Calgary a leader in Canada's luxury real estate market, says Sotheby's
CBC
Calgary's luxury home market is booming, according to a new report from Sotheby's International Realty Canada.
The luxury real estate company said Calgary solidified its position as a Canadian leader in top-tier real estate in the third quarter of 2024.
In the first six months, more than 89,000 people moved to Alberta — a large percentage from Ontario and British Columbia — which increased housing demand and home prices in Calgary.
Sotheby's said 337 homes sold for more than $1 million in the city from July to August, which is an increase of 31 per cent, year-over-year. One home sold for over $4 million.
In September, 156 properties sold for more than $1 million, an increase of 15 per cent from the same month last year. Two sold for more than $4 million. In the previous September, no homes sold for that much.
Of all the $1 million-plus homes that sold in Calgary in July and August, 83 per cent were single-family homes, 14 per cent were attached homes and the remaining three per cent were condominiums.
Don Kottick, president and CEO of Sotheby's International Realty Canada, told CBC News that Calgary is one of the most affordable major markets in Canada.
He said although the company's report is focused on high-end home sales, the factors that affect luxury properties also affect the entire housing market, to varying degrees.
"The whole market is a spectrum, and as we move along, the spectrum of activity in one area impacts another," Kottick said.
As housing prices rise across Canada, a $1-million home can look very different depending where it is in the country, he said.
"We segment the market into the million-plus, and obviously the million-plus still buys a very nice home in the Calgary and Montreal markets. It doesn't buy as much in the Toronto and Vancouver markets," Kottick said.
It's a sentiment echoed by Calgary real estate broker Jesse Davies, who told CBC News there is no one-size-fits-all answer as to what qualifies as a luxury home in the city.
Davies, team lead of the Jesse Davies Team at Century 21 Bamber Realty, noted luxury is relative to the needs of the person who is looking to buy.
He said factors such as proximity to downtown, green spaces and amenities such as hospitals, schools and public transportation will influence home prices, but certain people don't necessarily desire the things that drive the price of homes upward of $1 million.
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