The month of December is special. it brings families together, which in today's world is so much more important.
And its not that much different in real estate. When everyone takes the time off to enjoy the holidays, the market says, "well if everyone is doing it, why not me?"
If you are interested to learn why that is, jump into this month's breakdown to learn why.
AGGREGATED ABSORPTION RATE - CALGARY
In the month of December, the number of sales (buyer activity) dropped month over month to 1,212 or a 26% drop. At the same time, the number of active listings dropped to 2,402 listings or a drop of 28%.
See what I mean?
When the number of active listings is in lockstep with the buyer's activity, there is no change to the market activity.
And the market becomes stagnant.
The evidence for this lies in the absorption rate of the number of listings that are sold each month. In December, the rate of absorption was 50%, which is unchanged from the previous month, and only 5% higher than in October.
As this type of market continues, we will continue to see the absorption rate remain the same. Where this becomes important is when we discuss price and where they are going with a market change like this.
MEDIAN PRICES PER SEGMENT - CALGARY
DETACHED
In the month of December, the median price for detached single-family homes increased by 2% to $570,000 from $561,000 the previous month.
ATTACHED
Attached (or duplex or semi-detached) homes in Calgary saw their pricing rise 4% from the previous month and currently have a median price of $512,000.
TOWNHOMES
Condominium townhomes in Calgary saw a decline in median price from the previous month by 1% to $350,000.
APARTMENTS
Apartments in Calgary saw an increase month over month of 3% to $258,500.
THE BREAKDOWN
The number of listings available to buyers declined in December due to continued strain on the interest rates that were imposed in the month and the season of the market.
Further interest rates are expected in early 2023 with the first BOC meeting in January. However, the verbiage that has now been shared seems to show that the increases are easing and could potentially stop.
If this were the case, we can expect pricing to start increasing as more and more buyers will enter a market where supply is still very constrained.
In addition to the rate factors, we continue to see the seasonality of the market continue to affect how the market changes. With more people enjoying the holidays, we saw fewer homes for sale and fewer buyers focused on buying. This will continue to change as the colder months subside and the spring market approaches.
Sellers that are savvy and would like to get ahead of the spring market should seriously consider selling now or in February to have their home in front of today's buyers. When the spring market comes, more and more competition will dilute their home in the market with all the others (email me at aly@calgaryareahomes.ca to chat about how we can position you to get the most exposure now)
Heading into 2023 we can further expect a limited affect on pricing due to the lack of activity in the market. As external factors like interest rates and the weather start to change, we can expect an uptick in the spring market activity and hopefully return to normal market trends for the year.
THANK YOU
Thank you for taking the time to review this breakdown. I hope you found it helpful and that it helped to answer any questions you have. if you'd like to learn more about my services, and the listings we have, or just to connect with me, please feel free to visit all my channels by clicking here.
Thank you again and have an amazing day and year ahead!
Aly
