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Calgary Real Estate Market Update: May 2024

As we welcome the warmth of spring in Calgary, the real estate market is showing signs of renewed activity. In this article, we'll delve into the current state of the market, exploring trends, statistics, and expert insights to help you make informed decisions.

Market Overview

The Calgary real estate market has experienced a steady recovery since the pandemic. According to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB), April 2024 saw a 12% increase in sales compared to the same period last year. This growth is largely driven by the detached home sector, which accounts for over 60% of total sales.

Detached Homes

The detached home market is leading the charge, with a 13% year-over-year increase in sales. The benchmark price for detached homes rose 1.3% month-over-month to $749,000, and 13% year-over-year. This growth can be attributed to increased demand, particularly in the $500,000 to $1,000,000 price range.

Semi-Detached and Row Homes

Semi-detached and row home sales have also seen a significant uptick, with a 15% year-over-year increase. The benchmark price for semi-detached homes rose 1.5% month-over-month to $520,000, and 10% year-over-year. Row home prices saw a 1.2% month-over-month increase to $430,000, and a 9% year-over-year increase.

Condominiums

The condominium market is slowly gaining momentum, with a 5% year-over-year increase in sales. The benchmark price for condominiums remained stable, with a 0.5% month-over-month decrease to $270,000, but a 3% year-over-year increase.

Neighborhood Spotlight: Beltline and Downtown

The Beltline and Downtown areas are experiencing a surge in popularity, driven by the demand for inner-city living and proximity to amenities. Sales in these areas have increased by 20% year-over-year, with the benchmark price for detached homes rising 15% to $1,200,000, and condominium prices increasing 5% to $400,000.

Expert Insights

"Calgary's real estate market is showing promising signs of growth, particularly in the detached home sector," says Jerry Charlton, a seasoned real estate agent with years of experience in the Calgary market. "As the economy continues to recover, we expect to see increased demand and prices stabilizing. It's an excellent time for buyers to explore their options and for sellers to capitalize on the growing market."

What's Next?

As we move into the summer months, we anticipate the market to remain active, with continued growth in the detached home sector. Interest rates are expected to remain stable, making it an attractive time for buyers to enter the market. Sellers, on the other hand, should consider pricing their properties competitively to attract potential buyers.

Conclusion

The Calgary real estate market is poised for a strong summer season, driven by the detached home sector and growing demand in popular neighborhoods like Beltline and Downtown. Whether you're a buyer or seller, it's essential to stay informed and adapt to the changing market conditions. Contact Jerry Charlton and his team to navigate the market with confidence and expertise.

Stay Informed

Subscribe to our newsletter for regular market updates, expert insights, and exclusive listings. Follow us on social media for the latest news and trends in the Calgary real estate market.

Get in Touch

Contact Jerry Charlton and his team to discuss your real estate needs and goals. Call (403) 123-4567 or email jerry@jerrycharlton.com to schedule a consultation today!

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Questions People Ask About Calgary Alberta Realtor® Real Estate Fees and Commissions

Q. Can I sell my house in Calgary on MLS® and pay no Realtor® Fees?
A. No there are always some fees to pay

Q. How are Realtor® Fees Calculated In Alberta?
A. Most Common is 7 and 3.  7% on the First $100k and 3% on the Balance of the Sold Price 

Q. Does The Buyer Pay A Realtor® Commission in Alberta?
A. Buyers really do pay because the commission is in the sale price most of the time

Q. Who pays the Realtor® Fee, the home buyer or the home seller?
A. The Seller pays the fees out of the sale proceeds

Q. Why are Calgary Real Estate Commissions so high?
A. Real Estate is a Business and no business works for free

Q. Are 1% and 2% Realty Companies Legit?
A. Is any company legit? 

Q. What Calgary Realty Company has the lowest Commissions?
A. Companies do not set commissions, Individual Realtors Negotiate Commissions.

Q. Are CIR Realty and Exp Realty Discount Brokerages?
A. CIR and Exp Realty have Realtors offering discounts and those that do not discount.

