QUOTE (TerryF @ Mar 22 2008, 10:52 PM)
Money,
You should compare March 08 with March 07. You will see it is higher this year than last. Prices never go evenly upwards. There are up/down cycles within any year. Spring is usually on the upswing, summer it starts to slow down, and by the end of the year some reversal is not unusual. To do a fair comparison year to year, you should look at the same month year over year. CREB always reports this statistic in their monthly reports and it IS up from last year.
As for crystal balls, look at the market fundamentals and you will see that Graham is right. Prices will go up, not down.
CALGARY, April 1 /CNW/ - Calgary's MLSÂ listings for the month and for
the first quarter, indicate a wide variety of housing for potential buyers,
according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREBÂ
.
Single family Calgary metro new listings added for the month of March
totaled 3,493, an increase of 11.6 per cent from March 2007 when new listing
added totaled 3,131 an increase of 17.2 per cent over last month, when new
listings coming to the market were 2,981. At the end of the first quarter, we
have seen 9,497 listings new to the market, compared to the 7,661 new listings
for the first quarter of 2007, indicating a 24 per cent increase.
"We have moved into a market that is currently providing a great variety
and choices for the buyer. Not only does the buyer have much better supply to
choose from, they can also customize their wants and needs in a home, making
for a dream home purchase," remarked CREBÂ President, Ed Jensen.
Single family Calgary metro sales for the month of March came in at
1,418, showing a decrease of 37.6 per cent from the 2,272 sales in March 2007
but showing an increase of 13.3 per cent over last month's sales of 1,252.
Looking at the first quarter sales for single family Calgary metro, we see
that 3,747 homes have changed hands, compared to the 5,709 sales recorded in
the first quarter of 2007, indicating a 34.3 per cent decrease.
"Gone are the days of sellers naming their price; sellers have to pay
much more attention to what their asking price will be and how they present
their home to experience a quick sale," explained Jensen.
"The average time a home is remaining on the market prior to selling is 40 days, but some are remaining on
the market much longer and that may be due to overpricing and the extra
inventory we are currently experiencing, one in five homes are selling in
today's market, this is a great time for buyers to buy a home," continued
Jensen.
The median price of a single family Calgary metro home in March 2008 was
$420,000 showing a very slight decrease of 1.6 percent over March 2007, when
the median price was $427,000 and showing a 1.9 per cent decrease from last
month when the median price was $428,000. Quarterly, the 2008 single family
Calgary metro home median price also came in at $420,000, an increase of
2.5 per cent over the first quarter median price of 409,900, for 2007.
All Calgary Metro MLSÂ statistics include properties listed and sold only within
Calgary's City limits. The median price is the price that is midway between
the least expensive and most expensive home sold in an area during a given
period of time. During that time, half the buyers bought homes that cost more
than the median price and half bought homes for less than the median price.
Calgary metro condominium new listings added in March 2008 were 1,561,
showing an increase of 24.9 per cent from the 1,250 new condominium listings
added in March 2007 and a 25.5 per cent increase over the 1,244 new
condominium listings brought to market last month. New Condominium listings
finding their way to the market in the first three months of 2008 totaled
4,208, an increase of 33.9 percent over the 3,143 new listing brought to
market in the first quarter of 2007.
Condominium sales for the month of March were 565, a decrease of
44.9 per cent over the 1,026 condominium sales in March 2007 and an increase
of just 0.5 percent over the 562 condominium sales changing hands in February.
Quarterly, condominium sales were 1,577 for this year, a decrease of 40.6 per
cent from the 2,656 condominium sales recorded in the first three month of
2007.
The average price of a single family Calgary metro home in March 2008 was
$474,513, showing a 1.1 per cent decrease from March 2007, when the average
price was $479,914.
The average price of a Calgary metro condominium was $312,620, showing a 0.1 per cent decrease from March 2007 when the average
price was $312,280. Average price information can be useful in establishing
trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of
widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differentials between
geographical areas.
