"True Value" by Richard Crenian

Richard Crenian Blogs
February 5, 2009

“True Value”

I read yesterday that Calgary home sales are off.

The Calgary Herald reported that “The average sale price was $413,049, down 9.28 per cent from $455,297 a year ago. The average days on the market to sell a home was 62, up 24 per cent from 50 days last year. And the month-end inventory increased by 1.1 per cent to 4,040 this year from 3,997 a year ago. New listings during the month were 31.6 per cent less than a year ago at 2,068 compared with 3,023.”

Ok let’s analyze this for a second.
An average sale price in Calgary costs what?? $413,000? Are you kidding me? Isn’t that a little expensive for a city with an average sale price of a home in the year 2000 at $176,500??? (http://www.calgary.ca/docgallery/bu/cns/homelessness/trends_affordable_home_ownership_calgary.pdf)

You have to wonder how the news comes at you. The fact is that since 2000, the average price of a home in Calgary has increased 2.3 times. How ridiculous is that?

You wonder why? Guys were buying homes and flipping homes for $25,000 to $50,000 more within ninety days with a short supply in Calgary. So now the house prices are easing and supply is growing as the speculators are forced to sell as they don’t have the funds to carry the houses.

So in all this bad news what’s the good news?

Good news is as the speculators get out and house prices ease, more real home owners will get back into the market place, but this will take a while. So, if you bought or invested in land to build those large track of houses, you are kinda (how should I say this kindly?) “in a pickle.”

Land prices will obviously drop substantially if there is no demand. The land sellers of old that sold you their land prior to the “highs” are laughing, and you if you did buy or invest in land are stuck.

Not everyone bought land or invested in land. In tougher times you can’t get cash flow from non farming land, so I am sure we will see banks take action and foreclose on the existing high purchased land owners and investors now. (Sorry for the bad news).

How did we stay recession proof? Simple. Don’t be greedy, be patient and buy cash flowing product. Ask Howard if he is worried? He is going to Tucson to relax. His cash flow from our product is paying his way. 4036304544.

Richard Crenian