Q. Are Remax Commissions worth it?
A. Remax does not set commissions, Realtors do.

Q. How is the Realtor®'s Commission Calculated?
A. Could be a flat rate, % of the Sale Price or a combination of the two, Commissions are Negotiable

Q. Can You Negotiate Your Realtors®' Commission?
A. Yes
Q. How much are closing costs in Alberta?
A. Set aside $1,500 plus GST for legal fees and you should be ok

Q. Is there GST on Realtor® Fees in Alberta?
A. Yes GST applies to Real Estate Fees, but not the price of a resale home

Q. Does the Buyer pay Realtor® Fees in Canada?
A. Fees are included in the price 99% of the time, so Yes

Q. How much are lawyer fees when buying a Calgary Alberta house?
A. The vary and will be a combination of a flat rate plus disbursements

Q. What percentage do most Realtors® charge?
A. All fees are Negotiable, in Calgary we see 7 and 3 most often

Q. Are commissions paid on gross or net?
A. Gross sale 

Q. How do you solve commission problems?
A. Problems are usually solved by the Realtor and the Broker

Q. How do Calgary Alberta Real Estate Commissions work?
A. Very well in my experience

Q. Do Realtors keep 100% of the commission they collect in Calgary?
A. Commission cheques are like your paycheque after taxes, fees, expenses

Q. It is against the law to have fixed Realtor® Fees and Commissions in Calgary?
A. Real Estate Fees are negotiated between Calgary Home Sellers, Calgary Home Buyers, and Calgary Realtors®.

The selling price of any home on the Alberta MLS® System included the Real Estate Commissions plus GST. The fee could have been zero, or 1%, or 2%, or $2,500, or $8,550, or 7% on the first $100,000 and 3.5% on the balance of the sale price, or any other creative commission calculation you could imagine.

There is no set fee for Real Estate Commissions in Calgary Alberta, Canada.

Remax, Century 21, Royale Lepage, CIR Realty, Exp Realty, Sotheby's, 1% Realty, 2% Realty, 3% Realty, and hundreds of other Alberta Real Estate Companies are prohibited by law from fixing commission rates.

The above companies and their Realtors® all want your business and will negotiate your Real Estate Commissions.

Calgary Home Buyers pay 100% of the Reator® Fees because it's included in the Home Selling Price. It's like the mark-up on any product you buy at a retail store.

Some Calgary Realtors® claim they won't negotiate commissions. There are Real Estate Trainers and Coaches that charge Realtors® thousands of dollars to learn how to "Protect Commissions." Talk to a few Reatlors® and you hear the same old scripts. How if they are not tough on commissions with you, they won't be tough on Calgary Buyers on the home price. Blah, Blah, Blah.....

The bottom line is All Realtor® Commissions in Calgary Alberta Canada are Negotiable.

You can get a 1% Commission deal from a Remax Realtor just as easily as from a company that calls itself 1% Realty. 2% Commissions are offered by Century 21 Realtors® just as often as from the company called 2% Realty.

Brand means nothing in Real Estate, Calgary Home Prices Rule Everything.

Feel free to contact me anytime you want the Truth About Calgary Alberta Real Estate Fees and Commissions.

Jerry Charlton

403 831 0842 | Jerry@JerryCharlton.com | Calgary Realtor®

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Calgary Real Estate Commissions - Who pays and how much?

This 7 and 3 table shows you what we see in Calgary on most listings. However, it is against the law to fix commissions at set rates. Commissions are negotiable. 7% on the first $100,000 of the sale price plus 3% on the balance of the sale price is what the table below is based on. Whatever the seller and the listing agent agree to for commissions becomes part of the total sale price listed on the MLS® system. The seller's agent and the seller then usually offer a buyer's Realtor® 3.5% on the first $100,000 and 1.5% on the balance of the sale price if they have a buyer for the property. So yes the commissions may seem high and if it was going to only one Realtor®, I would agree. Realtors® generally split the commission whatever it may be and like everyone else that gets a paycheck is required to pay taxes and other expenses.

Every home listed on MLS® that has sold or is for sale has the commission component built into the price. To further put some perspective on what Realtors earn, there are over 5,700 Licenced Realtors registered with the Calgary Real Estate Board fighting over less than a couple of thousand deals most months. It's a job at the end of the day which for Realtors® is not 9 to 5 Mon to Fri with a few weeks vacation and a pension!


It's a good thing I enjoy helping people because if I was in this for the money I would have moved on long ago!


