A new year is bringing hope the real estate market will stabilize, say local realtors.
The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) released its market outlook for 2017, which anticipates an increase in sales activity a more stable inventory level. The report also says the transition will take time, as it relies on recovery of the economy and employment levels in Alberta.
According to CREB, sales in Okotoks declined five per cent in 2016 over the previous year and the number of new listings also decreased. The ratio of sales to new listings remained fairly stable, and as a result impact to home prices in Okotoks was minimal.
Ian Wisdom, realtor with CIR Realty Okotoks, said though prices didn’t change too much, they were still lower than three years ago before the market took a dive. However, he said business still picked up toward the end of 2016.
“Particularly on the detached single family homes between $300,000 to $500,000, there was quite a bit if activity in that market,” said Wisdom. “We’ll probably see a moderate price over the year now during 2017 in that market.”
He said more expensive detached homes in Okotoks and acreages in the surrounding area continue to move slower, though he expects signs of improvement in those areas over the year.
Despite their lower price point, he said the apartment and townhouse market in Okotoks slowed down over 2016, because a large flux of listings saturated the multi-family residence market.
“I think in 2017 we’ll continue to see a very moderate increase in terms of sales on those kind of properties, and at best we’ll probably see prices being maintained,” said Wisdom. “I don’t see anything significant happening in that market.”
Even with a more positive outlook this year, there is some discrepancy between property tax assessment values and the reality of the market, he said. Many homes in the multi-family sector or in the $500,000-plus range took a price hit in 2016, he said, so assessments based on values a year ago may not reflect current values.
He said residents concerned about their property tax assessments should contact a realtor to have a market valuation done.
“There may be some people who are sort of saying, ‘Well I’m still paying a heck of an amount on my taxes, but what I’ve seen in terms of other properties similar to mine, they’ve actually come down in value, so shouldn’t my tax assessment come down or come down further?’” said Wisdom. “They can then take [the valuation report] to the Town and question their assessment.”
There is a time limit set by the Town for residents to challenge their property assessment. Homeowners have 60 days from the mailing date of their property assessment notices, which were sent out on Jan. 16 this year.
Wisdom said whether the real estate review is done for property tax assessment or not, homeowners should have them done regularly to stay on top of their investments.
Sarah Michel, realtor with Century 21 in Okotoks, said she’s seen similar price and listing trends in the market leading into 2017.
As a realtor serving the entire Foothills region, she said she’s seen changes in activity levels on the markets in towns like Black Diamond and Turner Valley as well.
“They’re not quite as busy as Okotoks,” said Michel. “They’re a little bit slower, but I’m finding a lot of people are retiring from Calgary and moving out to the smaller communities, and that keeps the market steady.”
She said the Christmas season was slow throughout all the communities she works, but within the past two weeks business has picked up to a faster pace than earlier in the fall. It’s a change she attributes to the start of changes to the economy and the real estate market itself.
“There have been a lot of people wanting to take advantage of lower interest rates and possibly getting good prices on homes,” said Michel. “What I’m seeing is there are a lot of buyers out there, they’re just kind of waiting for inventory to pick up and then they’re wanting to buy.”
The market is bound to stabilize through 2017 as those buyers start to come online, she said.
For sellers, the biggest thing to remember is that the more desirable the home, the more likely it is to sell quickly – especially at the right price.
“Homes that are desirable to the bigger market share, they seem to be selling quickly if they’re priced competitively,” said Michel. “It’s actually pretty dependent on the style of homes and the price of homes. Houses under $500,000, completely finished, will sell quicker than homes priced over $600,000 for sure.”
She said there’s no fear on the market heading into 2017, and she expects to see is remain steady.
