Detached bungalows are weathering the storm of a buyer’s market in Calgary, but condominiums and standard two-storey homes are both bearing the brunt of record-high housing inventories.
While a variety of market factors can skew the numbers from one quarter to the next, according to Rob Blaker of Royal LePage Foothills, he said the number of houses on the market — 11,302 in a Canadian Real Estate Association February report released Tuesday compared to roughly 1,200 at the same period in 2006 — have really opened up the city’s real-estate options.
“It’s a different ball game from two years ago by a long shot, and different from 2007 as well,” Blaker said. “We’re seeing a really selective demand, people are being much more deliberate, and right now they can be a little more selective and get a little more for their money.”
According to a house price survey report released by Royal LePage yesterday, the average price of a detached bungalow in Calgary hit $442,852 for the first quarter of this year, a 9.9 per cent boost from the same frame last year, and a $12,964 increase from the fourth quarter of 2007.
And while the average price for a standard two-storey home rose by 8.3 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2007, they posted a $15,963 fall from the close of last year.
-neil.mackinnon@metronews.ca
