CALGARY — A dwindling supply of single-family homes for sale in Calgary has contributed to a spike in MLS sales in Okotoks and Cochrane in the first quarter of this year.

The Calgary Real Estate Board, in a report released Tuesday, said tightening market conditions in the city are supporting sales growth in both those communities, where property inventory levels remain relatively healthy.

“Relatively strong demand has reduced the amount of time properties are on the market,” said Becky Walters, CREB’s president. “However, overall inventory levels remain healthy, contributing to balanced conditions for buyers and sellers.”

CREB said many homebuyers have turned to communities surrounding Calgary “as consumers seek affordable options.”

During the first quarter of this year, Okotoks has seen MLS sales increase by 17.92 per cent from a year ago to 125 transactions. The average sale price for a single-family home is up 2.58 per cent to $401,410 while the single-family benchmark price, which represents the typical property sale, is up 6.47 per cent to $374,967.

Cochrane has experienced a 6.45 per cent rise in MLS sales in the first quarter to 99 transactions with the single-family average price rising by 12.58 per cent to $463,068 while the benchmark price rose by 10.85 per cent to $396,400.

However, MLS sales in Airdrie in the first quarter were down 12 per cent to 264 transactions. The average price for a single-family home increased by 0.15 per cent to $367,164 while the benchmark price was up 4.82 per cent to $343,767.

“The activity in Calgary’s economy and housing market has spread to some of the surrounding centres outside of city limits,” said Richard Cho, senior market analyst in Calgary for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. “With listings down in Calgary and average prices higher, some buyers have looked to some of the smaller centres that are a short drive away.”

In the city, single-family MLS sales of 3,565 in the first quarter are down 1.49 per cent from the same period last year. But the average sale price for a single-family home in Calgary has risen by 10.36 per cent to $513,109.

“The improvement in sales activity in Okotoks is due to inventory levels being slightly elevated, unlike some of the other surrounding areas,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist. “This provides consumers with choice even though there has been a 15 per cent decline in new listings.

“If dwindling supplies for single-family homes persist within Calgary city limits, it should support growth in outer lying communities. However, as resale listings fall, consumers may turn to new homes, and such a move could limit sales growth for resale products.”

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CALGARY — Calgary is one of only a handful of markets across Canada that has seen seven per cent and more year-over-year price growth for residential real estate, according to the Conference Board of Canada.

In a resale housing survey of markets across the country for February, released Thursday, the board said the city, along with Regina, Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, Halifax and Newfoundland, experienced year-over-year price growth of seven per cent or more for the latest three months.

On a seasonally-adjusted annual rate, sales in Calgary of 25,416 are up 2.0 per cent in February from last year while listings have dropped by 5.1 per cent to 40,308.

The average sale price in Calgary was $438,412, up 6.1 per cent from February 2012.

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CALGARY — A major twin tower residential condo project is planned for the west end of Calgary’s downtown.

Grosvenor and Cressey Development Group are proposing to build 24-storey and 18-storey towers, comprising 319 units, at the corner of 5th Avenue and 10th Street S.W.

Michael Ward, vice-president of Grosvenor in Calgary, said sales for the project will be launched in the coming weeks for the Avenue development.

The developers are hoping to start construction either late this year or in early 2014 with possible first occupancy in 2016.

“In developing one of the final parcels of land in this established downtown Calgary neighbourhood we set out to create a best in class development,” said Ward. “Grosvenor and Cressey’s proven track record of superior design and long-standing history of building quality homes will bring a truly unique product to the area.”

Ward said he is seeing a strong demand for the condo market.

Grosvenor is also building the Drake tower in the Beltline neighbourhood, at 15th Avenue and 7th Street S.W. Drake is 17 storeys and 135 units. Construction will be completed there in October.

“Watching Drake and watching the sales there it’s been quite good,” said Ward. “This past weekend alone on Drake on Saturday and Sunday we sold five units which is a great weekend. That project is almost sold out now and that sort of gave us the confidence to move with the next project which is Avenue.”

The Avenue partnership between Grosvenor, a privately-owned property investment and development group and Cressey, a residential and commercial development company, will redevelop the corner of 5th Avenue and 10th Street S.W. into what it calls a “landmark development” that will add two contemporary towers to the downtown skyline.

It is designed by architect James Cheng.

Ward said the development will be located on one of the few remaining parcels of land in Calgary’s west end.

Drake has also started plans on Smith, a new multi-family project located adjacent to Drake.

On Tuesday, Qualex Landmark, the developers of MARK on 10th, held a ground breaking ceremony for the new project.

MARK on 10th will be a 35-storey building at 10th Avenue and 8th Street S.W.

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CALGARY — Calgary led the country in February with the best annual price growth in the MLS Home Price Index released by the Canadian Real Estate Association on Friday.

But the Calgary market followed a national trend of declining MLS sales in February.

However it was at a much lower pace. Nationally, sales were off nearly 16 per cent from a year ago but they were down only two per cent in Calgary.

The association also on Friday released an updated forecast in which both sales in Canada and Alberta were revised downward for this year from its previous forecast of December 2012.

CREA said price growth in Calgary was 8.0 per cent year-over-year “marking some of the strongest price growth that city has seen since the spring of 2010.”

In the seven markets surveyed for the HPI, the national aggregate was 2.69 per cent year-over-year price growth. Regina was second to Calgary at 5.93 per cent.

