Potential rising interest rates in new year to coincide with growing economy

The once seemingly clear crystal ball that existed prior to the surge of Calgary housing prices in 2006 turned hazy during the global financial crisis that began in 2008 – and has  remained hazy ever since.

There have been moments since 2008 when predicting the future of interest rates seemed clear, however, other than the obvious that rates will eventually go up, predicting the timing has been elusive. Even the Bank of Canada itself has stopped providing forward-looking statements.

Calgary's neighbouring towns look ahead to 2015

Riding right along with their larger sibling, the towns around Calgary enjoyed a banner year for real estate in 2014. Topping the 4,439 sales seen in 2013, 2014 saw sales rise to 5,513, an increase of 24.2 per cent.

Airdrie was one market that posted particularly good sales activity in 2014, increasing annually by nearly 28 per cent to a new all-time record high of 1,695 units. Okotoks recorded 770 sales, narrowly beating out the 748 sales seen in Cochrane.

When looking for a reason so many communities outside of Calgary are seeing such a pronounced increase in sales, the relative affordability available in centres like Airdrie, Okotoks and Cochrane could be pointed out as a key factor.

Tight market should create more buyers in 2015

The city's tight rental market is expected to spur even more Calgarians into becoming homebuyers in 2015.

Impacted by the same market forces that resulted in record home sales and rising prices in 2014, Calgary's rental housing market saw its own banner of sorts last year. With the vacancy rate amongst the lowest in Canada - between one and 1.4 per cent throughout the year – Calgary rents conversely ranked as the highest in all of Canada. According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), monthly rents for a two-bedroom unit increased by 5.9 per cent over the $1,224 seen in October of 2013 to $1,322 in 2014.

Equilibrium coming to Calgary's housing market in 2015 says annual forecast

The New Year is set to bring some balance to Calgary's housing market, meaning more choice for buyers.

"With more supply in the market expected this year, buyers will likely have more alternatives in all price ranges," said 2015 CREB® president Corinne Lyall. "It's a nice scenario for buyers, but it also means sellers will likely have to adjust their price expectations and be realistic about the amount of time their home will be on the market.

"A REALTOR® can help navigate market conditions and real estate options, which are always unique to each customer," she added. "While challenges in the market can raise concerns for purchasers and sellers, it really comes down to their personal situation and knowing what's right for them. Real estate truly is local."

With Calgary's Cycling Strategy Annual Report on the table, some council members expressed concern over a new bike lane on Northland Drive.

Ward 4 Coun. Sean Chu said he's recieved phone calls and emails - though hasn't seen for himself - that because of the layout of the new bike lanes, buses sometimes have to reverse in order to make a turn.

"If we have a specific bicycle engineer, I think this shouldn't happen," he said.

Earlier this month the City of Calgary mailed out more than half a million property and business assessment notices marking the beginning of a 60-day customer review period - here's a breakdown of some of the numbers.

03/06: Changes to 2015 assessments can only be made if received during the customer review period running until March 6.

$475,000: The 2015 median single residential assessment is $475,000 compared to $430,000 in 2014

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) reported the trend measure of housing starts in Canada was down from November to December 2014.

In December there were 192, 047 starts compared to 194,807 in November.

"The modest decline in the trend in December reflected lower levels of both multiple and single-detached starts," said Bob Dugan, CMHC's chief economist. "Overall, activity in 2014 continued to be supported by employment growth and migration with starts remaining essentially unchanged at 189,401 compared to 187,923 in 2013, These factors are expected to continue to promote stability in the pace of new home construction during 2015."