Board president says buyers see
opportunity
The past year saw the local residential real estate market come back to earth after a couple of boom years when average prices were soaring.

Grant Black, Calgary HeraldBonnie Wegerich, who takes over today as president of the Calgary Real Estate Board, says low interest rates, low unemployment and price adjustments are factors that have buyers returning to the market.

When 2008 was over, the average MLS sale price of a single-family home in Calgary fell by 2.5 per cent compared with the previous year, while the average price of a condominium dropped by 4.4 per cent.

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, single-family homes in the city sold for an average $460,327 this past year, down from $472,230 in 2007, and the average price of a condo was $302,408, down from $316,370.

Single-family sales in 2008 were 13,455, down 27 per cent from the 18,438 recorded in 2007, while condo sales dropped by 31.3 per cent to 5,661 units compared with 8,236 sales the previous year.

It’s in this market that Bonnie Wegerich takes the reins today as president of the real estate board from outgoing president Ed Jensen.

Wegerich has been in the industry since 1990 and is with Century 21 Castlewood Agencies.

This morning, she gives the city the real estate board’s outlook for the market in 2009 at the Calgary Real Estate Board Forecast 2009 Conference and Trade Show at Stampede Park.

She was interviewed recently by the Herald.

Question: How would you describe the real estate market in 2008?

Answer: It was an interesting market in 2008. We went from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market and we saw sales drop, listings go up. But we maintained our average sale price and median sale price. They stayed fairly steady. Q: Why was that? A: Sellers didn’t want to give away their house.

Q: Were you surprised by anything that happened last year in the market?

A: We knew there was a lot of building going on and we knew that a lot of people who had bought new homes would be putting their houses on the market later. We saw the investors come in town and buy up property. So really not a surprise.

Q: What is going to happen this year?

A: In a general sense, we probably agree with the Royal LePages and the Re/Maxes and the CMHC (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.) that things are going to stabilize this year. Q: What does that mean? A: Our listing count is probably going to go up in the spring. But I don’t think it’s going to go as high as it did last year. Sales will be probably a bit slow to start with, but they’ll pick up later on. And it depends on the weather, doesn’t it?
Q: Has the market hit bottom?

A: All of a sudden we’re seeing some buyers come out again and start looking for houses. I think they want to buy before the market starts to go up again.

Q: What are some of the factors contributing to this optimism about the market?

A: Calgary has got a low unemployment rate. Alberta is the lowest in the country as far as unemployment rate goes. We still have a good economy. We have a great young population here. Interest rates are really good. So we have a lot of positive factors there that lead us to believe that it could be a really good year.

Q: What’s the biggest challenge for the industry this year?

A: We still have some inventory to eat up. There’s still some new homes out there that have to be sold. And I think that’s going to level out.

Q: Will 2009 be a buyer’s or seller’s market?

A: I think we’re still in a buyer’s market at the beginning of 2009, but I see it going into a balanced market, which is better for both the buyer and the seller.

Q: What is your advice to buyers in this market?

A: Listen to your realtor. Get pre-qualified so you know what you can afford and then have somebody work with you so that you know that you’re getting good value for the property.

Q: What is your advice to sellers in this market?

A: Sellers need to listen to their realtors, too, and sellers have to be very competitive in pricing.

Q: Is pricing the key to selling your home these days?

A: Everything comes down to pricing when it comes to selling your home. I mean you’re looking at your location. You’re looking at the condition of your house. Are you close to schools, not close to schools? Things like that. But the bottom line is if you have everything that someone wants and the price is there but if you’re priced too high you’re not going to sell it.