August sees record-high sales amidst historic low inventory, pushing prices higher
Thanks to a surge in the condominium market, August sales reached a record high with 2,729 sales. Despite the record levels reported over the past several months, year-to-date sales are still down by 15 per cent compared to last year.While new listings did improve compared to levels seen this time last year, the sales-to-new-listings ratio remained elevated at 87 per cent, preventing any significant shift from the low inventory situation. Inventory levels in August dropped to 3,254 units, not only a record low for the month but well below the 6,000 units that are typically available. Low inventory combined with high sales this month ensured the months of supply remained low at just over one month.“Higher lending rates have caused many buyers to either hold off on purchase decisions or shift toward more affordable products on the market,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “The challenge has been the availability of supply, especially in the detached market. Inventory levels hit record lows in August, and while new listings are higher than last year, conditions continue to favour the seller, driving further price gains.”The unadjusted benchmark price reached $570,700 in August, representing the eighth consecutive monthly gain. Prices have trended up across all property types, with row-style properties reporting the largest increase. Detached Record low inventory levels this month were primarily driven by pullbacks for homes priced under $700,000. While new listings did improve compared to last year, most of the growth was driven by homes priced over $700,000. August sales did improve over last year’s levels. However, limited supply in the lower price ranges has likely prevented stronger detached home sales.Persistently tight conditions drove further price gains this month. As of August, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $696,700. Nearly one per cent higher than last month and over 10 per cent higher than last year's levels. The highest year-over-year price gains occurred in the most affordable regions of the city's North East and East districts. Semi-Detached The 236 new listings and 197 sales did little to change the low inventory situation. While inventory levels did remain comparable to last month, they are still 35 per cent below last year’s levels and at record lows for the month. Relatively strong sales combined with low inventory levels have given sellers the advantage.With months of supply remaining exceptionally low throughout 2023, we continue to see upward pressure on home prices. As of August, the semi-detached unadjusted benchmark price reached $623,200, a monthly gain of one per cent and 10 per cent higher than last year. Price growth did range across each of the Calgary districts, but the strongest year-over-year gains were reported in the most affordable districts of the North East and East. Row The gain in new listings did little to offset the strong sales activity as the sales-to-new-listings ratio remained high at 94 per cent. This prevented any additions to the inventory and left the months of supply below one month for the fifth consecutive month.The persistently tight conditions placed further upward pressure on home prices. In August, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $413,200, a monthly gain of over one per cent and nearly 16 per cent higher than levels reported last year. Year-over-year gains have occurred across all districts, ranging from 12 per cent in the North West to 29 per cent in the East district. Apartment Condominium August sales continue to rise over last month and last year’s levels. Recent gains have caused year-to-date sales to reach 5,582 units, nearly 22 per cent higher than last year’s levels and a new record high for the city. Tight rental markets and relative affordability have driven many purchasers to the apartment condominium sector. At the same time, new listings have struggled to keep pace as the sales-to-new-listings ratio bumped up to 98 per cent in August, causing inventories to ease and the months of supply to drop to one month.The tight market conditions have been placing upward pressure on home prices, and as of August, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $309,100, a monthly gain of over one per cent and a year-over-year gain of over 13 per cent. The City Centre is the only district that did not report a monthly price gain, and prices are still below their previous highs in 2014. This is partly due to better supply/demand balances in the City Centre compared to other parts of the city. REGIONAL MARKET FACTS Airdrie With 204 sales and 206 new listings, the sales-to-new-listings ratio pushed up to 99 per cent, causing inventory levels to decline. With only 176 units available in inventory, the months of supply once again dropped below one month.The persistently tight market conditions continued to place upward pressure on home prices. In August, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $515,600, up from last month and nearly six per cent higher than last year's. Cochrane Following several months of inventory gains, August saw inventory levels fall to 144 units due to a pullback in new listings. While sales did improve compared to last year, the pullback in new listings caused the sales-to-new-listings ratio to increase to 91 per cent. Meanwhile, the months of supply remained below two months, not as tight as what is being experienced in Airdrie but far lower than what we would typically expect in the town.The persistently tight market conditions drove further price gains this month. The unadjusted benchmark price reached $534,700 in August, nearly one per cent higher than last month and over four per cent higher than last year’s levels. Prices trended up across all property types, but the most significant monthly gains occurred in the relatively affordable apartment condominium sector. Okotoks The 59 sales in August were met with 65 new listings in the month, causing further retractions to the already low inventory levels. With only 64 units available, Inventory levels hit a new record low for August. The drop in inventory also caused the months of supply to remain low at one month.Despite the tight market conditions, benchmark prices decreased from last month’s high. The monthly variation is not uncommon for smaller centres, and it is important to note that with a benchmark price of $582,000, prices remain seven percent higher than last year's levels and 10 percent higher than where we were at the start of the year.
