Housing sales gain pace as Calgary market warms
By Mario Toneguzzi,
By Mario Toneguzzi,
Calgary HeraldSeptember 16, 2009
An upswing in Calgary's real estate market helped push national residential sales in the resale market in August to their largest year-over-year gain in more than two years.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said Tuesday that MLS sales across Canada remained elevated from year-ago levels for the third consecutive month.
Across the country, 42,483 homes traded hands through MLS, an increase of 18.5 per cent from the same month last year and the third consecutive year-over-year gain of more than 15 per cent, but sales in August were also 6.6 per cent below the record for the month set in 2007.
The association said resale activity in August was up from year-ago levels in about three-quarters of all markets including Vancouver (117 per cent), Toronto (27 per cent), Calgary (17 per cent) and Montreal (nine per cent).
The trend in Calgary for the first two weeks of September has also been positive.
"It's beautiful. I have to say there was a light at the end of the tunnel, which is good," said Christina Hagerty, a real estate agent with Re/Max Realty Professionals in Calgary. "What we're seeing right now after a long lull in the first quarter of this year is the momentum slowly building."
According the website of Mike Fotiou of First Place Realty, up until Monday there have been 578 singlefamily home sales this month and 254 condo sales. The average MLS sale price in Calgary for singlefamily homes this month is $458,924, up from $454,130 for the month of August. The median price month-to-date is $395,000, down from$400,000 in August.
So far this month, the average MLS sale price for a condo is $297,520 and the median price is $268,825, both up from the $283,330 average and $260,000 median in August.
"It's actually been crazy. We're doing a deal a day so far in September," said Hagerty.
In August, the national average sale price was $324,779, up 11.3 per cent from a year ago.
Alberta saw MLS sales of 5,407 units for the month, up 7.5 per cent from August 2008, and an average sale price of$343,727, which was also up 0.2 per cent.
Calgary MLS sales, which included all properties, were 2,324 units for an average sale price of $388,725, down by 0.4 per cent from a year ago.
Photo by CarrieAlways
