Calgary's rainy season can be extreme at time,  so it would be a really good time to get your house water proofed! Here are 7 smart ways to do so:

1. Roof

•  Make sure your shingles are in good repair with good ventilation

2. Eavestrough

• Keep them clear of leaves and dirt to prevent rain from pouring over
• Ensure downspouts are tilted away from your home (many problems occur when downspouts are straight down leading into weaping tile, often rain comes down too fast causing water to go into basement)

3. Windows and Doors

• Check for proper seals or consider replacing
• Install and or clean out all wells in basement windows

4. Pipes

• Check shut off valves to ensure they are working, and know where they all are including the main one to your home
• Check plumbing for corrosion or buckling, replace if needed
• Do not pour fats, oils and grease down drains

5. Walls and Foundation

• Seal and cracks to prevent leaks
• Make sure landscaping leans away form your home, keeping water from coming into your basement

6. Basement

• Ensure basement floor drains are clear form debris

7. Outside

• Keep outdoor sewer grates clear so to prevent water backup
• Rain barrels are a great idea!        

Sales for Metro Calgary in all categories are up 13% from March 2013 and up 7.3% from April 2012. Inventory is down 17.2% and the median price for all categories are down .8% from March 2013 to $399,900.

1209 single family homes sold in February 2013, 72 less than in February one year ago, but, for more money. Although Calgary witnessed a 5% increase over last years median price. An increase of 331 homes sold this February compared to January of this year, and a very slight increase to January 2013 median price. 

Single family homes are all homes that are not a condominium ie. Detached, attached, townhome. 

Single family homes are not coming onto the market as quickly as last year this time, which is creating tighter buying conditions.

279 apartment condos sold in February 2013, an increase from last February by 33 sales. The median price slightly increased from this time. As from January of this year, we saw 75 more sales in February with an increase in the median by 5%.  

223 townhome condos sold in February 2013, an increase from last February by 18 sales. The median price increased by 7% since last February. As from January of this year, we saw 76 more sales in February with an increase in the median by 7%. 

These numbers were used from the Calgary Real Estate Board’s stats.

Calgary Metro total home sales for January 2013 are up 20% from last year. The median price is up 8.2% from January 2012.

The single family median price is unchanged from December 2012 but up 10.2% from January 2012.

Apartment condominium median price is up 11.4% from January 2012.

Townhouse condominium median price up 2.9% from January 2012.

All three categories showed substantial sales growth from Janury 2012. This bodes well for the Spring market that is just around the corner iff you have been waiting for the right time to sell.

Most of Canada have seen sales drop and prices following suit. Only in Alberta, have prices made any real gains. Don't ignore the elephant in the room, that is the economy, it may be only a matter of time before it catches up to us.

Well Calgary has had a great year in terms of real estate sales and price increases. The median single family price ranged from as low as $395,000 in January 2012 to a high of $435,900 in May.

We ended the year with a median price of $420,000. Apartment Condo median prices ranged from $220,000 in January to $260,000 December. Townhouses went from $277,000 in January to $295,000 in October.

As you can see single family did well in the first half of the year and apartments and townhouses did well in the last half. Most likely due to changes in CMHC amortization from 30 year max to 25. Thus putting single family homes out of reach for some and resulting in greater demand for cheaper homes.

Currently we have under 3000 active listings for all of Calgary in all catagories.

Our market stats from the Calgary Real Estate Board are showing strong sales and prices for the month of October 2012. The total sales for the end of the year will surpass sales dating back to 2008. 

Single family sales counted 1174 with a median of $430,000 (this includes all homes that are not a condo ie. duplex, attached, detached etc.). The highest median prices yet for October

Apartment sales have aslo strengthened totaling 272 sales with a median of $250,750. The last median price to come close to these sales was in 2007 at $275,000.

Townhomes have also been stronger with the sales for October at 219 and the median price at $295,000. The last highest median in townhomes was in 2007 at $305,000. 

Sales have been strong all year in Calgary, the market is still balanced with as many homes selling as coming onto the market!

