Calgary home sales soar 47% as buyers race to beat rate hikes
BNN Bloomberg
“Lending rates are expected to increase next year, which has created a sense of urgency among purchasers who want to get into the housing market before rates rise”
The flurry of buying activity in Calgary’s housing market continued in November. The latest data from the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) show sales in the month hit 2,110 – a 46.8 per cent jump compared to last year, and nearly breaking the November record set in 2005. Sequentially, it was a slight deceleration from October, when a record for the month was set at 2,186 homes traded hands.
All property segments posted double-digit sales increases last month.
“Lending rates are expected to increase next year, which has created a sense of urgency among purchasers who want to get into the housing market before rates rise,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist, in a press release Wednesday.
New listings in November struggled to keep pace, rising only 15.2 per cent.
CREB noted that it’s typical to see a slowdown in new listings and inventory levels during the colder months, but home sales have hovered around the same level since August.
Strong demand and limited supply pushed the benchmark price of a property up to $461,000 in November, or nearly nine per cent higher compared to a year earlier.