Calgary home prices reach new heights
July sees 7th consecutive monthly gain. Rising rates had little impact on sales this month as the 2,647 sales represented a year-over-year gain of 18 percent, reflecting the strongest July levels reported on record. The record-setting pace has been driven mainly by significant gains in the relatively affordable apartment condominium sector. Despite recent gains, year-to-date sales have declined by 19 percent over last year. In line with seasonal expectations, sales and new listings trended down compared to last month. However, this had minimal impact on inventory levels, which remained near the July record low set in 2006. With a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 82 percent and a months of supply of 1.3 months, conditions continue to favour the seller. “Continued migration to the province, along with our relative affordability, has supported the stronger demand for housing despite higher lending rates,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “At the same time, we continue to struggle with supply in the resale, new home and rental markets resulting in further upward pressure on home prices.” In July, the unadjusted total residential benchmark price reached $567,700, marking the seventh consecutive monthly gain. Prices are now over four percent higher than the previous peak in May of 2022. Detached With 1,197 sales and 1,587 new listings in July, inventory levels trended up over the last month. However, with 1,720 units available, inventory levels are at the lowest ever reported for July. Inventory levels have declined across all properties priced below $1,000,000. Shifts in sales and inventory have caused the months of supply to trend up over the one month reported over the past several months. However, conditions remain relatively tight, and prices continued to rise this month. In July, the unadjusted benchmark price rose to $690,500, a monthly gain of nearly one percent and over seven percent higher than last July. Both year-over-year and monthly price growth was strongest in the city's most affordable North East and East districts. Semi-Detached With only 248 new listings in July and 211 sales, the sales-to-new-listings ratio once again pushed above 85 percent. The pullback in new listings relative to sales ensured that inventory levels remained low, and the months of supply remained just over one month. With no shift in the sellers’ market conditions, the unadjusted benchmark price continued to trend up in July, reaching $616,800. Monthly gains were strongest in the North East and East district as both rose by over two per cent compared to June. The only district that experienced stability in monthly prices was the City Centre. Row July reported 488 new listings and 467 sales, resulting in a sales-to-new listings ratio of 96 per cent. This prevented any additions to the inventory and left the months of supply below one month for the fourth consecutive month. The persistent sellers’ market conditions caused further price gains for row properties. As of July, the benchmark price reached $407,500, nearly two percent higher than last month and 14 percent higher than prices reported last July. Prices trended up across all districts, with the highest monthly gain occurring in the west district at nearly four percent. The slowest monthly gains happened in the City Centre. Apartment Condominium July sales continued to rise over last year's levels, leaving year-to-date sales 16 per cent higher than levels reported last year. This is the only property type that has reported a year-to-date gain in sales activity. This has been possible thanks to recent gains in new listings. However, conditions remain tight for apartment condominiums with a sales-new-listings ratio of 84 per cent and a months of supply of 1.4 months. The strong demand relative to supply for this property type has driven further price gains this month. As of July, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $305,900, nearly one per cent higher than last month and over 12 per cent higher than last July. While prices are higher than last year in every district, the city center has yet to see the same level of pressure on prices and has reported the lowest year-over-year growth at nearly nine per cent. REGIONAL MARKET FACTS Airdrie New listings this month remained comparable to last month. Meanwhile, sales trended down, supporting a modest gain in inventory and a sales-to-new listings ratio of 84 percent. This also helped push the months of supply back above one month. Despite the monthly gain in the months of supply, conditions remain exceptionally tight and continue to favour the seller. This caused further price growth as the unadjusted benchmark price rose nearly one per cent over last month to $514,100. Prices have been improving across all property types, but the detached benchmark price has pushed above $600,000 in Airdrie for the first time. Cochrane With 110 new listings and 85 sales, the sales-to-new-listings ratio remained at 77 percent this month. This helped contribute to a modest gain in inventory levels, and the months of supply rose to nearly two months. Despite this shift, conditions remained exceptionally tight in the Centre, and prices continued to trend up. As of July, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $529,700, nearly one percent higher than last month and over three percent higher than last July. Price growth has occurred across all property types, and the detached benchmark price now sits at $626,100. Okotoks July reported 78 new listings and 67 sales, keeping the sales-to-new-listings ratio elevated at 86 percent and preventing any significant shift in inventory levels. Nonetheless, the months of supply did rise to above one month following the exceptionally low levels reported over the past two months. While conditions are not as tight as last month, the market still favours the seller, and prices trended up over last month, with a benchmark price reaching $586,900. Prices now sit over seven percent higher than last year, with the most significant year-over-year gain occurring in the semidetached sector. Detached benchmark prices pushed up to $655,100 in July,
Blinds or Curtains: Which Is Right for Your Home?
When it comes to staging your home for sale, interior decorating can be complicated. The debate between curtains or blinds goes beyond aesthetic preferences, with the design community having a variety of opinions on which is the best choice to help sell your home. Stylistically, there are a lot of choices. There are about as many different styles of blinds as there are windows to adorn them with. From Roman blinds to Venetian blinds, if you prefer the minimalist look of blinds over curtains you will quickly find that your options broaden considerably. That’s not to say you can’t find an array of patterns and styles of curtains, too, but blinds make a bolder statement. Different rooms serve different purposes. Did you know that different types of blinds and curtains are recommended for different rooms of your home? You probably shouldn’t put a roller blind in the bedroom if you’re trying to conserve warmth during the cold Canadian winter, while honeycomb blinds are excellent at trapping heat inside. If you get hot easily in the summer, you might prefer a light cotton curtain in your living room, or a chiffon one in your master bedroom. Blinds accumulate dust. Unlike curtains, which are fairly easy to keep clean, blinds gather dust, which can provide a subtle reason for a buyer to look elsewhere when dust particles gather on the blinds and become visible. Slatted blinds will require frequent wipe-downs and vacuuming around the area. For those suffering from allergies, curtains make for a safer option. Curtains aren‘t pet-friendly. On the other hand, buyers with pets might be turned off by curtains. While there are options to try to discourage cats and other pets from playing with (and ruining) the curtains, some homeowners might be subconsciously turned off by them. Of course, an easy solution that should please everyone is shorter curtains that don’t reach the floor.
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