Canadian Real Estate Board Forecast
2014 was another booming Real Estate year for the province of Alberta. According to recent MLS stats, Alberta saw an increase in number of sales again in 2015 of 8.3% compared to that of 5.1% of the national average. As well, average prices in Alberta rose again by 5.2% to just slightly over the 400k mark.
So what does this mean for the future? Its no secret that in a community that relies so heavily on the oil industry, plummeting oil prices can be quite worrisome for all areas of industry, including Real Estate. Gregory Klump, the chief economist of the Canadian Real Estate Board, has this to say:
“It’s not clear how far oil prices may drop or for how long they’ll stay down. How that plays out may affect the outlook for interest rates, job growth, consumer confidence, and sentiment about making major purchases.”
However, that being said, interest rates still remain at historic lows, and real estate activity is holding strong. The CREA is still predicting sales activity growth again next year in Alberta, albeit only 0.1%. Alberta is also expected to see the greatest price increase at 1.9% compared to the national average of 0.9%
What does it all mean? Well, it is impossible to know what 2015 will bring. All we can do state the facts at this point – Alberta still has one of the strongest economies in North America, oil prices SHOULD eventually fluctuate back towards the norm, and we currently continue to see low interest rates which encourages buying. If this continues to be the case, I would suggest we can continue to predict further growth in our province throughout 2015.
All stats taken from: http://creastats.crea.ca/natl/
