Thank You from the Smith & Griffith Real Estate Team
Happy February! It’s been quite a while since we have sent our quarterly newsletter. 2021 was a year for the books! We want to express our gratitude for the active Alberta real estate market and the opportunity to work with over 75 families and businesses to market, sell and purchase real estate this past year. Thank you to those who have put their trust in us to help achieve your real estate goals. For the third year in a row, we have achieved Top Producing Partnership at CIR Realty – selling over $43 million dollars of real estate in 2021. We are truly honoured to work with all our clients, partners, and with CIR Realty.
Announcing Our Powerful New Marketing Tool – Timed Online Auctions
Smith & Griffith Real Estate Team with CIR Realty is excited to bring to our clients a new tool to market and sell real estate. We have launched the Smith & Griffith Timed Online Auctions. Our timed on-line auction method of selling farm and ranch land, residential, recreational, and commercial real estate is a powerful tool for both sellers and buyers. This method brings together the power of the MLS system/Realtor.ca for maximum marketing exposure pre-auction and the anticipation, energy, and transparency of a live on-line bidding process with a set final sale date. Timed online auctions can “unlock” the true value of a property. There is no better way to determine the true market value than through a timed online auction inclusive of all interested buyers. We have witnessed land selling at higher premiums via Timed On-line Auctions than through more traditional sales methods throughout 2021. Welcome to the exciting world of Timed Online Auctions with the Smith & Griffith Real Estate Team with CIR Realty in 2022! We have 4 exciting auctions coming up in March. Click here to learn more!
What will the 2022 housing market bring?
After several years of tough sledding, 2021 saw Calgary’s real estate market and the broader Alberta market gaining strength. Sale volume year over year was up 72% in Calgary and 52% in Alberta. Both breaking long standing records. The median home price in Calgary climbed by 10% and in Alberta by 8% pushing prices over the previous records set in 2014. An impressive market given how hard our province was hit with the collapse of the oil prices.
“Our longer-term prospects are looking much better than they have for some time,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at the Calgary Real Estate Board. “On the housing side, we’re far more affordable than a lot of other cities in the country and that’s something that will play to our advantage as we think about growth in the future.”
The biggest impacts contributing to the market activity in 2021 have been 1) lower interest rates, 2) different household needs such as people searching for larger homes to work remotely, wanting more space to garden, raise chickens and let their children play in outdoor spaces, 3) more people moving to Alberta from other provinces and countries. As most Canadians still view real estate as one of the best personal financial investment options, it is expected that the Canadian housing market will remain quite strong for 2022. Alberta real estate is likely to continue as a balanced market with continued economic recovery and relatively steady activity in most sectors of the real estate market.
What will the 2022 agricultural market look like?
Despite a damaging drought in some regions of Western Canada and bumps in the economic recovery in 2021, robust commodity prices combined with low interest rates continued to support strong demand for farmland and elevated land prices. An average increase of 3.7% in the first 6 months of 2021 revealed the strength of the Alberta farmland market. The numbers are not yet calculated to year end, but we believe the second half of 2021 was as strong or stronger. Going into 2022, soil moisture conditions, inflation, crop input and machinery costs, potential supply and feed shortages, geopolitical tension and trade sanctions, interest rate hikes, and the recovery from Covid-19 restrictions will influence demand and prices for Alberta farm and ranch land. Despite all these factors, we expect the long-term trend of rising land values to continue in 2022.
Whether you are buying or selling and looking for an honest conversation about the real estate market, our team is here to help. We work hard to give you our best interpretation of the current state of the real estate market. Combined with our years of experience, expertise, and market intuition, we can provide the most comprehensive evaluation/comparative market analysis of your property. We have the tools and skills to bring you top dollar for your real estate! Give the Smith & Griffith Real Estate Team with CIR Realty a call – Rees at 403.350.7815 or Kari at 403.803.3299.
Smith & Griffith Family Update
As it was for many, 2021 was yet another interesting year with lots of changes and milestones for our family. Like our clients, our family has been on the move. All five kids moved in 2021 and we sold our acreage in Rocky View County. After an exhaustive search for another rural property a little further north and closer to the QE2, we decided to purchase a new build from Stevenson Homes in Olds. We are very grateful to find another property with an unobstructed view of the majestic Rocky Mountains. Settling into our new home has kept us very busy and has brought us closer to the center of our expansive real estate business between Calgary and Ponoka.
One of our personal highlights this past year, was the election of Kari to the Calgary Stampede Board of Directors. It is a true honour for her to represent this amazing organization at the highest level, continue to give back to the community, build new relationships and maintain long time Stampede family friendships.
2022 is already proving to be an interesting year! Here’s to an end to pandemic restrictions, a return of the freedoms we all once enjoyed and to health and prosperity.
Rees & Kari – Opening Gates to the Country & Doors to the City