Calgary
During April and May, the activity of the housing market was low. This was because of the COVID-19 lockdowns. But an increase was seen in the housing market in June and July. At the start of 2020 due to the oil and gas sector, Calgary was dealing with a slow economy and this was further affected by the pandemic.
It was expected that the home prices will remain steady throughout the summer into the fall. But home buyers for the first time in the region were very active without waiting for the prices to fall further.
Due to fall in prices, higher end properties are Beginning to sell faster in Calgary. The local buyers are taking more interest in small town acreages. It is expected that a 3% increase will occur for the remaining year in Alberta.
The average price of a house in Calgary could decrease by tens of thousands of dollars over the next two years according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The average price of a house in last year was around $443,000 in Calgary.
New constructions
Due to pandemic, many measures were taken which slowed down the new construction in Calgary. There are several economic challenges due to the restrictions for public health and public impact on the demand for oil and gas. That causes a decline upto 64% in the pace of new construction in 2020. The inventories of new unsold homes and the new construction was also on peak before pandemic, so it can be a reason for slowing down the pace of new construction. This decline in new construction will improve with the ease in the restrictions due to pandemic, population flows, and improvement in economic activity in 2021-2022.
Resale Activity
Due to COVID-19, a decrease in the household incomes and employment occur. Although the conditions of buying new property is favorable, a decrease in the sales in the range of 13% to 27% is seen in 2020 in the existing houses. This will also recover slowly in 2021-2022 like new construction with the improvement in the employment conditions. It is expected that the average price will drop to at least $399,800 by 2022. This is the high end while the low end of the average price is $335,000. The household budget decreased due to pandemic which causes a decrease in the average prices from 2.5% to 12%.
Migration Patterns
The Key driver of the rental demand and population growth in Calgary is the net migration. This pandemic also affected the migration which led a decrease in the rental demand. Many new constructions are going to be completed in the next year and are going to come on the market. These new constructions and the existing free rental spaces overall will give a high vacancy rate in the coming year.
