When talking home ownership it comes as little surprise in the midst of an economic downturn to hear talk of a buyer’s market and in some parts of the province, including Calgary, the outlook is a little grim.
But Cochrane does not appear to be facing the same pressures as other areas across the province, with respect to resale homes.
Eleanor Kidder of Kidder & Company Real Estate & Property Management Ltd. (formerly with Royal LePage Integrity) notes that while sales in the lower-end of the market – the high 200s through 400s – have maintained, “people are giving a second thought to anything up over the $500/550 mark”.
A large segment of Kidder’s business is property management. While there has been a softening in the rental market, Kidder said the best advice she can give home owners struggling to retrieve their desired rents is to lower the price rather than carry even one month of vacancy.
Ann-Marie Lurie is the chief economist with the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).
“Cochrane is a bit interesting to me, the sales levels this year actually improved (slightly) since last year … in Calgary, overall activity remains 20 per cent lower than long-term averages.”
Calgary market statistics from July 2015 and July 2016 show a 6.81 per cent reduction in detached sales year-over-year (from 7,416 homes to 6,911); attached sales year-over-year show a 10.9 per cent decline (from 2,663 homes to 2,373).
Of the 370 sales in Cochrane so far this year, houses are on the market for an average of 79 days; the most sales activity is between $300-$400,000, according to CREB’s year-to-date statistics.
July 2016 compared to July 2015 show a 9.5 per cent increase (from 211 to 231) in detached sales; attached sales year-over-year show a 2.78 per cent increase (from 108 to 111 homes).
According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton, overall resale is down around 15 per cent. In July 2016, 938 single-family homes were reported sold, which is down 16 per cent from the month prior and 16 per cent from July 2015.
Edmonton homes that sold in July sat an average of 56 days, up six days from July 2015; July is noted as one of the slowest months in the real estate market.
Lurie noted that Cochrane is considered a growing community, where statistics may be less reliable or reflective of the economic downturn compared to a larger centre.
Sales in the higher end of the market (more than $500,000) have continued to fall.
