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Stories Tagged - CREB®
March 18, 2016 | Mario Toneguzzi
The many faces of prices
Sellers and potential buyers in today's residential real estate market can be understandably excused if they are confused about what's happening with housing prices.
After all, for both, price changes in the market are supremely important. Plus, CREB® gathers price information that, to the untrained eye, can tell different stories.
For example, in February, CREB® reported the benchmark price in the city for all MLS® properties that were sold was $445,000, or down 3.45 per cent from February 2015. However, the average MLS® sale price increased by 2.72 per cent to $472,529 while the median price was unchanged at $420,000.
From top to bottom, that's a difference of close to $30,000.
"It's looking at values based on criteria such as square footage, total bedrooms and bathrooms, location, property type."
So what should one look at if they are either selling a home in this tough market or hoping to buy one?
A good start would be by looking at what each price category entails, said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. For example, the median price looks at every sale that has occurred in the market, ranking them from lowest to highest. The median price is the midpoint of all the sales.
Lurie said the average sale price is adding up the total dollar sum of the purchases divided by the number of total sales.
Feb. 04, 2016 | Rose Ugoalah
Outside of the box
Affordable housing advocates say more moderate population growth this year will not be enough to break down barriers to homeownership that many Calgarians continue to face.
Calgary Homeless Foundation vice-president of strategy Kevin McNichol said the housing market still cannot keep up with demand, with historically high prices prohibiting many people from owning a home of their own.
In late December, more than 3,600 people were on the Calgary Housing Company's wait list for subsidized and affordable housing units — the largest number of Calgarians waiting for a home since March 2012.
Jan. 25, 2016 | Rose Ugoalah
From 'for sale' to 'sold'
What separates a home that sits on the market for months from one that's sold in a week? Industry experts say it comes down to properly executing proven strategies and techniques.
Calgary-based real estate agent Christina Hagerty with Re/Max Realty Professionals, who has been working the industry for more than two decades, said homes that sell quickly in this market tend to have sellers who are willing to do what needs to be done quickly – even if that means cancelling poker night for a last-minute showing.
She added motivated sellers also know the market before they list – meaning they won't waste money on things such as unnecessary pre-sale renovations.
Jan. 12, 2016 | Gerald Vander Pyl
Apartment uncertainty
Apartment-style condominiums were the hardest hit within Calgary's resale residential housing market in 2015, with price drops and inventory gains that outpaced both attached and detached products
On an annual basis, the apartment benchmark price slide by 0.4 per cent to $292,818 by the end of November, according to CREB®. In comparison, year-to-date benchmark prices in the detached and attached sectors during the same period actually increased by 1.7 and 2.1 per cent, respectively.
Yet more telling is how apartment prices reacted during the year, as it dropped by four per cent from $298,700 in January to $287,000 in November. During this period, benchmark prices in the detached and attached sectors declined by a more modest 1.5 and one per cent, respectively.
Jan. 12, 2016 | Lindsay Holden
Space to spare
Nearly one out of five floors in the office towers that make up Calgary's famous skyline now sit empty, according to CBRE, which anticipates vacancy rates to increase further in 2016.
"Oil and gas companies on every level – from junior start-up to intermediate to major companies – everyone has gone through some form of layoff and therefore and have excess space," said Greg Kwong, managing director at the commercial real estate services firm.
Calgary's downtown office market ended 2015 with vacancy rates topping 17.4 per cent – nearly double from 9.8 per cent in 2014, according to CBRE's 2016 Commercial Real Estate Market Outlook.
Nov. 24, 2015 | CREBNow
CREB® mourns passing of Calgary MLA
"The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) is very saddened by the sudden passing of MLA Manmeet Bhullar," the member organization said in a posting on its website. "Mr. Bhullar was a great friend to Alberta REALTORS® and a strong advocate for the average Albertan. During his time as Minister of Service Alberta, he took an important leadership role in initiating reforms to the Condominium Property Amendment Act for the betterment of the organized real estate industry and the home-buying public.
"Mr. Bhullar will remembered for his humour, passion, intellect and, above all, his dedication to public service. He will be greatly missed by all those who had the privilege of meeting and working with him. CREB® extends its condolences to Mr. Bhullar's family, friends and colleagues."
Nov. 03, 2015 | CREBNow
What's your home's Transit Score?
Transit Score will now be made available on select listings on REALTOR.ca, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) announced recently.
