Calgary Real Estate News

MLS® SALES HELD STEADY IN 2007

January 1st, 2008

MLS® year end sales for residential and condominium held steady in 2007, showing very slight decreases in both categories, according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®).

Year-to-date Calgary single family metro sales as of December 31, 2007 were 18,438, a decrease of 3.53 per cent from the year-end 2006 sales figure of 19,113. Single family Calgary metro sales for December 2007 were 846, a decrease of 28.91 per cent from the 1,190 sales recorded in December 2006.

Single family Calgary metro new listings added for the month of December totaled, 984, a 1.55 per cent increase over the 969 new listings added in December 2006. New listings coming to the market year-to-date were 31,722, an increase of 17.44 over the 27,011 new listings brought to market in 2006.

The median price of a single family Calgary metro home in December 2007 was $406,788 showing a 10.54 per cent increase over December 2006, when the median price was $368,000. The year-to-date median price was $421,000, an increase of 16.62 per cent from the 2006 year-to-date median price of $361,000. All Calgary Metro MLS® statistics include properties listed and sold only within Calgary’s City limits. The median price is the price that is midway between the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given period of time. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price.

Calgary metro condominium new listings added in December 2007 were 468, showing an increase of 9.86 per cent from the 426 new listings added in December 2006. Year-to-date new condominium listings added were 13,057 showing a 22.61 percent increase over the year-end listings, closing at 10,649, in 2006. Condominiums sold in the month of December 2007 were 393, a decrease of 26.27 per cent from the 533 condominiums sold in December 2006. At the end of 2007, 8,236 condominiums had changed hands, showing a decrease of 1.91 percent over the 8,396 condominium sales recorded at the end of 2006. Calgary condominium and single family metro sales sold in 2007 totaled 26,674; condominiums made up 30.9 per cent of that number.

“As we can see from the final numbers in 2007, sales have definitely held steady. In my opinion this can only point to two things; consumer confidence and stability in the market place. Calgarians continue to have confidence in our economy and real estate market”, remarked CREB® President, Ron Stanners. “The spring of 2007 was an unpredictable market, with multiple offers and relatively low inventory. As we moved into the summer months we saw a slow down in the sales activity and an increase in the amount of inventory on the market. This was a correction in the market, which was inevitable. I am very proud of the way REALTORS® adapted to the ups and downs of the 2007 market. REALTORS® worked hard with buyers and sellers to ensure they were getting maximum value, at a time when the market was changing so rapidly; they handled themselves both ethically and professionally.” concluded, Stanners.

The year-to-date average price of a single family Calgary metro home in 2007 was $472,230, and the yearto- date average price of a metro condominium was $316,370. Average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differentials between geographical areas.

For more information, please visit creb.com.