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The Calgary Real Estate Board's (CREB) monthly statistics for July showed there has been a slight increase in available properties in Airdrie, but the housing market still presents a challenge for potential buyers who may need to reassess their goals and options.
With an unadjusted benchmark price increase of nearly one percent in a single month, the local average price for a home in Airdrie now stands at $514,100.
There's a significant development in Airdrie's housing market, as detached homes reached a new milestone. For the first time in Airdrie, the latest benchmark price for detached homes now exceeds $600,000, indicating some changes in the local real estate landscape.
“Despite the monthly gain in the months of supply, conditions [in Airdrie] remain exceptionally tight and continue to favour the seller,” read a portion of the CREB's report. “Prices have been improving across all property types, but the detached benchmark price has pushed above $600,000 in Airdrie for the first time.”
Natalie Berthiaume, a local realtor, and the director of Natalie Berthiaume Group, noted there has been a seasonal trend.
“Typically, sales do decrease in the summer as people tend to plan a lot of vacations and take time off during this period. I actually find August to be quieter, [as] people like to enjoy their summer,” she said.
According to the CREB's report, there has been a slight rise in the number of available properties in Airdrie, with a high sales-to-new listings ratio of 84 per cent. This means that there are more houses for sale than usual.
However, even with the increase, Berthiaume noted the housing market still heavily favours sellers, which is leading to fierce competition.
“If no new properties came on the market, it would only take just over a month for all the existing homes to sell,” Berthiaume explained.
“For context, a seller's market is below three months, a balanced market is three to five months, and a buyer’s market is five-plus months of supply. It makes it clear that it is a seller’s market.”
Berthiaume stressed the importance of detached homes crossing the $600,000 threshold. She suggested that prospective buyers consider starting with a smaller property if they find it difficult to outbid others.
“I sympathize with buyers, because the rental market is extremely competitive right now as well,” she said. “So that makes it very hard for people to sit and wait because they are paying a premium on their monthly rent and that’s money they are not able to save towards equity.”
When working with her clients who are in the market to buy, Berthiaume said she takes a strategic approach by reassessing their long-term goals.
“What I’ve been coaching a lot of my buyer clients to do is, I have the conversation with them about re-examining their five-year goals," she said. “If I have a buyer that’s looking for a detached home and they are consistently getting outbid, then I say ‘I know your plan was to be in this home for five years but why don’t we instead buy you a more affordable townhome or semi-detached home and have it be your two-year plan instead?
“It allows them to get into a property still, and make a decision where they are not stretching themselves too far and then we just continue to actively watch the market so that they can start to gain equity a little more quickly in that home and be able to move up, rather than jumping into that more expensive home right off the bat.”
Berthiaume emphasized the importance of adaptability for those in the housing market. Fluctuations require adjusting goals, as seen during the 2015-16 period when home values decreased.
She stressed the need for affordable properties, such as townhouses, as limited supply makes them more appealing.
“In any real estate market, it’s important for people to be willing to pivot and change their goals in order to be able to get into the market,” Berthiaume said.
“When home prices went down in 2015-2016, there were a lot of difficult conversations with sellers. They also had to revise their goals and dreams because the value of their home significantly dropped and affected their equity.”
