Former CREB® president Corinne Lyall focused on different drivers behind housing market in 2015

Corinne Lyall is all too familiar with many of the challenges currently facing homebuyers and sellers in Calgary. She served as CREB®'s president just last year when the economic downturn was arguably at its strongest, is currently past president on the board of directors for the real estate member organization and is broker at her own firm Royal Lepage Benchmark.

Yet her message today is the same as it was when she had the gavel in hand: real estate is personal.

Elevated supply levels placed downward pressure on prices in December  

With the focus shifting toward the holiday season, December sales activity slowed to 878 units in the city, 18 per cent below last year at this time and well below the five- and 10-year averages, according to CREB®'s final monthly housing summary of 2015.

As a result, the unadjusted benchmark price dipped to $448,800, a 0.42 per cent decline over the previous month and 2.33 year over year.

CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie noted December followed a pattern established early on in 2015, which was characterized by slower housing demand.

A look back at Calgary's resale residential housing market

If nothing else, 2015 was an interesting year for Calgary's housing market.

While it remained resilient even while oil prices began to slide, the conditions that arose as 2014 drew to a close signaled a change was in the air.

And so as Christmas came and went, December 2014 saw the first year-year-year sales decline following 11 consecutive months of year-over-year growth. And with little expectation that things would change, once-lofty expectations gave way to a more realistic outlook.

Weak sales activity relative to inventory places downward pressure on prices

Persistently high inventory levels within Calgary's residential resale housing market, combined with weak sales activity, contributed to buyers' conditions in November, according to CREB®'s monthly housing summary, released Tuesday.

Monthly sales totaled 1,263 units, a 28 per cent decline from last year and nearly 20 per cent below the 10-year average.

Meanwhile, the amount of new listings in the market increased by five per cent over last November, and moved five per cent above 10-year average.

CREB® report singles out changing conditions in apartment sector

Buyer's conditions in the apartment sector are contributing to a continued shift in Calgary's resale residential housing market, which experienced a second consecutive month of price declines in October, according to CREB®.

The local housing agency noted that while overall, new listings in the city did not decline enough to prevent inventory gains and, ultimately, price contractions, the biggest shift continued to occur in the apartment sector.

CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie noted months of supply in that sector have gone from a low of three months in June to nearly six months in October.

New feature to join Walk Score on REALTOR.ca

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.

Sales activity remains well below long-term averages  

Elevated inventory levels in October contributed to a second consecutive month of price declines in Calgary's resale residential housing market.

Benchmark prices declined 0.7 per cent from the previous month, and 1.2 per cent from the same time last year, to $453,100.

"Persistent weakness in the overall economy continued to impact housing demand in Calgary as October sales were nearly 16 per cent below long-term averages," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. "In addition, new listings did not decline enough to prevent inventory gains and, ultimately, price contractions."

Analysis shows inner-city real estate prices uneffected by LRT

Since 1981, the CTrain has transformed how Calgarians get around town.

Yet what impact has the city's light-rail transit system had on property values?

And do they truly become selling features when buying or selling homes?

An analysis of inner-city communities along the West LRT line, which opened in December 2012, show average benchmark home prices reported by CREB® in neighbourhoods such as Spruce Cliff and Killarney saw increases on par with communities not immediately adjacent to the line such as Altadore and South Calgary.

Inventories rise as sales activity softens further

Following four months of relative stability, unadjusted benchmark prices eased as expected in September to $456,100, a 0.26 per cent decline compared with last year.

Most of this aggregate moderation was due to price declines in the apartment sector brought on by higher-than-average inventory levels.

"Overall sales activity relative to new listings caused a softening in absorption rates, which resulted in inventory gains and ultimately placed moderate downward pressure on pricing," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

Not about snooping neighbours, say experts 

Calgarian Kevin Konynenbelt listed his house for sale this past spring, just as layoffs and low oil prices were starting to make headlines.

The beautiful attached home, located on a quiet cul-de-sac in Strathcona Park, was listed at just under $500,000.

It featured an attached garage, new appliances, gleaming hardwood and a large private back yard. It was also close to excellent schools, and was mere minutes from downtown.

Yet Konynenbelt initially struggled with the prospect of holding an open house to help sell it. Letting strangers roam around his belongings and walk across his hardwood? Not a chance, he thought.