aug 2014 | Sept 2014 | Change |
| Single Family Homes | 2.05 | 2.11 | +.06 |
| Condo Townhouse | 1.29 | 1.74 | +.45 |
| Condo Apartment | 2.33 | 2.50 | +.17 |
| Total Calgary | 1.99 | 2.14 | +.15 |
**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 share
CIR REALTY wants to give your local community project, charity or community group $5,000!
September 5th, 2014CIR REALTY wants to give your local community project, charity or community group $5,000!
Starting September 1st CIR REALTY will be giving out four, $5,000 grants to local community projects and initiatives. All members of the public are encouraged to submit an entry and winners will be decided by public votes!
You can submit your entry to one of four categories:
1. Locally Registered Non-profit grant
2. Community Facility Improvement grant
3. Youth Extracurricular Activities grant
4. Local Sustainability & Conservation grant
Submitting an entry is easy –
just upload a photo and write a brief description and then share your entry with friends and family and encourage them to vote for you!
Whether you have a community garden that needs a little love, a playground that needs to be rebuilt, a swim team that needs funding or a local animal shelter that needs new dog beds, we want to help YOU!
visit www.cirrealty.ca to enter
2404, 604 East Lake Blvd Airdrie Ab. T4A 0G6
August 27th, 2014&Experience life in the Edge Airdrie’s finest. This 2 Bedroom, 2 Bath and den condo with 2 titled
parking stalls is on the top floor. Kitchen with espresso cabinets, granite counter tops and
stainless steel appliances. Living room is open and offers access to balcony. Master bedroom
features walk though closet and full 3 piece ensuite. Second bedroom located on other side of
unit. Features in suite laundry hookup. The Edge is conveniently located right beside Genesis
Place and is convenient to major routes and transit. Cross Iron Mills is minutes away for all your
shopping needs. Check out our video tour at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xB0SRBoR99E
MLS # C3633148