Real estate boards believe the HPI provides a more accurate measurement of pricing trends by comparing the price of properties with similar attributes while averages can distort price changes as sales volumes vary in different price categories.

Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist with the Calgary Real Estate Board, said Calgary’s housing prices have been supported by improved economic conditions and a tighter market with less listings than a year ago.

“Particularly in the single-family market. Because it’s much tighter, that’s supporting some of these price gains that we’ve seen,” said Lurie. “And a lot of those price gains have been occurring in the single-family sector. We’re just starting to see a pickup in the condos as well.”

CREA reported that MLS sales in Calgary of 2,071 for February were down 2.0 per cent from a year ago while sales across Canada dipped by 15.8 per cent to 31,123.

Lurie said it’s important to keep in mind that last year was a leap year, with one extra day, and if that day was taken out of the comparison single-family sales were the same this year as last year and condo sales were actually higher.

She said very strong migration, a low unemployment rate combined with continued job creation, and a tight rental market have buoyed house sales in the city.

Diana Petramala, economist with TD Economics, said it is becoming clearer that the Canadian housing market has hit a soft landing with existing home sales continuing a downward trek that began in April 2012.

“Much of the weakness seen over the last eight months can be chalked up to the change in mortgage insurance rules implemented on July 9, 2012, which had the same impact on housing affordability as a one per cent increase in interest rates,” she said. “Changes to mortgage insurance rules tend to weigh on growth in home sales for up to three-quarters, and as such, the impact is expected to wane in the coming months.

“Nonetheless, the Canadian housing market appears to have gone through what many having been calling a soft landing. The good news is that sales are now at levels that we feel are well supported by underlying employment and population growth. In turn, existing home sales are likely to stabilize in the coming months. Prices are expected to continue to weaken as demand for Canadian housing remains modest.”

She said the Calgary housing market already went through its correction in 2009 and firmer prices and sales are likely to be supported by an above average labour market performance and strong in migration flows.

According to CREA, the average sale price in Calgary in February jumped by 8.2 per cent to $438,755 but across the country it fell by 1.0 per cent to $368,895.

Alberta was the only province in the country to experience year-over-year sales growth as there were 4,512 MLS transactions during the month, up 0.8 per cent from last year. The average sale price rose by 5.3 per cent to $378,685.

Also on Friday CREA released a forecast for the next two years and it predicted Alberta would have the best annual price growth in Canada in 2013 and 2014.

Average sale prices are expected to rise 3.6 per cent this year to $376,400 and by 3.9 per cent next year to $390,900 in the province.

In Canada, the forecast is for a 0.2 per cent drop this year to $362,600 but an increase of 1.7 per cent next year to $368,700.

As for sales in Alberta, CREA predicted an increase of 0.4 per cent this year to 60,600 units and another hike of 3.5 per cent in 2014 to 62,700 transactions in the province.

In Canada, the forecast is for sales to decline by 2.9 per cent this year to 441,500 but rebound with a rise of 4.5 per cent in 2014 to 461,200.

“Mortgage rules are expected to remain as they are, so sales should be less volatile than they have been in recent years,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. “Interest rates are also expected to remain low as the economy grows and adds jobs, which is supportive for the resale housing market.”

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CALGARY — Almost half of Albertans would choose a fixed-rate mortgage over a variable rate, according to a new survey released Thursday by CIBC.

The poll, conducted by Harris/Decima, said 47 per cent of people in this province would select a fixed-rate mortgage if they were to acquire, refinance or renew a mortgage today with 26 per cent favouring a variable rate.

Nationally, 45 per cent of Canadians favour a fixed-rate mortgage and 26 per cent would prefer a variable rate.

The poll also revealed that 47 per cent of Albertans believe mortgage rates will be the same 12 months from now while 46 per cent of Canadians felt that way.

“Deciding between a fixed or variable rate mortgage is one of the most important decisions in finding a mortgage that is right for you,” said Colette Delaney, Executive Vice President of Mortgage, Lending, Insurance and Deposit Products, CIBC.

“Our poll suggests that some Canadians are growing accustomed to the low rates we are experiencing, however it’s important to take a long-term view when deciding which mortgage is right for you. You need to plan ahead for your next mortgage term and consider the impact to your budget if you renew at higher rates a few years down the road.”

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CALGARY — The value of building permits in the Calgary region neared $400 million in January, according to Statistics Canada.

The federal agency reported Thursday that permits in the Calgary census metropolitan area reached $392.3 million for the month, down 0.4 per cent from December but an increase of 29.4 per cent from January 2012.

In Alberta, total building permits of $1.2 billion were down 5.5 per cent on a monthly basis but up 24.3 per cent year over year.

The residential sector in the province saw building permits reach $713.8 million which was an increase of 6.7 per cent from the previous month and a hike of 20.4 per cent from last year.

The non-residential sector in the province saw building permits reach $458.1 million, down 19.7 per cent from December but up 30.9 per cent from January 2012.

Statistics Canada said municipalities across the country issued building permits worth $5.8 billion in January, up 1.7 per cent from December. But year-over-year it was down 4.3 per cent.

In the residential sector, the value of permits increased 17.6 per cent to $3.8 billion in January, following six consecutive months of decline. However, that sector was off 8.9 per cent compared with a year ago.

Construction intentions in the non-residential sector fell 19.2 per cent to $2 billion. Year-over-year, it increased by 5.9 per cent.

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