April 2022 Market Update;
April 2022 residential resale home sales in the Foothills region continued at a blistering pace however, early signs indicate an easing of price gains and supply/demand constraints. In the hot price point of $500,000 to $800,000, Deep south Calgary has about 2 weeks worth of inventory to sales (274 April sales to 133 for sale) with Okotoks only about 4 days worth (64 sales in April and only 9 for sale). 75+% of sales sold for list price or higher. It will take some time to get back to a balanced market which is 2.5 to 3 months of inventory to sales.
Detached homes in our region that sold pre-covid during 2016-2020 (flat market conditions) and then resold in April 2022 on average saw price gains of 33%. Interestingly enough, America saw an average home price gain of 33% in the past 2 years. Covid created the perfect storm of events which resulted in large gains for home prices in the western world. Canada average gains reflect similar trends with prime regions, warmer climates seeing greater gains than other less desirable areas of the country. Country Residential Properties are still highly desirable with many people making the choice to leave inner city lifestyles.
Alberta is poised for a good run in the short to medium term economically. Employment is up, affordability vs other major centres in Canada is still very attractive and the Foothills region is a great place to call home. I predict that home prices will start to level out in the next couple months. New construction is now taking 10-12 months vs 18 months late last year. As construction material availability and costs come down in price over the next year and more new home product is available, the resale market will adjust to these conditions.
