Home prices in Calgary are up 15% year over year

Housing affordability and affordability has been a national concern for some time, and the data shows that first-time property buyers face many challenges, particularly in Calgary.

According to new data from the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), Calgary saw the largest increase in home prices among Alberta cities last year.

From February 2023 to February 2024, the median home price in the city increased by $76,505.

The national average increase in benchmark home prices was $4,400, which means home prices in Calgary are 17 times higher than the national average.

While prices are slowly rising in other provinces, prospective buyers outside of Alberta are not feeling good about their prospects.

More than three-quarters of Canadians who don't own a home say entering the housing market is out of their reach, according to a new survey.

More than 70 per cent of non-homeowners in a CIBC online survey in February said rising prices were one of the main obstacles to achieving home ownership.

More than half of Canadians say that not being able to save up for a down payment is a significant barrier, and that they can only afford a new home through an inheritance or a gift from family.

Dillon is a 29-year-old Calgarian who has been trying to buy his first home for the past eight months, but to no avail.

“I think the biggest surprise was how difficult it was, despite having a great group of people around me and spending a lot of money at prices that were usually very fast and no one expected,” he explained. “You do all the math and all the research and then you find out it's $40,000 more than that, so it's really confusing and I would say just mind games.

“It can be a really frustrating experience.”

Dillon posted on Reddit about his odyssey-like journey navigating Calgary's real estate landscape, writing that it's not for the faint of heart.

Hundreds of Calgarians have felt similar feelings, agreeing on how difficult the experience can be, especially with homes well above asking price.

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“It really begs the question, what's really going on?” Is it an uneducated trader? Is there anything else going on?' Dillon added. “Every property has to have a ceiling, and even if it's a hot market, I want a fair house at a fair market price.”

The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) says March home sales were up nearly 10 per cent compared to this time last year, with continued interprovincial migration driving the growth.

Santosh Nathan is an investor-focused realtor and co-founder of Calgary Real Estate Investor Hub, who understands the challenges facing first-time home buyers.

“It's really difficult for a first-time home buyer to get into the market because you've got a lot of people getting on the ladder or have some money to put down and people are definitely willing to write offers, which means there's no financing. , no verification, in fact you have no application,” he said.

Nathan has some advice for people thinking about buying.

“Timing the market is much more important than trying to time the market. So as long as you plan to hold the property for the long term, it doesn't matter which market cycle you buy in,” he explained.

Dillon says he turned down the purchase several times and immediately saw the property listed for rent.

“I find a place and think, 'This could be great, there's a good community to build on it,' and then you go and bid on it and unfortunately you lose it to somebody who has no conditions.” you'll see it on RentFaster in the next few days,” Dillon said. “I think it's been a constant thing that I've seen a lot of properties that I've lost, they're going to rent after a few weeks, sometimes a few days.”

However, Dillon says there are a few steps you can take to give the process the best possible chance.

“There's honesty in the process, and I encourage Calgarians, if they're planning to send in a letter offer, write down why you want the property,” he said. “It's important to put your best foot forward, but don't overextend yourself.”

With many potential buyers feeling the pinch, analysts continue to warn that prices are unlikely to drop anytime soon.

CIBC data shows that more than half of variable-rate mortgage holders surveyed report cutting back on day-to-day expenses, while 21 per cent make lump sum payments on their mortgage.

– With Canadian Press files