The national real estate agency said the addition is in response to a "demographic and socioeconomic shift toward sustainable transportation." It also noted that in a 2013 Nanos survey, 59 per cent of respondents indicated that the Transit Score would be valuable when assessing listings on REALTOR.ca.
The addition of the Transit Score coincides with the change in the implementation of the already popular Walk Score. Both scores will now be positioned in the new "Walk Score + Directions" tab, rather than at the bottom of the listing details page.
Oct. 14, 2015 | Barbara Balfour
Outside the box
Condominium corporation rules surrounding key-storage systems that provide real estate professionals and their buyers with access to properties for sale are often creating unsafe conditions, say industry officials.
"The condominium corporation prescribes where the lockbox may be placed according to condo bylaws, and it's not always in the most ideal location in terms of safety," said Lisa Roberts, manager of Member Programs at CREB®.
"In this situation, safety can be viewed through two aspects – in cold weather, having to walk down an alleyway where the pavement is icy, or through an area that is not well lit or well trafficked in order to retrieve the keys and show the property that is listed for sale."
Sept. 01, 2015 | CREBNow
Inventory levels rise
Calgary's residential resale housing market recorded further easing in absorption rates in August due to weaker sales activity.
Sales in the city declined by 27 per cent to 1,643 units last month relative to the same time last year and 12 per cent below 10-year averages.
"Persistent weakness in the energy sector weighed on sales activity this month, which once again retracted to levels well below the norm for the city," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.
May 26, 2015 | CREBNow
Roar!
From community impact to mentorship distinction, Calgary's real estate community honoured some of the city's most exceptional REALTORS® at the second annual ROAR Awards this past weekend.
At this year's event, which was held at TELUS Spark, and emceed by Canadian comedienne and actress Jessica Holmes, five exceptional REALTORS® took home hardware in categories that included Marketing Excellence, Mentorship Distinction, Community Impact, Commitment to Education, along with the award for People's REALTOR®.
"It's humbling to think that people took time out of their busy lives [to nominate me]. It's really an honour," said Leisa Fuller of Century 21 PowerRealty.ca, who took home the award for the People's Realtor®.
The award, which is voted on by the public, is given to an individual who consistently goes above and beyond to deliver exemplary customer service to clients.
"Every client that hires doesn't have to – they decide to. And they pay us to do a job that I really love. I just can't imagine doing anything else," said Fuller.
With more than 140 nominations for this year's awards, ROAR committee chair Robyn Hauck said picking the winners wasn't an easy process. Nominations came from the public, in the case of the People's Realtor® award, or REALTORS®, in the case of the other four categories. Winners were eventually screened, interviewed and selected by sub-committees consisting of REALTORS®, past winners and community liaisons.
"At the end of the day, the people we selected were clearly the top performers who consistently went beyond what's expected to excel, inspire, give back and help others succeed," said Hauck. "This is what the ROARs are all about and what it means to be among the best in real estate.
"The winners are examples of what clients look for in a REALTOR®: professional, reliable, courteous and committed to providing the best possible experience. We were so impressed with all the nominees this year. They've all worked hard to deliver outstanding results for their clients and the ROAR Awards made sure their efforts didn't go unnoticed."
Lindsey Smith of CIR Realty took home the Commitment to Education Award for his devotion to professional development, commitment to sharing new concepts, teaching and for encouraging others.
"I think education for me is something that is a bit of a selfish pursuit, because those of you who are mentors and are giving back know that in order to teach someone you have to learn the stuff so in depth yourself that you become so much better," he said.
Milton Brandson of Century 21 PowerRealty.ca walked away with the award for Community Impact for his involvement with the Rotary Club of Airdrie, among other local commitments, for the past three decades.
"I think volunteering for me is not about a specific program or project but an accumulation of 35 years of small service in small ways," he said.
Singling out the REALTOR® who uses creativity to take their brand to the next level, the Marketing Excellence award recognized Chris Mulders of CIR Realty. The Airdrie-born-and-raised REALTOR® is behind www.airdrie360.com, which regularly features neighbourhood posts, videos, photos and real estate market reports.
"In addition to helping me grow my business, [marketing] has really let me meet some incredible people and do some good in my community," said Mulders.
Robyn Moser of CIR Realty was honoured for actively transfering her knowledge and good working habits to the next generation.
"My mentors were the people who probably didn't even know it," she said.
"And for me, that was a big thing. We've all made impacts in our community and our industry to people in our industry, and we have no idea that we've done these amazing things and made someone want to be better, drive to be better and strive to be better and even to see the possibility to be better."
For more information about the ROAR Awards, visit www.roarawards.com.
