Higher interest rates aren’t cooling Calgary’s hot housing market, at least according to CIR Realty.
The real estate firm told Global News not only is Calgary headed for another record-setting sales month in July, but many of the homes listed are also still receiving multiple offers.
“We have no signs of a slowdown,” CIR realtor Melanie Cantius said.
Cantius said while that is great news for sellers, buyers are facing some big challenges. Cantius said those challenges include homes being sold as soon as they’re listed and multiple bids that lead to bidding wars.
“Gone are the days of being able to take your time to consider properties,” she said.
“For a lot of buyers, they’re looking at six or seven attempts before they’re able to secure a property.”
The Fielder family didn’t have to try that many times, but did get shut out three times.
“It was challenging,” Darren Fielder told Global News. “Things would go up on market and would be sold within a day.”
The local teacher was looking for a home close to his current rental so his son could stay in the same school. He was also looking for a home under $400,000 — a tough find these days in Calgary. Fielder said he pulled out all of the stops on the fourth home he saw.
He said they paid $25,000 over asking. “We also put $60,000 down as a down payment.”
His aggressive approach worked. The Fielders got the home, just blocks from his current one and are set to move in next week. Fielder said the family is making a quick move but added his “hand was forced.”
“We looked at everything, and anything,” he said. “We put bids on anything and everything — even if it wasn’t ideal.”
“We couldn’t afford to be picky.”
Cantius helped seal the deal for the Fielders. She said this kind of competitive market can take many Calgarians by surprise.
“Calgarians aren’t typically used to having to compete with a lot of people writing cash offers over asking price,” she said. “Calgary has kind of been like a little bubble where we’ve been able to have pretty static pricing.”
But she said that has changed, especially with the rise of interest rates.
“With the high interest rates, we’re seeing a lot of people not being able to afford their properties in the more expensive markets (across Canada). Calgary is very accessible, it’s a very appealing city, and it’s still affordable compared to a lot of other cities. So people are moving here because they can afford a really nice, quality lifestyle.”
Her suggestion for those looking to buy a home? Get all of your financing and approvals in order, and most importantly get ready to bid.
July’s final sales numbers will be released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) next week.
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