Okotoks house price outlook 2016

2016 housing market outlook, Okotoks house prices.

When the economy is struggling I am often asked what impact will this have on house prices in Okotoks and will I be able to sell my home. The short answer is house prices in Calgary and Okotoks typically follow oil prices. When oil prices are down, the Alberta housing market is down and we enter a buyers market and when oil prices are up, demand for housing is up and we enter a sellers market.

If you are looking to sell your home in Okotoks or Calgary in 2016, price will be the ultimate sales tool. The golden window to sell a home is within the first 4 weeks and setting the correct price will be key to this success. If you want to know the current market value of your home I can provide you with all the market information you need and a suggested list price.

So how do you set the correct list price?

Market research, experience and measuring your home against similar homes that have sold recently is the secret. You need to work with a Realtor who monitors the market on a daily basis and keeps you up to date on every movement. Success in a slow market comes from staying ahead of market trends. This approach does work and I sold every home that I listed in 2015. Adopting a lazy strategy of simply following what everybody else does can be risky and you end up missing active the buyers.

What are the experts saying ?

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) believes the average price of a home in Alberta, will fall 2.5% next year due to struggling oil prices. In November 2015 the average Calgary home sold for $445,800 which is down 1.99% from November 2014.

Timeframe and Property

On a positive note, it is widely predicted the Bank of Canada may cut interest rates in January and this would help boost struggling home sales. However a recently announced federal reforms to mortgage lending will have a negative effect on homes that sell for $500,000 or more. The new mortgage lending rules come into effect on February 15th and are intended to target the heated Vancouver and Toronto markets which are the most expensive markets in Canada.

  • The minimum down payment will increase from 5% to 10% for the portion of a home purchase above $500,000
  • This rule change will likely impact approximately 10% of all home sales in Calgary and Okotoks.

So what does this all mean for the Calgary and Okotoks housing market in 2016?

At the moment the housing market is performing as expected given the scale of the oil price slide. The number of people migrating to Calgary and the surrounding areas is slowing and the demand on both rentals and resale homes will decline over the next quarter. The bargain hunters will remain active and most resale activity will be in homes priced in the lower third of the market.

  • If you need to sell your Okotoks home, don’t panic we can sell your home.
  • If you want to buy, there are some great homes for sale and although the market may go down history shows us it always comes back and we have to live somewhere.

Categories

Buying