According to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) things are looking pretty solid late in 2012 for Alberta's largest city.
In fact, the CREB says the average residential selling price in Calgary hit $437,306 for October, up almost 7 per cent from October 2011. October sales volumes were also up about 23 per cent from the previous year.
The average price for a single-family home sold in October 2012 in Calgary hit $492,975, up 8.25 per cent from a year before. Condo prices, in comparison, were up about 5.58 per cent, with the average price hitting $289,819 for October.
Observers and analysts sound bullish on the Calgary market these days.
Marcus Arkan, CTO of Syndicate Mortgages, says things are looking very good in the city.
"There are a lot of buyers in the market that want to explore their options as well," said Arkan. "Due to economic stability in the region, the affordability factor is not much of a problem for people in Calgary. Although the prices are expected to rise again in the next quarter, we are quite confident that the interest of buyers will remain intact."
According to the BMO Housing Confidence Report published in October, Calgary is leading all major cities in Canada in terms of the willingness of homebuyers to actually move ahead with a purchase.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) numbers also suggest things are looking up in Alberta's largest housing markets.
CMHC reports that Edmonton-area housing starts were up a whopping 37.6 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, to 3,659.
Calgary housing starts were up 9.5 per cent for the same period, but were lagging behind the capital-area total, with 700 fewer units at 2,961.
Housing starts were down in three of five of Alberta's middle cities, but almost doubled in the third quarter in Medicine Hat - good news in the lagging southeast service centre.
from Western Investor December 2012
