Achi news desk-
The price of a townhouse in Calgary is surging and leading the country as the city faces continued population growth and demand on the housing market.
According to a report by real estate company Zoocasa, the price of a townhouse in Calgary is growing faster than anywhere else in Canada, with the average price up 17 percent over last year to $458,100.
Zoocasa examined the average price of townhouses across 20 Canadian cities and compared the price difference between February 2024 and the same month last year.
In comparison, Edmonton’s year-over-year growth in townhouse prices reached 10.3 per cent to $245,900.
“I think the Canadian dream for most people is probably what they want, at some point in their lives if they choose to have a family, is to have a separate home,” said Tom Albrecht, realtor with RE/MAX First. “If we’re in an affordability crunch, then townhouses are usually the way people will go, especially if they’re starting out or downsizing.”
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB), 483 townhouses were sold in the city in April this year, up 16.1 per cent over the same period last year.
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Mark Neustaedter, a realtor with eXp Realty, said the townhouse market is becoming more accessible compared to single and semi-detached homes, in part due to a lower minimum down payment.
The Zoocasa report noted that a five percent down payment for the average townhouse in Calgary is $22,905 compared to a minimum down payment of more than $50,000 on a single-family home.
“When you’re talking about detached, it’s a whole different world, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars spread out there,” Neustaedter told Global News. “If you’re looking at a first-time home buyer, maybe five per cent down is a reasonable mortgage payment even with interest rates the way they are now.”
However, supply continues to fall with CREB stating that the majority of the reduction is due to lower priced homes coming off the market.
“Our overall supply levels are under $400,000, it used to be about 40 percent of the row homes were under that price range. Now, only about 20 percent,” CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie told Global News. “We’re really seeing a shift, there’s a lot less affordable product for that row-type property.”
It follows a record year for home construction in Calgary with more than 15,393 homes built in the city in 2023; 11 percent more than the previous year.
The construction of multi-dwelling homes increased by 49 per cent while the development of secondary rooms increased by 43 per cent over 2022.
“A lot of those starts were on the higher density side, so we saw a lot more row construction, we’re seeing more of that affordable product coming on the market to meet that demand,” Lurie said. “It’s a matter of how long it takes for those things to be completed.”
Calgary’s mayor said dwindling supply is one factor driving the city-wide rezoning proposal, which began its third straight week of public hearings at city hall.
The proposed change is one of more than 80 recommendations in the City of Calgary’s housing strategy, which would see the default residential zoning area amended to include more housing types such as row houses and quadruplexes.
“People coming into the market can afford the townhouse, which is why we have to have more of that product to make sure people can get what they need in truth,” Gondek said. “That’s what we’re talking about in terms of increasing supply.”
However, experts said it could be some time before that supply catches up with demand.
“Supply should catch up eventually,” Albrecht said. “But it takes time to build homes especially when builders are struggling for labour.”
& copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
