Image: Salvatore Vuono / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
It looks like the real estate market in Alberta is finally on the rebound, according to experts in the industry. Home sales are expected to increase by as much as 10 per cent this year, says the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, and prices in Alberta should rise by between 4 and 5 per cent, putting both home-buyers and home-sellers on an equal footing.
Going into 2009, it was a buyer’s market in Alberta, switching over to a seller’s market in the fall, but under the current conditions it looks like the market has really settled, giving neither party a distinct advantage over the other.
The increase in demand for houses is good news for a lot of different regions across Alberta, especially those that were hard hit by last year’s low oil prices. Grande Prairie and Fort McMurray, for example, were heavily impacted by the drop in oil prices, which has fortunately made a recovery. On the other hand, areas like Canmore continue to have a lot of houses and condominiums on the market. Canmore tends to attract a lot of second-home buyers – people who live in Calgary, for example, and buy property in Canmore to vacation in, because of its proximity to ski hills and other activities in the mountains. Markets like these, say analysts, will take some time to recover as amenities like second homes are still considered a luxury, will be a bit slower in coming back.
The real estate market, when you think about it, really depends on one crucial factor, and that’s the first-time buyer. It works like a domino effect: if first-time buyers are not buying, then current homeowners are not selling and moving up into larger properties, and so on. Looked at from this angle, we can see how first-time buyers are really critical to the real estate market.
Given that fact, it ought to be no surprise that Alberta’s best recovering properties are mostly smaller houses and condo in the under $450,000 range. And that bodes well: if the first-time buyers are buying, then the rest of the domino chain stands to benefit.
Nelson Goulart
Broker of Record with Signature Service GMAC Real Estate
www.infomarketgroup.com
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