When is the best time to sell your house in Calgary?

It's nearly been 10 years since the recession. The recovery of the housing market and related markets have been tamped down from sluggish, but generally positive moves in the job market recently. That being said, it looks like the road to recovery continues.

However, there are always glimmers. While board statistics provide a manageable tool to see the whole, they don't tell the whole story.

Real estate is an ultra-local focus. What's true in one area simply doesn't apply in others.

Meeting with a Real Estate Professional will help you to decide it now is the time to sell your house in Calgary.

You'll get the best information speaking with an experienced, local realtor in your area.

Keep reading to find out why!

1. Two Words: Seller's Market?

The most recent figures (for August) from the Calgary Real Estate Board show the supply is still floating up and down around a four-month supply. Scarcity is good for anyone that's looking to sell.

However listings have jumped by 25% in the last month, so if you are thinking about putting your home on the market you will now have more competition. This is where an experienced real estate professional can advise you on the best strategy.

Considering other homeowners are starting to feel the pull to sell, you must make sure that your house gets seen by the most number of buyers. The agent you choose should be able to demonstrate a marketing plan for this type of market.

With over 90% of home buyers starting their searches online, you must make sure your agent will have professional photos taken as well as post to social media. Real estate marketing and promotion have changed greatly over the last 5 years.

Currently, prices are flat month-to-month. But in a decade of instability and losses, stability is a welcome respite. Even with the increase in listings, it is still a good reason to sell your home in Calgary now. The prices are even slightly elevated over last year.

Zooming out for year-to-date for 2017 and 2016, the number of sales are up more than 8% and the total sales volume (cash) is up by nearly 11% for the city. CREB's forecast for the year calls for better adjustments in the financing world as the market copes with continued disruption in the energy sector.

But buyers on the edge are going to try to cash in on rates before they go up. More buyers mean you have more people to bid up the price on your home. Realistically, more buyers are going to want to get a loan before it becomes more expensive.

2. An Ideal Place to Live

Stepping away from the numbers, Calgary is a metro that has so much to offer with top-notch recreation, health care, and geography.

Calgary is home to three professional sports teams, The National Music Centre, and a number of museums, ensuring there are a wide variety of things to do in see in the town.

This is all just a short drive away from world-class outdoors activities available in the Rocky Mountains, Banff, and Lake Louise. When it's time to sell your house in Calgary, these are great talking points to show prospective buyers the value of owning property in such a prime location.

3. An Optimistic Job Market

The city's most recent job numbers show that now especially is a good time to sell your home in Calgary.

The local economy took a major hit from the tumble in the price of crude. But in terms of sheer numbers, the economy has about replaced those lost jobs and then some. Even if the type or quality of the jobs aren't the same in the energy sector boom, more people and more jobs mean more opportunities for home sales.

The segment of people securing these jobs offers an optimistic outlook as well.

The jobs report shows that mid-career individuals are getting back to work. While the direct connection isn't clear in this case, these are usually the people who are buying homes. These are people trying to secure an asset that can act as a base for them as they look at the downside of their careers.

However, a concerning point is a step backwards in average wages. Stagnant wages aren't supposed to follow in a recovery. But when unemployment is high, wages are damped by minimized demand for talent.

4. Millennials are Growing up and So are Their Wallets

Conversely, the baby boomers are ageing out of work and major economic contributions. With kids gone, work gone and the likelihood of financial improvement gone, seniors are going to downsize. This leaves new homes open for increasingly ownership-minded millennials.

With millennials gathering both more educational accolades and related debt than any other generation, some millennials are going to be limited in their home buying options. But they have still found a way.

More transactionally-minded millennials are looking at homes as investments. Many are aggressively looking for homes that can or already accommodate multiple households, accommodating rental income. Or, more shared economy-minded millennials are going into home buys with family and friends to reduce the expense.

This is good news for many homeowners, as it will drive traffic to affordable homes that otherwise don't enjoy the benefit of generational trends.

As the overall population of the province ages, more and more seniors could start trending towards condos, townhomes, and apartments. These are all forms of attached housing or homes that share some walls with neighbours.

In that vein, CREB had good news for attached housing in August. Last month, attached housing had the top increase in both overall numbers and cash volumes.

This means waiting to sell your house in Calgary could mean getting swallowed up in the silver tsunami. If you are already in a more aged population, then selling your home in Calgary for top dollar could set up a move to a more manageable location.

5. The Overall Housing Market Is Looking Up

Both the median price and the number of homes sold have increased year over year for Calgary.

Further, Calgary is meeting or beating the recent trends for these figures. Alberta is on the right side of 2008 and 2009. If you've been in your home since then, prices are finally back to where they need to make a sale helpful to moving on in the housing market.

Adding it all together -- the recent figures, the big picture figures, jobs, wages, trends -- is difficult. But the bottom line is this: growth is happening and the overall trends are pointing in the right direction.

Ready to Sell Your House in Calgary? We Can Help!

All that said, selling a house is only half the equation.

Assuming you want to live in a house, you have to buy one after you sell one. It's time to look that direction.

Contact us today to see how you can sell your house but still call Calgary your home!