The Calgary Real Estate Board says 2,171 city homes sold in October, marking a 17 per cent increase compared with the same month last year and among the highest levels it’s ever reported for October.
New listings also rose compared with last year, reaching 2,684 units, the most reported for October since 2015.
But inventory levels in October remained more than 40 per cent lower than what’s traditionally available for the month as relatively strong sales prevented any significant shift.
CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie said supply levels remain a challenge in the market and “it will take some time to see a shift toward more balanced conditions and ultimately more price stability.”
The board reported record-high sales of apartment condominiums as buyers adjusted to rising mortgage rates, and noted year-to-date price gains for the category have occurred across every district in the city.
Sales of detached homes were higher than a year earlier, at 976 transactions, with lower-priced homes increasingly difficult to find across the city.
The board said available homes were the lowest ever reported for October, with only homes priced above $1 million showing improvement.
Price gains were reported in every CREB district except the South East. Year-to-date benchmark prices have increased the most in the North East and East districts, the board said.
Price and availability continue to drive record condo sales in the city, with buyers drawn toward units priced under $300,000.
The unadjusted October benchmark price for a Calgary condo reached $316,600 in October, 16 per cent higher than a year earlier. The average sale price was $321,641.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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