Yes it is!!
The January Calgary Housing Statistics have been released by the Calgary Real Estate Board, and although the numbers aren't really a big surprise for those who have been following the trends for the past few months, they are indicative of a continually excited market.
In the real estate world, the Christmas holidays throughout December and all of the way to the end of January are usually quite slower than the rest of the year. This year, however, that wasn't the case. This January we saw 1439 listings sold while during January 2013 we saw 1229 units sold across the City of Calgary. This increase in sales was certainly not due to an overabundance of housing on the market this year - quite the opposite as my last blog post explained.
So, going in to February's statistics, we are seeing that there are still fewer houses on the market compared to February start of last year. From February 1-10th, 2014 there have been 566 total unit sales in Calgary and surrounding Area, while Feb 2013 saw 563 unit sales. These numbers are fairly close, so why are we still in a seller's market? This would be due to the fact that right now there are 2662 active listings in the city and last year we had a whopping 3284 listings. That six-hundred unit difference has created a higher demand for the units available and has also increased the likelihood of a multiple-offer situation for those units.
The last house that I listed went pending within 24 hours of popping it onto the MLS. Within the first day of showings, I had at least 10 bookings and at least that many for the next day. In this situation a lot of the other agents wanted to know when the pending date would be, just in case. With a long list of agents with their clients waiting to find out if our sale would fall through, we kept a running list - once again, just in case. Everything went smoothly for our first offer, however the clammer over listings is apparent.
What can we expect for March and April? To be honest, it's hard to predict, but if these trends continue, we can look forward to a busy market with a lot of action for buyers and sellers alike. If you're looking to get into the market, be aware that the houses are going as quickly as they are being listed so make sure you have a REALTOR® who is absolutely on top of things for you.
