New condominium developers in Calgary are offering cash incentives to attract buyers in a market softened by the fall in oil prices and a subsequently glutted condo sector.
There are now more than 6,100 resale homes on the Calgary market, up about 20 per cent from a year ago, and half of these are condos or townhouses, reports the Calgary Real Estate Board.
“Job losses are spreading into other sectors, wages are declining and unemployment levels remain high. At the same time, we’re seeing housing supply levels rise in the rental, new home and resale markets,” states a board release.
The biggest bulge is in resale condo apartments. These vendors are competing with a big selection in lower-priced detached and attached homes, and increased competition from the new condo sector, where builders are offering generous incentives to attract buyers. There are an estimated 3,300 new condos completing in Calgary this year.
Calgary’s Carlisle Group, for example, will pay mortgage and condo fee payments for up to six months, or $8,000, to any buyer who subsequently loses his or her job after a purchase. Trico Homes is offering new condo buyers a $10,000 rebate that can be taken off the list price, or used for upgrades. Other developers are more open to negotiations on upgrades and even prices.
In May, Calgary’s condo apartment benchmark price was $278,500, a decline of 5.6 per cent from May 2015. In the detached housing market, the benchmark price is $500,500, a year-over-year decline of 3.4 per cent.
