An Old What's New

'Bear' with this cheap post while I wait for Realtor board press releases. They will be juicy.

From Bob Truman's What's New:

Apr 13
Last year, sales of SFH dropped from March to April. This year, April sales are 7% ahead of March sales. Condo sales are 24% ahead of March. Condo prices are on the upswing this month, and looking at SFH pending sales(avg price is $500,243)SFH prices will be heading that direction soon as well.

Prices were basically flat except the condo median took a $3000 hit compared to last month. Sales are down slightly with 16 more condos and 55 fewer SFH compared to March. Prices and sales are down year over year. Data from Mike's Stats.

How much time is left in spring? Don Campbell, where are the top Irish Banks? (From March 1st)

"International investors are definitely buying. Calgary and Edmonton real estate is hot in Europe and the U.S., more than I've ever seen before in all my years involved in real estate. The top banks in Ireland, for instance, are buying here. They see it as safe, secure and good for the long-term, compared to other options."
...
It is already happening, says Tim Crough, a realtor with Prudential Toole Peet. "We're starting to see the starter home market pick up, predominantly in condos, but also lower-end singles."

How about this article from 660 news Rate cut boost to market:

Calgary's waning real estate market got a boost by a cut in interest rates, says a local broker who attributes more action on listings to lower mortage payments.
...
He attributes some of the most recent purchases to the Bank of Canada's move to cut the overnight lending rate half a percentage point to 3%. For a single-family home valued at $475,000, with 5% down, this translates into a reduction of monthly mortgage payments by $143, or from $2,110 to $1,967.

I try to run a calculator on a $451,250 mortgage to match his numbers as the payment seemed low. If i use a 4.25% rate over 40 years i get $1,956, if i included the $13,062 CMHC fees (required and generally rolled into the balance) the payment goes up to $2,013. Besides being a pump piece this is interesting because it shows 40-year mortgages are so common they are being assumed into calculations.