Since January,  homes sales and median prices have surged. The median price has increased 3.08% compared to August of 2011 and sales have increased 4.62% year to date 2012 from 2011. The total number of listings at the end of August was just under 5200 active listings which is not much for a city of a million plus people. While the market is tight (not a lot of properties for sale) our opinion is that we are in a balanced market. Over the last few months listings have been getting sold at a blistering pace. We suspect by the end of October we will have surpassed all of 2011 sales with 2 months still to go. You would have to go back to 2007 to see better sales and prices.

A look Ahead......

Single Family

Calgary has had a great year so far in the single family category. We should surpass 2011 total sales by the end of September. Prices are up 6.33% year to date and 4.22% from August last year. The median price at the end of August 2012 was $420,000. We expect a slow downward pressure on prices until February but not much of decrease. This would be the typical real estate cycle where we slow down after July, have a little spurt in September, then continue slowing until Spring.

Condos

Condo’s both apartment and townhouse have seen sales increase year to date but not as dramatic as single family. Prices have moved up slightly but are holding there own considering sales are slowing out there. The median price for an apartment condo at the end of August is $255,000 and $285,000 for a townhouse. Not a lot of listings at this time and that may be due to a low rental vacancy rate keeping condo’s off the market. We believe the upward trend for condo’s will continue but painfully slow.

June 2012 showed slight movement downward from May 2012 in Single Family Sales. Single family homes in Calgary equal all homes that are not in the condominium category. The sales dropped from May 2012 by 99 homes, and the median price slightly lowered from $436,000 to $430,000. 

June 2012 showed slight movement downward in Apartment. Apartment condo sales in Calgary dropped by 46 condos from May to June, but the median price raised slightly from $252,750 to $259,000. 

June 2012 showed slight movement downward for Townhouses. Sales in Calgary dropped by 36 condos from May to June, and the median price lowered slightly from $293,000 to $290,000. 

“From now on buyers who purchase a home with a down payment of less than 20 per cent of its value are required to purchase government-backed mortgage insurance through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

Under the new rules, mortgages amortized over a period longer than 25 years will no longer qualify for that insurance, making it effectively impossible to get a highly leveraged mortgage of more than 25 years in Canada.” - CBC News

These new rules will affect the purchase amount you were able to make in the past. Prior to July 9th if you qualified for a purchase of $400,000, and a 30 year amortization, prior to these rules, you will now be able to qualify for a purchase of approximately $358,000.

If you were able to qualify for a mortgage prior with a 30 year amortization at $350,000 prior to July 9th, the new 25 year amortization will now qualify your purchase for $313,000. 

This change makes me feel that the cheaper market may get forced up slightly with the start of these new rules as many have to adjust their purchase criteria to reflect their new qualifying amount. 

Looking at the stats from the Board released for May, the Single Family market is doing great compared to the past 5 years. 

Single family sales and condominium townhouse sales were the bright lights in the city of Calgary, while condo apartments continue to lag in volume of sales. There were 1,284 single-family homes sold in February 2012, a 10.9-per-cent increase over last- year figures, and a 5.6-per-cent year-to-date increase. Condo townhouses gained 11.4 per cent year-over-year in February sales.

Condominium apartment sales totaled 248 for February 2012, an 11.7-per-cent decline over last-year figures. Despite the 12.7-per-cent year-over-year decline in new listings, inventory levels rose to 1,031 units.

Fewer new city listings are coming to the market, with a year- over-year decline of 10.2 per cent. Inventories also fell by 8.5 per cent over last year’s figures, with a total inventory of 4,736 for the month. The opposite is true in the surrounding towns, where listings recorded a year-over-year improvement of 12.1 per cent and no significant change in inventories.

Within the city of Calgary, the decline in new listings, combined with improving sales, contributed to reduced inventory levels, pushing absorption rates for single-family and condominium townhome markets into balanced territory. However, the condominium apartment inventories rose and sales activity weakened, keeping the market in buyer’s territory.

Calgary Real Estate Board

See our Market Watch at www.GreaterCalgaryRealEstate.com