Tight supply of homes for sale along with a market with an appetite to buy could push home prices upward.Calgary’s resale real estate market, already marked by high buyer demand amid dwindling supply, is likely to get a lot hotter now that the busy spring season has arrived.
Traditionally, the busiest time of the year for real estate, the spring market began March 1 and will end June 30. And it could very well be among the busiest in Calgary’s history given already strong demand in January and February in the face of very low supply, realtors note.
“It feels like the spring market has come early,” says Trung Bien, realtor with eXp Realty.
“Wicked low” inventory, along with buyers — many of whom held off last year — now eager to transact this spring are fuel for already tinder-dry market conditions set by a strong start to the year, he adds. Calgary Real Estate Board statistics show sales grew 23 per cent in February year over year, while new listings only increased 14 per cent.
At the current pace, the supply of homes for sale can only sustain about one month of sales.
Already, the benchmark price for a home climbed 10 per cent to $585,000 year over year last month, marking yet another consecutive month of record highs.
Prices are likely to continue their ascent this spring season with more buyers and sellers entering the market, based on findings of a recent study from Zoocasa.
It examined spring market activity across Canada for the last five years, uncovering that 2019’s peak for activity nationally occurred in May. In 2020, the apex of sales actually happened in July due to the pandemic, which mostly froze sales activity in April and May.
Source: Calgary Herald