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\n\tA Calgary realtor expects more challenges ahead for the housing market in 2023 as it recovers from interest rate hikes that spooked both buyers and sellers alike.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re hoping by the end of 2023, it\u2019s going to change and it\u2019s going to change probably pretty radically,\u201d said Christopher Audette, realtor and founder of The Group at RE\/MAX First.<\/p>\n
\n\tHowever, right now, he said many home buyers are struggling to find good, affordable options, including his clients Amber Dorais and Kyle Medicraft.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe couple has spent the last month looking for their first home together just outside of Calgary.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re looking as dual-income and we\u2019re having a harder time finding things within our price range,\u201d Dorais said.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe pair is being transferred to the area for work and are hoping to buy a place in either Langdon or Strathmore.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe biggest challenge they\u2019re facing is a lack of listings.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe\u2019re not the only people looking right now and when something good does come on the market, it often disappears decently quickly,\u201d Dorais said.<\/p>\n
\n\tInterest rate hikes are further complicating things for them.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe Bank of Canada implemented seven interest rate hikes in 2022 alone, taking its key interest rate from 0.25 per cent in February to 4.25 per cent in December.<\/p>\n
\n\tThe central bank has another announcement scheduled for Jan. 25. While it suggested it may be ready to press pause on interest rate hikes, further increases have yet to be ruled out entirely.<\/p>\n
\n\tDorais said that prospect is concerning, but options for rentals are also slim.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe kind of feel like we\u2019re stuck between a rock and a hard place,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe don\u2019t want to end up house poor, so we are, with potentially higher interest rates coming and the high interest rates that we currently have, we are looking at decreasing our budget a little bit in comparison to what we were looking at, say a year ago.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAudette said the interest rate hikes have caused housing sales to plummet in the city and across Canada.<\/p>\n
\n\tWhile it still won\u2019t be what it was in early 2022, Audette predicts 2023 will still very much be a seller\u2019s market.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWith these low, low, record low inventory levels that we\u2019re seeing right now, it\u2019s a good time to list,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cTrying to beat out a couple more of these interest rate hikes, too, is not necessarily a bad thing. You have less buyers that are able to purchase into your price point as the interest rate comes up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAudette expects inventory levels to remain low this year as the demand for housing in Calgary and Alberta continues to rise.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe said that could also come with modest price increases.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cWe are a little bit of an island in the storm. We\u2019ve got a lot of people moving here. We\u2019ve got a big tech sector, oil and gas. We\u2019re just a desirable city to move to right now and a lot of people in the rest of the country are seeing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAudette recommends that people looking to buy a home in 2023 consult their mortgage broker first to figure out the best financial strategy.<\/p>\n
\n\tHe also encourages people to constantly look at new listings and be prepared to act quickly.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cIf something does come up that looks good and it looks like it\u2019s priced right compared to the other things, jump on it. Don\u2019t wait,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cHaving said that, don\u2019t be rash in your decisions. Have a plan b.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n\tAs for Dorais and Medicraft, they\u2019re doing everything they can to find a home by mid-February.<\/p>\n
\n\t\u201cYou gotta be a little more open-minded to, you know, fixer-upper versus a new build show home,\u201d Medicraft said.<\/p>\n
A Calgary realtor expects more challenges ahead for the housing market in 2023 as it recovers from interest rate hikes that spooked both buyers and sellers alike.
\u201cWe\u2019re hoping by the end of 2023, it\u2019s going to change and it\u2019s going to change probably pretty radically,\u201d said Christopher Audette, realtor and founder of …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39477,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39476"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39476"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39476\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.brandon.ddtest.info\/multisite-test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\tDorais added, \u201cWe\u2019ve had to have lots of conversations on what are musts, what are needs, what are wants, what are dislikes but not deal breakers and what kind of work we\u2019d be willing to put into a place.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n
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