Housing Prices Up 43 Percent - In Calgary
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While we all are watching the macro housing market and our own local markets closely, we forget that every region is its own real estate market and can act completely different than the markets as a whole.
Calgary is in the midst of an epic housing boom as the city is in the heart of the Canadian Oil market. With the price of gas rising and the opening of new oil fields, demand has far outstripped the supply of housing. Add to that pay rates that are increasing hourly to staff the 
huge labor demand and you have a housing boom of epic proportion.
Single-family homes also rose by a whopping 43 per cent from last year and sold for an average of $396,694.
Total sales hit an all-time high with 3,550 transactions during the month — a 12.38 per cent increase over May 2005.
“The Calgary and regional real estate market continues to unfold with numbers predictable to the strong economic climate”, said CREB President, Kevin Clark. “With the summer market soon upon us we would anticipate a softening of unit numbers in the weeks ahead, but the prices to remain on a positive trajectory.” via the Calgary Herald
So when we sit around and say real estate is going in the toilet and homes will never sell, remember that housing prices and demand are not a national phenomena.
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Comment by Krystal J on 8 June 2006:
Yeah, this is all great for Calgary. Unless you are trying to find a place to rent, with two cats, you don’t have 1000 bucks to spend a month on a crack house 1 bedroom basement suite with broken windows…oh, and did I mention, utilities not included? Oh, and no pets either.. I’ve had no trouble at all affording rents in Calgary, until now. Alberta has NO rent controls. Calgary is full of greedy money grubbing landlords. I’ve got three more weeks to find something, I’ve been searching for 3 months non-stop… an average of 40 people lining up at every suite showing, that is, if some rich “just moved to Calgary to add to my millions in oil dollars, but there ain’t no houses to buy, and I need a place NOW” jerk doesn’t step in and offer double, even triple the rent, to bypass the showing process. I’ve lived here for 30 years, my entire life.. and in one year, I don’t recognize this city, my heart is broken, I suddenly have lost my home and have been outcast, struggling with the hard fact that I don’t belong here anymore.
Comment by Calgarian Contrarian on 8 June 2006:
While Calgary does have a very hot economy, the housing market is showing significant signs of a bubble.
Demand has indeed overwhelmed supply, but much of the demand is now coming from investors/flippers. Common themes amongst other bubble markets previal: “housing can only go up.” “buy now or never” as if Calgary will become the most expensive place to live in the world.
Most young people now buying homes are not oil rich, in fact they are house poor. huge mortgages taking up a large % of their income. Lots of credit. Many of these new buyers live on excess credit, and when the economy slows down, many will be in trouble.
Comment by rick on 18 January 2007:
Jan 18, 2007
Calgary’s economy is slowing, but people are still thinking like it was last year when the economy was crazy.
May 2006, oil was $78 per barrel
Jan 18, 2007 oil is $50 per barrel
Think about it.
Anyone who says buy a house “now or never” obviously has not lived here in the early 80’s, and even the mid to late 90’s.
I’m saving every dollar, I’m going to keep renting, and then I’m going to buy the house from the sorry person who extended his credit too far, got laid off, and declared bankruptcy, with cash.
As someone who works in the oil industry, I can tell you the bubble has developed a leak.
Comment by Checkmate on 15 November 2007:
This website is dedicated to tracking the Calgary& Edmonton real estate bubble and correction and has lots of research available on the subject:
http://albertabubble.blogspot.com/