Weak sales activity relative to inventory places downward pressure on prices

Persistently high inventory levels within Calgary's residential resale housing market, combined with weak sales activity, contributed to buyers' conditions in November, according to CREB®'s monthly housing summary, released Tuesday.

Monthly sales totaled 1,263 units, a 28 per cent decline from last year and nearly 20 per cent below the 10-year average.

Meanwhile, the amount of new listings in the market increased by five per cent over last November, and moved five per cent above 10-year average.

By the numbers

Deciphering all the information coming out of Calgary's housing market can be difficult at the best of times. And with the number of homes changing hands under more scrutiny than ever, it's a good time to dig a little deeper.

CREB®Now takes a look at five figures surrounding Calgary's housing market.

$7.9 billion
Through the first 10 months of 2015, the total value of Calgary homes sold in the city sits at 7.9 billion. While still a staggering figure, the number is already $3 billion shy of the value of homes sold through the first 10 months last year, a drop of 39.2 per cent.

New developments increasingly designed to minimize impact on agricultural neighbours

A suburban home with a two-car garage is hardly what most people would call a potential threat to our nation's food security.

Yet as subdivisions push evermore into rural areas — with neighbourhoods bordering on fields of wheat and other crops — their impact on agricultural land has increasingly become a hot-button topic, says Tim Dietzler, an agricultural expert with Rocky View County.

"This is not a new issue in this area or any area in Alberta with development new agricultural land," he says. "But many municipalities now pay much more attention to the potential problems that can arise."

City becomes first to do so in Canada

Calgary has become the first city in Canada to offer complete online residential permit servicing.

Residential ePermit customers applying for new home construction permits (single and semi-detached homes, and associated garages) can now apply for these permits, pay for services and process all their inspections, using a single online tool.

The latest ePermit upgrade provides customers new inspection services and options, which completes a start-to-finish approach to doing business with the City online.

New vision for Paskapoo Slopes area

A controversial mixed-use project slated for west Calgary has revealed its development plan.

Located along the Trans-Canada Highway, Trinity Hills would bring 700,000 square feet of retail space, 250,000 square feet of office space along with 1,500 residential units to the East Paskapoo Slopes area adjoining Canada Olympic Park.

The plans for site, which had been met with fears of over-development from some local residents, calls for nearly three million square feet in total development which would consume roughly one-third of the existing green space.

Pace of construction still below 2014 levels: CMHC

A slight jump in single-detached and multi-family construction in Calgary last month fueled a month-over-month increase in housing starts, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

Housing starts in the city were trending at 13,780 units in October compared to 13,050 in September. The trend is a six month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of total housing starts.

"Housing starts trended higher in October as both single-detached and multi-family construction rose from the previous month," said Richard Cho, CMHC's principal of market analysis for Calgary. "Despite the increase from a month earlier, the pace of construction through most of this year has been below 2014 levels due to a rise in supply and a slowdown in migration and employment growth."

Sales activity remains well below long-term averages  

Elevated inventory levels in October contributed to a second consecutive month of price declines in Calgary's resale residential housing market.

Benchmark prices declined 0.7 per cent from the previous month, and 1.2 per cent from the same time last year, to $453,100.

"Persistent weakness in the overall economy continued to impact housing demand in Calgary as October sales were nearly 16 per cent below long-term averages," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. "In addition, new listings did not decline enough to prevent inventory gains and, ultimately, price contractions."

Boomers see opportunities in growing city

Laura Routledge already had a lifetime of large-home living in her rear-view mirror when she first started thinking about moving to Airdrie

"I raised my two kids in Carstairs, so I (was) familiar with the area and watched it grow," said the 61-year-old. "I had a huge house in Chestermere and my husband passed away suddenly six years ago, so that was the incentive to downsize."

With a son and daughter-in-law already established in the growing city just north of Calgary, Routledge packed up her belongings, her two cats and hopes of a more tranquil life in Airdrie.

Higher inventory levels consistent throughout surrounding area

Alberta's economic downturn caught up with the residential housing industry outside of Calgary in the third quarter as price declined for the first time in 2015, says a new report from CREB®.

Despite the slight scale back, prices remained relatively resilient when compared to double-digit declines in sales that sparked a rise in inventory levels.

In its latest surrounding area quarterly summary, CREB® reported benchmark prices from July to September fell by 0.41 per cent from the previous quarter to $433,033. That compares to gains realized in the two previous quarters.

Residents tout benefits of acreage living

Anna Garcia loves her neighbours.

The Bragg Creek resident says they're relatively quiet, active and the kids are cute.

Did she mention they're a family of moose?

"We saw her (the mom) almost daily, licking right off our deck. Those moments are spectacular. It makes us feel exceptionally lucky," said Garcia.

The lure of living so close to nature was too much for Garcia and her husband to resist when the couple uprooted from Willow Park in southeast Calgary to their largely forested Bragg Creek acreage in 2001, where Garcia's husband also owns a furniture business.