Calgary apartment vacancy rate decreases in 2012 Down to 1.3%

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Diane Richardson

Posted in Calgary Homes for Sale, Calgary Homes for Sale SE, New Homes, New Homes in Cranston

Calgary apartment vacancy rate decreases in 2012
Down to 1.3%

BY MARIO TONEGUZZI, CALGARY HERALD DECEMBER 13, 2012

CALGARY — The apartment vacancy rate in the Calgary region averaged 1.3 per cent in October, down from 1.9 per cent last year, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s Fall Rental Market Survey released Thursday.

“Employment growth and higher incomes, supported by Calgary’s expanding economy, continued to attract migrants and increased demand for rental units,” said Richard Cho, senior market analyst in Calgary for the CMHC.

The apartment crunch will likely continue as the CMHC is forecasting 20,000 net migrants to the Calgary area in 2012 after 11,200 net migrants in 2011.

“Alberta is once again seeing some very strong interprovincial migration these days and many of these people are arriving in Calgary,” said Todd Hirsch, senior economist with ATB Financial. “Typically before looking at buying a home, the recently-arrived will rent an apartment. That’s where a lot of the strong demand is coming from, and it’s pushing down the vacancy rate in the rental market.”

Recently, Sam Kolias, chairman and chief executive of Calgary-based Boardwalk Real Estate Investment Trust, told the Herald that the local rental market continues to see high demand as people keep moving to the province.

In the REIT’s third quarter, which ended September 30, it has 5,310 rental units in Calgary and the occupancy rate was 99.34 per cent, up from 98.89 per cent last year.

The apartment vacancy rate in most zones in Calgary declined from the previous year, said the CMHC report. Areas close to the downtown where there is a high concentration of employers continued to have among the lowest vacancy rates in the city, said the CMHC.

The vacancy rate in the Downtown zone reached 0.5 per cent in October, down from 1.0 per cent in October 2011.

The strong demand for rental accommodations combined with lower vacancies has led to an increase in rental rates in Calgary. Same-sample rents increased 6.1 per cent in October, following a 1.8 per cent rise in the previous year. Bachelor units and two-bedroom units recorded an increase of 7.4 per cent and 5.9 per cent, respectively. The average same-sample rent for three-bedroom units increased 4.2 per cent from a year earlier, said the agency.

Overall, the two-bedroom rent in Calgary averaged $1,152 in October, up from $1,087 last year. The Downtown and Beltline had among the highest average two-bedroom rents in the Calgary CMA at $1,240 and $1,222, respectively. The Southeast and Other Centres recorded the lowest two-bedroom rents in October, averaging $998 and $1,005, respectively.

Vacancies for rental condominium apartments declined to 2.1 per cent in October, down from 5.7 per cent in October 2011. The condominium rent in CMHC’s 2012 survey averaged $1,288 per month, down from $1,378 last year.

“Condominium apartment rents are typically higher compared to units in the purpose-built rental market as the buildings are generally newer and may include additional amenities such as a fitness centre, entertainment room, and heated underground parking,” said Cho.

Don Campbell, president of the Real Estate Investment Network in Canada, said the low vacancy rate wil lead to two things.

“Strong upward pressure on rents across the board, at all levels. Upward pressure on resale housing market first in 2013, then new home sales in 2014,” he said. “Look for the market to perform well in 2013 with values going up more quickly than 2012.”

Source:http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_print.html?id=7693705&sponsor=curriebarracks

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Alberta economic boom shows no signs of slowdown Growth leader forecast for 2014

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Diane Richardson

Posted in Alberta economy, Calgary Homes, Calgary Homes for Sale Search by price, Calgary Housing market

Alberta economic boom shows no signs of slowdown Growth leader forecast for 2014

BY MARIO TONEGUZZI, CALGARY HERALD DECEMBER 13, 2012

CALGARY — Alberta’s economic boom is showing little sign of slowing down, according to the latest RBC Economics Provincial Outlook released Thursday.

RBC forecasts that Alberta will continue to be among the fastest-growing provincial economies in 2013 with a real GDP growth rate of 3.5 per cent, second only to Newfoundland & Labrador’s 4.4 per cent.

Alberta will regain the top spot in the country in 2014 with Real GDP growth forecast at 4.2 per cent.

“Alberta is in the midst of an impressive economic boom, with activity in the province surging by 5.1 per cent in 2011 and remaining on the fast track in 2012,” said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist with RBC. “While massive investment in the energy sector – which was the key catalyst for the economic boom – has been tempered recently, strong capital expenditures and rapid momentum in other sectors will keep the economy moving ahead at a sustained clip.”

