CALGARY -- A new annual report on real estate in the City of Calgary says conditions are expected to smooth out in the market but the outlook is continuing to favour the "cautious consumer."
The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) released its 2020 housing forecast Tuesday and says there are a number of different factors that are expected to help the market grow throughout the year.
"Job growth, combined with recent easing in mortgage rates and price declines, is starting to bring some purchasers back into the lower end of the market," said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB's chief economist, in a release.
Lurie adds customers are expected to continue to favour homes priced below $500,000 in Calgary, and gains in that price point are expected to eclipse the losses in sales of homes priced over $500,000.
CREB says Calgarians should expect to see "a new normal" of fewer sales, a lot of supply and a slow price growth.
The group says it also expects to see the population of Calgary surpass 1.3 million people in 2020 but there will still be labour issues as it believes unemployment will increase to 7.7 per cent.
