Ready for another email about COVID-19?!?! Don’t worry… this newsletter is about the real estate market heating up!!! In these most unusual times filled with unprecedented health and economic concerns, the June real estate market has been busy and looks like the activity will continue into the summer months.
Residential Market: The residential and acreage market activity took a real hit from mid-March through mid-May as buyers and sellers followed the social distancing measures and stayed home. Showings reduced significantly and peaked at a reduction of more than 70% compared to the same time last year. As the Government of Alberta has rolled out phase 1 & 2 of the relaunch strategy, the market has renewed confidence which is reflected in the showing activity and sales numbers throughout the Province.
Since the beginning of COVID-19, showings across the Province reached a new high these past two weeks; the showing activity in June is trending higher than in 2019. Showings have continued to increase week over week in the starter homes and move up markets. The same activity cannot be said for the higher price brackets as we have noticed a continued slow down. Increased showing activity translates to an increase in sales; however, year over year sales are still down in all price ranges. The biggest share of the sales is priced below $500,000.
“The initial shock of COVID-19 and social distancing measure is starting to ease. This is bringing some buyers and sellers back to the market. However, this market continues to remain far from normal and prices are trending down,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “Activity has also shifted toward more affordable product, which is likely causing differing trends depending on product type and price range.”
The properties that are receiving showing requests, are properly priced based on the condition and area that they are in. The most compelling properties are the ones that are receiving the most activity, which will likely remain the case until inventory levels return to more balanced conditions.
Recreational Land: Recreational land was a hot market for our team as the pandemic progressed into April and May. We received a lot of calls and sold some smaller undeveloped parcels of land. Buyers indicated they wanted a place to get away from people, grow some vegetables, raise livestock or just put some money into a hard asset that they could put their feet on and call their own. We were extremely happy to work with these unique buyers. It was interesting to hear their thoughts and ideas regarding the outbreak, the instability of the financial markets, and the direction the world is heading.
With historically low interest rates, this summer is a great time to buy a first home, second home, acreage, revenue, or recreational property. Let the Smith & Griffith Real Estate Team With CIR Realty know what you’re looking for and we will make finding your ideal property a whole lot easier.
Agricultural Land: Agricultural land sales and price increases have slowed since the beginning of the year as commodity prices have been range bound at lower than desired spot and futures market prices. Cattle prices have also been less than stellar after the packing plant shutdowns and scaled back production cycles due to Covid-19 outbreaks. This left feedlots with fed cattle in the unenviable position of putting on extra pounds at added expense with little chance to recover those costs. The good thing for grain and cow-calf producers is that the outbreak came at a time when many had already unloaded most of their saleable inventory and were just gearing up to seed the 2020 crop and/or begin calving. Both crop and livestock producers will have the summer to watch their hard work grow, forward-contract a portion of their production and remain optimistic for higher market prices to develop by fall. Let’s hope for big yields and heavy calves, strong fall prices, and renewed demand for grain and pasture land.
Our team truly considers ourselves fortunate to have remained busy working for our clients throughout this pandemic. We are grateful to have such loyal and understanding clients that have stuck with us through this slower market. We take great pride in the work we do to achieve each of our client’s real estate goals.
When you are looking for an honest conversation about listing your property, our team is here to help. We work hard to stay on top of trends, find innovative ways to market your property and give you our best interpretation of the current state of the market. For a Free Market Evaluation, call the Smith & Griffith Real Estate Team With CIR Realty.
As we head into a summer like no other, with so many cancelled events and celebrations, may you and your families find new summer activities and ways to relax. As stated by our beloved Calgary Stampede – “We Will Ride Again”.
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