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<\/a>\nPhoto: JMacPherson\/Flickr<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
There isn\u2019t any one reason why Calgary\u2019s housing market, once the hottest in Canada, struggles to regain its footing.<\/p>\n
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB), there are at least four.<\/p>\n
CREB presented them along with the release of its mid-year update to the 2018 Calgary Economic & Housing Outlook<\/a>, which predicts sales will drop 9.7 per cent this year while prices cool by another 1 per cent.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to keep in mind that we\u2019re still in a recovery mode,\u201d CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie tells Livabl.<\/p>\n\n Interest rates have continued to rise this year on the shoulders of the Bank of Canada\u2019s two hikes to the overnight rate, which influences the mortgage market.<\/p>\n At the same time, tighter lending rules are subjecting more potential homebuyers to mortgage stress testing, creating a headwind for borrowers in real estate markets across the country, including Calgary.<\/p>\n \u201cEconomic recovery is expected to gain further traction through the latter part of this year,\u201d reads the CREB outlook report. \u201cThis should help limit the pullback in demand, but it is unlikely it will be enough to offset the declines from the first portion of the year,\u201d the report continues.<\/p>\n CREB anticipates 17,047 units will trade hands this year, while the Conference Board of Canada has pegged Metro Calgary GDP growth at 2.87 per cent for the year, less than the 6.29 per cent gain in 2017 that followed a 3.57 per cent decline the preceding year.<\/p>\n The Conference Board of Canada also forecasts employment growth to track around 3 per cent this year, but not all jobs are equal. \u201cThe type of job growth has shifted, as employment gains have not occurred in our traditional sectors,\u201d notes CREB in a news release<\/a>.<\/p>\n The provincial resource sector hasn\u2019t seen a lot of job growth, and that\u2019s led to challenges for Calgary, suggests Lurie. For example, corporate jobs in the city that support the oil industry have not come back. \u201cThose are higher-paid jobs, and that does impact ownership and what people will [and] can afford to purchase,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\nRates are on the rise<\/h2>\n
Economic recovery isn\u2019t complete<\/h2>\n
High-paying jobs haven\u2019t returned<\/h2>\n
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