Calgary house prices grow at nearly double national rate

Calgary house prices rose at nearly double the national rate in October, according to data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association on Monday.
The MLS Home Price Index in the city was up 9.5 per cent in Calgary, versus the national aggregate of 5.5 per cent.
The national association said the number of Canadian home sales processed through MLS edged up 0.7 per cent from the previous month in October, marking the sixth consecutive month of growth in resale housing sales after a quiet start to 2014. It was the strongest activity for October since 2009.
Throughout Canada, there were 41,733 sales in October, up 7.9 per cent from a year ago. Calgary had 2,848 transactions, an increase of 13.5 per cent. Alberta sales of 6,087 represented an 8.9 per cent hike from a year ago.
“Low interest rates continued to support sales in some of Canada’s more active and expensive urban housing markets and factored into the monthly increase for national sales,” said Beth Crosbie, CREA’s president, in a news release.
“While the strength of national sales activity is far from being a Canada-wide phenomenon, it extends beyond Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist. “Sales in a number of B.C. markets have started to recover from weaker demand over the past couple of years. They have also been improving across much of Alberta, where interprovincial migration and international immigration are reaching new heights.”
The association said October sales were up from year-ago levels in about 70 per cent of all local markets, led by Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Calgary, and Greater Toronto. Combined sales in these five markets account for almost 40 per cent of national sales activity, and nearly 60 per cent of the year-over-year increase in national sales this month, said the association.
The average MLS sale price in Calgary rose by 6.6 per cent from a year ago to $465,047 while across Alberta it was up by 6.1 per cent to $400,027.
Throughout Canada, the average sale price increased by 7.1 per cent to $419,699.

 
By Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald, Calgary Herald November 17, 2014