Calgary Building Permits Set Record

Jan 16, 2007: Calgary building permits issued in 2006 for residential & commercial projects totalled $4.76-Billion, smashing the previous year's record and more than doubling Calgary's 2002 total. Calgary's surge in construction outpaced all other cities in the country, beating permits in Toronto by more than $1-Billion.

Toronto OK'd $3.7-Billion in permits last year, followed by Edmonton at $2.3-Billion and Vancouver at $2.03-Billion.

Calgary issued residential permits for just under 16,000 units worth $2.38-Billion, with another $2.38-Billion for commercial development. This does not include the new Encana office project, estimated to be worth $1-Billion.

Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier said the city of Calgary…

Jan 11, 2007:  Figures released by CREB (the Calgary Real Estate Board) late last week show Calgary MLS® Listings have fallen to less than a 2 month supply following a record December (2015 sales December 2006).

Active listings on the Calgary market stood at 3,634 on January 2nd, a 48% decrease from the high of 7,000 listings recorded 3 months ago (Oct 01/06).

 *Click on image above for full-size Calgary Listing Inventory graph*

Visit Calgary Market Stats for your weekly update of Calgary MLS listings & sales stats.

The Bank of Canada will cut the prime rate by the 2nd quarter of 2007 in an effort to dampen an economic slowdown in the country, according to the Laurentian Bank's economic & financial outlook released today.

The Laurentian report states "downside risks to the Canadian economy outweigh any upside risks and that lower rates will be used to counter an economy in the midst of a significant slowdown."

Laurentian predicts The Bank of Canada will cut the overnight rate to 3.75% by mid-2007 from the current 4.25% "to ensure any economic slowdown is moderate and short-lived".

This is in line with what most experts have been predicting, and will result in Canadian Mortgage Rates falling by approximately the same amount (50 basis… Read Full Post

Dec 07/06:  Figures released by CREB (the Calgary Real Estate Board) earlier this week indicated the Calgary housing market continues to be strong, with 2,313 sales recorded in November 2006.

The graph below displays the number of active listings (inventory) as a function of sales vs. time. The red-hot market in the first half of 2006 is clearly visible as the curve approaches a low of just 2 weeks inventory, followed by a softening of the market as listings rose to 7,000 the first week of October (3 months inventory). Continued strong sales coupled with expiries of overpriced listings has the inventory curve trending downwards again.