But RBC said the mood in the province remains somewhat cautious, as Alberta’s oil sector finds itself increasingly “land locked” due to pipeline bottlenecks. It said major players in the oilsands have cited delivery challenges and a greater than usual discount on wellhead prices as reasons for delays in spending on mega projects.

RBC said these delays have raised some concerns about the sustainability of business investment in the province and it expects major players in the oilsands to remain generally cautious in 2013, keeping spending in a holding pattern while pipeline issues are addressed and crude oil price relationships normalize.

The report said Alberta will benefit from broad-based expansion in 2013, with strong population growth and employment continuing to fuel consumer spending and housing activity showing continued vigour. On the business side, rising demand for commercial and industrial space will support growth in capital spending outside the energy sector.

Economic growth for this year is estimated at 3.8 per cent, the best in Canada, following 2011’s 5.1 per cent which also set the pace for the rest of the country.

“We anticipate that Alberta’s growth will slow modestly next year thanks in large part to the lull in oilsands investment,” added Wright. “However, sufficient progress in resolving these oil delivery issues in 2014 should allow for major projects to proceed, setting the stage for a 4.2 per cent re-acceleration in growth.”

The Canadian economy is forecast to grow by 2.4 per cent in 2013 and 2.8 per cent in 2014 after an estimated 2.0 per cent growth this year.

In its quarter economic forecast released Thursday, TD Economics said Canadian economic growth is expected to edge down to 1.7 per cent in 2013, before picking up to a healthier 2.5 per cent in 2014.

“In Canada, the first half of 2013 is shaping up to be quite soft. Fiscal consolidation in the U.S. alone could shave 0.5 percentage points off Canadian economic growth through lower exports and the knock-on-effects to other areas of the economy,” said TD. “Beyond mid-year, the rebound in the U.S. should help support a modest recovery in Canadian export growth.

“However, the Canadian economy will still face headwinds from a high Canadian dollar, elevated household debt and government restraint.”

Source:http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_print.html?id=7693125&sponsor=curriebarracks

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Boom in resale housing market just outside Calgary Towns see nearly 40% hike in MLS sales

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Diane Richardson

Posted in Airdire Homes for Sale, Calgary Home, Calgary Homes for Sale, Okotoks Homes for sale

Boom in resale housing market just outside Calgary
Towns see nearly 40% hike in MLS sales

BY MARIO TONEGUZZI, CALGARY HERALD DECEMBER 6, 2012

CALGARY — The resale housing market in towns just outside the City of Calgary has seen a boom in sales this year.

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, year-to-date MLS sales in the surrounding communities market has ballooned to 4,878 up to the end of November, a hike of 39.05 per cent compared with the same period in 2011.

In comparison, year-to-date sales of 20,128 in the City of Calgary are up 15.21 per cent compared with last year.

“I think what’s happening is the buyers can’t find necessarily what they want in the city,” said Bob Jablonski, CREB’s president. “There’s less product to look at here in Calgary. And they’re finding they can find what they’re looking for in surrounding towns for the price points and getting a bigger bang for their bucks. So they don’t mind the commute.”

In the towns market, so far this year the average MLS sale price has dipped by 0.18 per cent to $354,897 while in the city it has risen by 3.16 per cent to $428,208.

According to CREB, in the country residential (acreage) market, sales so far this year are 842 with an average sale price of $793,707.

Last year there were 689 sales with an average sale price of $807,764 for the same time period.

Don Campbell, president of the Real Estate Investment Network in Canada, said places like Airdrie and Okotoks experience what’s called the Doppler effect in the real estate industry.

“It’s where a centre booms and then the smaller centres around it follow either a year or a year and a half later,” said Campbell.

“But the thing that’s really affected Okotoks, and now especially Airdrie, is the transportation change. The Ring Road (Stoney Trail). For Okotoks, of course, it was the expansion of Highway 2 a few years ago that really started to drive and bring to everyone’s attention Okotoks. Because nobody really went south of Calgary. Everybody went between Edmonton and Calgary and always knew that Airdrie was there. Okotoks is now on the radar.”

With any real estate market, it’s about affordability, said Campbell, and markets like Airdrie and Okotoks, for example, were driven by potential homebuyers who felt that they couldn’t afford to live in Calgary.

Stoney Trail has had huge impact on the Airdrie market, said Campbell. Also, many new jobs have been created in the northeast part of Calgary.

“So rather than live in the northeast, people are living in Airdrie which is almost the exact length of time to get to work,” he said.

Source:http://www.calgaryherald.com/story_print.html?id=7660339&sponsor=curriebarracks

Creb: http://www.creb.com/public/town-and-country/documents/2012-q3-towns-report.pdf

http://www.creb.com/public/town-and-country/quarterly-stats.php

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