Understanding the lingo

CREB® released its regional housing market statistics earlier this week for January, showing the residential housing market is continued to be challenged by energy sector uncertainty. But what does it mean for homeowners?

CREB®Now breaks down the lingo in this week's "Five Things" feature.

Sales
CREB® reported that sales of all housing types in Calgary are down 13 per cent from last January to 763 units. By segment, however, a slightly different story begins to unfold. While sales in the detached market decreased by an identical 13 per cent, the attached sector dropped by just over 10 per cent, while the apartment sector fell by a precipitous 16 per cent. For sellers, this shows which segments are more active than others – keeping in mind that the detached sector still represents nearly two-thirds of all sales activity.

Housing stats indicate some buyers still sitting on the sidelines

Calgary's resale residential housing market picked up where it left off in 2015, with buyers' conditions prevailing through every major category last month, according to CREB®.

Yet with many homebuyers still sitting on the fence, local housing officials caution that historically it's been difficult to find a utopian moment to enter the market.

"Buyers, especially first-time buyers and investors, will do their best to time the bottom, but I think that will be really difficult," said CREB® president Cliff Stevenson, noting that few were able to do so during the last recession in 2008/09 when the upturn happened quickly. "I think this year it will be a guessing game as to when will be the best time to get into the market."

Shared-equity housing and other programs are creating solutions to the city's affordable housing crisis

Affordable housing advocates say more moderate population growth this year will not be enough to break down barriers to homeownership that many Calgarians continue to face.

Calgary Homeless Foundation vice-president of strategy Kevin McNichol said the housing market still cannot keep up with demand, with historically high prices prohibiting many people from owning a home of their own.

In late December, more than 3,600 people were on the Calgary Housing Company's wait list for subsidized and affordable housing units — the largest number of Calgarians waiting for a home since March 2012.

Important to read the fine print when purchasing seeds



Last spring, my grandkids, so excited to hear about genetically modified organisms (GMOs), decided to make their own genetically modified food. Cohen, 7, worked with his brother Kale, 9, to develop a plant that would grow potatoes in the ground and pumpkins above ground. They cut a hole in each potato, stuffed a pumpkin seed into the hole and planted their modified potato as a unit.

"The leaves looked a bit like pumpkins," said Kale, "And we did get potatoes, but we never got any pumpkins."

While the experiment seemed to be a failure, Cohen later wondered aloud about a seedless kiwi he was eating. His mom explained that some foods don't have seeds because they have been genetically modified. She also told him some types of modified seed sprout and make grain that won't grow again because they have a suicide gene designed by big companies to die instead of grow.

Redevelopment is being envisioned as a 800,840-square-foot mixed-use hub.

Marshall Tittemore Architects (MTa) confirmed it has submitted a development permit application for the redevelopment of the Stadium Shopping Centre that would create a proposed 800,840-square-foot mixed-use hub in Calgary's northwest.

Over the past nine months, MTA has been working in collaboration with current shopping centre owner Western Securities, as well as Stuart Olsen on the proposed development.

"MTa is excited to continue its support to the entire team in professing this proposed development in the near future, transforming this area into a social diverse mixed-use urban environment," the company said in a release.

How to stage your home during the 'off-season'

Your home has been on the market. You want an offer. You want it fast.

Problem is, nothing kills your property's curb appeal than winter – piles of snow, leafless trees, mud and ice.

So how do you make your home stand out in a buyer's market during the "off-season?"

Calgary-based home stager Pam Fieber suggests you start by keeping all walkways — front and back — safe, clean, hazard-free and easy to access.

Aging demographic continues to shape Calgary's housing market

As the largest segment of the population in North America, baby boomers have undoubtedly shaped our world more than any other age group. And their impact on housing is profound.

Now, while this generation, born between 1946 and 1964, is becoming increasingly gray, the real estate industry is responding to their needs for housing.

Many developers in Calgary are turning their attention to high-density high-rises in the Beltline and other centrally located neighbourhoods to reflect boomers' demand for stylish, worry-free living, said Parham Mahboubi, vice-president of planning and marketing at Qualex-Landmark—a Vancouver-based development firm which is the force behind Park Point in the Beltline along 12th Avenue S.W.

Slow sales activity and inventory gains place downward pressure on prices

Calgary's housing market is starting 2016 firmly in buyers' market territory, much the same as last year ended, according to CREB®'s monthly housing summary for January.

"The recent slide in energy prices has raised concerns about near-term recovery prospects for the city," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. "Energy market uncertainty and a soft labour market are weighing on many aspects of our economy, including the housing sector."

City wide, January sales totaled 763 units, 13 per cent below last year and 43 per cent below long-term averages. While new listings declined by 16 per cent compared to January 2015, the number of new listings far outpaced the sales, causing inventory gains. January's city wide months of supply levels rose above six months.

Bank of Canada's overnight lending rate exposes disparities in Canada's housing markets

The Bank of Canada's decision to leave its overnight lending rate unchanged at 0.5 per cent is expected to have vastly different impacts on markets across the country, say experts.

The bank's decision to stand pat on the rate it established last July instead of downgrading it by 0.25 per cent will do little to help revive what's expected to be a sluggish economy in 2016, said BMO Financial Group chief economist Douglas Porter in an interview with CREB®Now.

"It's certainly not going to be enough to turn around Calgary," he said. "Is it enough to revive the Canadian economy? No, a quarter point is not going to do it. But there's only so much a central bank can do without risking other things, and I think we've seen those risks in the past year."

Calgary quadrant's showing staying power with price resilience

Northeast Calgary bucked housing trends in the city in 2015 by seeing strong price increases in the resale residential market, as opposed to others where prices remained flat or dipped, according to CREB®.

And some in the industry expect the still-relatively affordable offerings in the city's "new north" may continue to make it the darling of this year's even tougher market.

CREB® numbers show the annual benchmark price (the price of a typical home year-over-year) in the northeast rose 7.05 per cent for detached homes in 2015. When attached and apartment units are included, the rise was 6.21 per cent.