Calgary real estate price increases among lowest in Canada in past decade

Edmonton prices up 193% in 20 years, Calgary up 122%


VANCOUVER, BC--(Marketwired - October 23, 2017) - A nationwide study conducted by CENTURY 21 Canada has revealed that since 2006 price increases per square foot in Calgary trail other major Canadian cities by a wide margin. Over the past decade prices have increased 23% in Calgary southeast, 32% in Calgary southwest and 69% in Calgary northeast. This is in contrast to other major cities such as Montreal (251%), Vancouver (121%), Saskatoon (109%) and Regina (92%).

The study gathered the price-per-square-foot for homes across the major towns and cities in Canada from Victoria to St John's in 1997, 2006 and 2017. It used CENTURY 21's independently owned and operated franchised real estate offices from the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island to the Atlantic shores of Newfoundland.

"Looking back 10 and 20 years you can see the long-term trends are positive, despite the financial crisis followed by the collapse in oil prices," says Brian Rushton, Executive Vice President of CENTURY 21 Canada. "Relative to other markets, prices are a bargain in both Calgary and Edmonton. In fact, those big city prices are on a par with smaller BC centres like Kelowna and Vernon."

On a percentage basis, price-per-square-foot growth in Edmonton has outpaced Calgary in the past two decades with price appreciation of 193% compared to Calgary which ranges from 122% to 160%, depending on the part of the city surveyed. However, the overall gap in prices has remained relatively stable with prices in all Calgary regions exceeding those in Edmonton.

CENTURY 21 also conducted a survey of more than 1000 of its agents from across the nation, recording buyers' opinions, their likes disliked and what they are looking for in a home.

The results show that updated finishings are important to 72% of Alberta buyers and 7% are looking for energy efficiency. The biggest turn-offs are water damage (41%) and the need to renovate (32%). The survey shows if you are doing a renovation before selling, a renovated kitchen will likely provide the best return on investment. When it comes to the size of the house, overall square footage is more important to Albertans than any other Canadian home buyers.

Complete National results, and a downloadable video interview are available at: www.century21.ca/ppsf2017

Notes to Editor:

About CENTURY 21 Canada®
CENTURY 21 Canada Limited Partnership (century21.ca) is a real estate master franchisor with complete rights to the CENTURY 21® brand in Canada.

The CENTURY 21 System is one of the world's largest and most recognized residential real estate franchise sales organization with approximately 7,450 independently owned and operated franchised real estate offices worldwide and over 115,000 sales professionals. CENTURY 21 provides comprehensive technology, marketing, training, management, and administrative support for its members in 79 countries and territories worldwide.

How the information was gathered by CENTURY 21 Canada
In the past, as seen in the data table for 1997 and 2006, CENTURY 21 Canada asked franchise owners around the country to define a 'typical' home in their area and provide the sales price and average square footage. For most, it was a single-family detached home, and the size depended on province, city, and neighbourhood. CENTURY 21 Canada released annual results in their Typical Home Price Survey.

In 2017, CENTURY 21 franchisees were asked to help come up with the average price-per-square-foot in their market. However, calculating a precise number is not an exact science as every office and province tracks statistics slightly differently. As a result, some have used either the average or benchmark prices (depending on the market) and tracked average square footage in sales from January 1- June 30, 2017. The price-per-square-foot was calculated from those numbers. Each franchisee has confirmed that that the numbers provided are an accurate representation of their market.

Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/10/20/11G146788/Images/c21_ppsfbricks_final_alberta-f4f6543e7c059212a1667ae9b5a0b805.jpg
Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2017/10/20/11G146788/Images/C21_PPSF2017_Alberta-3ff2679c6fad8372a49f9ea5a52e9505.jpg

Contact Information:

For more information please contact:
Peak Communicators
Victoria Ullrich
Phone: (604) 689-5559
Email: victoria@peakco.com

5 Most Expensive Cities in Alberta CENTURY 21 CANADA Price Per Square Foot Survey 2017 - Alberta