Jan 28, 2011, Potential buyers sit on sidelines as Calgary MLS sales start 2011 on sluggish note

As a potential first-time homebuyer, Kelly Steward has kept a close eye on Calgary’s residential real estate market for the past six months.

She admits she’s pretty “picky” because she is searching for a property that either has a suited basement or has a basement that can be converted into a legal suite. That makes it more difficult to find the right property and is one of the reasons her plunge into home ownership is taking so long.

“But a lot of things also just seem overpriced on the market still. I’ve been watching it. This month looks like there have been less sales. Hopefully that will help my position a little bit,” says Steward, as sales remain sluggish in the real estate market in Calgary at the beginning of the new year.

For several months now, potential homebuyers have been sitting on the sidelines.

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, as of Friday morning, there have been 710 MLS single-family home sales for an average price of $445,736 in the last 30 days. Current active listings numbered 3,079. Also there have been 263 condo sales in the last 30 days at an average price of $288,390 – the average being buoyed by the $4.1 million sale of a luxury penthouse in Eau Claire. Current active listings for condos stands at 1,613.

In December, there were 734 single-family home transactions for an average sale price of $441,341. In January 2010, there were 762 single-family sales for an average price of $441,217.

In the condo market, December experienced 320 sales at an average price of $282,768 and in January 2010 there were 376 condo transactions at an average of $282,639.

The current situation, with listings slightly higher than a year ago, puts potential buyers like Steward in a good position.

“Yeah I think I feel it puts me at a bit of an advantage in terms of being able to look at the comparables and come in with an offer that is justifiably lower based on the comparables that are on the market,” she says. “That’s kind of a confidence booster for me as a first-time homebuyer. I can rest easy feeling like I’m not going to get ripped off if I educate myself on what’s out there and what other properties are selling for in the area.

“There’s a lot of properties I keep getting updates about that are lowering their listing price and adding photos and tours trying to get people interested. A couple of properties have left the market and then they’re back up in my search again a couple of weeks later. I think people are having a little more trouble selling right now.”

As soon as she is able to find what she is looking for Steward says she will buy.

“Mortgage rates seem to be increasing a little bit here and there so I don’t want to wait too long and because it’s slower this might be a good time for me to make a move.”

In an annual forecast released recently, the Calgary Real Estate Board’s president Sano Stante said single-family home sales are expected to increase by 19.9 per cent this year to 14,500 transactions while the average MLS sale price is predicted to rise 4.1 per cent to $480,000. He also said the real estate board is predicting condominium sales will rise by 15.8 per cent to 6,000 transactions, with the average sale price increasing by 1.8 per cent to $295,900.

In the towns outside of Calgary market, the board is forecasting a 13.5 per cent increase to 4,000 sales with the average price increasing by 2.6 per cent to $368,500.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. forecasts MLS sales, which includes all residential properties, in the Calgary census metropolitan area to increase by two per cent this year to 20,700 units, while the average sale price will rise by 0.5 per cent to $401,000.
By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald