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“Albertans have been in a recession for over five years, so we are used to living in a slower economy where we have seen declining housing prices.”
Accordingly, he suggests many people have been slow to recognize the mounting strength in the housing market with prices slowly gaining upward momentum. In fact, Calgary Real Estate Board figures show over the last few months year-over-year gains for the benchmark price of home.
“Conversely, I see the provinces where there has been high real estate (price) inflation that people still feel prices will increase more,” he says.
The RBC survey reflects this somewhat nationally with 52 per cent of respondents agreeing prices will only go up in the near future. That increases to 60 per cent in British Columbia and 56 per cent in Ontario, but it falls to 37 per cent in Alberta.
Additionally, it found COVID-19 still factors heavily into homeowners’ thinking. While 78 per cent nationally are concerned about its impact on the economy, that increases to 88 per cent in Alberta. Yet the number of respondents concerned the second wave will negatively impact the housing market falls to 43 per cent nationally and 45 per cent in Alberta.
Lowell suggests Albertans’ more favourable view of real estate compared with the overall economy may reflect what he’s seeing in Calgary with many would-be buyers and sellers. He notes many may be sensing home prices “are at or very close to the bottom and to wait much longer in light of today’s (low) mortgage rates could be missing out on a buying opportunity.”
