Calgary Housing Outlook
March 2, 2015
Calgary’s steady economic growth
FOR THE LAST 15 years Alberta has experienced numerous fluctuations in oil prices, yet has managed to maintain steady economic growth. There is no question that the Calgary economy is closely tied to the energy sector; however, its economy is not as vulnerable to fluctuating oil prices as may be public perception. No doubt lower oil prices will have a short term impact on the employment sector with some tightening of the belt; however, it is also important to remember that other important factors such as extremely low mortgage rates, especially the Bank of Canada’s recent decision to cut its key interest rate by 0.25 per cent.
We also need to keep in mind that oil prices will not remain low forever.
Calgary is continually evolving and is not the same city as it was during the 2007 global economic downturn. Calgary has increasingly gained a national and international reputation for being one of the best places in the world to live.
Certainly the 2015 predictions that the real estate market will be softer than 2014 may be accurate; however, we believe there is still good demand for condos in Calgary. Oil prices may be low, but they won’t stay low forever. We have to remember that sales and construction cycles are two to three years. When a homebuyer puts down their deposit on a condo today, they still need to wait two to three years until the building is constructed. A great deal can happen in two to three years as we have seen before.