Has the condo market stabilized? A year ago we were on the verge of being flooded with thousands of new units with absolutely no demand to meet it. Lehman Brothers had collapsed and the global financial system was stalling. Consumer confidence was shaken and Calgary real estate sales slowed to historic lows for the next few months.
Several things then occurred which changed the game. Condo projects were cancelled and that meant a large portion of units that were to come online this year did not. Interest rates were dropped to never seen lows which increased affordability levels. Pent-up demand from fall/winter was unleashed in the spring resulting in record sales – all this in a year Canada was in recession with job losses mounting.
Has the condo market rebounded? Well, it certainly no longer looks bleak like it did last year. The inventory absorption rate for MLS listed inventory is snugly in “balanced” territory. (Edit: See comments below for units under construction) Hopefully there wont be any substantial price increases in the near future as that will only push affordability out of reach again – especially late next year as interest rates are poised to rise, perhaps even aggressively. (Edit: See comments below) For the majority of 2009, the median has hovered around $250-$260 – it’s nice to see some semblance of stability in a Calgary market that has been quite volatile.
What are your thoughts on the future of the Calgary condo market?
Below are some sales and price stats comparing the first 15 days of September to previous years:
) and purchase the historical data for Calgary with an index going back to 1981 for:
Metro-Calgary SFH home prices recorded their first year-over-year increase on a monthly basis since February 2008 (see previous years statistics in the graphs below)