Sold Price7%3%TotalGSTTotalSeller Net
 $ 300,000 $7,000  $ 6,000 $13,000 $650 $13,650  $ 286,350
 $ 350,000 $7,000  $ 7,500 $14,500 $725 $15,225  $ 334,775
 $ 400,000 $7,000  $ 9,000 $16,000 $800 $16,800  $ 383,200
 $ 450,000 $7,000  $ 10,500 $17,500 $875 $18,375  $ 431,625
 $ 500,000 $7,000  $ 12,000 $19,000 $950 $19,950  $ 480,050
 $ 550,000 $7,000  $ 13,500 $20,500 $1,025 $21,525  $ 528,475
 $ 600,000 $7,000  $ 15,000 $22,000 $1,100 $23,100  $ 576,900
 $ 650,000 $7,000  $ 16,500 $23,500 $1,175 $24,675  $ 625,325
 $ 700,000 $7,000  $ 18,000 $25,000 $1,250 $26,250  $ 673,750
 $ 800,000 $7,000  $ 21,000 $28,000 $1,400 $29,400  $ 770,600
 $ 900,000 $7,000  $ 24,000 $31,000 $1,550 $32,550  $ 867,450
 $ 1,000,000 $7,000  $ 27,000 $34,000 $1,700 $35,700  $ 964,300
 $ 1,100,000 $7,000  $ 30,000 $37,000 $1,850 $38,850  $ 1,061,150
 $ 1,200,000 $7,000  $ 33,000 $40,000 $2,000 $42,000  $ 1,158,000
 $ 1,300,000 $7,000  $ 36,000 $43,000 $2,150 $45,150  $ 1,254,850
 $ 1,400,000 $7,000  $ 39,000 $46,000 $2,300 $48,300  $ 1,351,700
 $ 1,500,000 $7,000  $ 42,000 $49,000 $2,450 $51,450  $ 1,448,550
 $ 1,600,000 $7,000  $ 45,000 $52,000 $2,600 $54,600  $ 1,545,400
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Who Pays The Real Estate Commission & Fees?

Follow the money and you get your answer. Lots of Realtors tell you the Seller pays the fees. Which is kind of true. But where do the sellers get the money to pay the fees and commissions? From the Buyer!

That's correct the Buyer pays 100% of all fees and commissions to the home seller as part of the total purchase price of the home.

Once the seller's lawyer has the money, the lawyer divides it up between the seller, the lawyer and the real estate brokerages.

In Calgary, it's very common to see listing agents charge home sellers 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the balance of the sale price. Then the listing agent offers 50% of that to a Buyers agent that brings a buyer into the deal.

Here's an example on a $650,000 sale of a home. $23,500 plus GST would come off the top. Leaving the home seller with $626,500.

The Real Estate Commission and Fees would be split between the Buyer's Realtor and the Seller's Realtor - $11,750ea.

The sellers Realtor would deduct all the marketing expenses and broker fees from their $11,750 and pay tax on whatever is left.

The buyers Realtor has no marketing expenses but has broker fees and taxes to pay on their $11,750.

Do You Need a Realtor To Buy or Sell A Home in Calgary? I say no, not really. All the information you need is on the internet.

What's not on the internet for you is My Real Estate & Business Experience!

Everything about everything is now on the internet. What cannot be put on the internet is the hands-on actual experience a person gets through years of doing. Doing and Learning. Learning and Doing it Better and Better.

The value I bring is My Experience. Whenever I have a gut feeling something is not quite right, I'm rarely wrong and save my clients from an unpleasant situations.

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The Truth About Calgary Real Estate Commissions and For Sale By Owners

All prices you see quoted in the news media concerning home prices include Real Estate Fees. Those quoted prices are the Gross Prices a home sold for. The Net Price is what the home sold for less Real Estate Commissions. Typical Calgary Real Estate Fees are 7% on the first $100,000 and 3% on the Balance of the Gross Sale Price. Real Estate Commissions are paid from the sale proceeds.

As An example:

Gross Sale Price (Paid By Buyer)

$500,000

Listing Realtor 3.5% & 1.5%

-$9,500

Buyers Realtor 3.5% & 1.5%

-$9,500

GST on Real Estate Fees

-$950

Net Sale Price (Received by the Seller)

$480,050

Looking at the sale of a home this way it is easy to see why some sellers choose a strategy to sell the home themselves. For Sale By Owner (FSBO's) do the math and quickly decide that they should pay themselves the Real Estate Fees. I am a Realtor and when I look at it like this, I agree. Why should I pay a Realtor when I can pay myself?

What usually happens with For Sale By Owners is the home buyers not working with a Realtor do the same math to. The buyers deduct what they think Real Estate Commissions will be and that is the offer. Therefore, in the end most For Sale By Owners (if they sell) sell for close to the same NET PRICE or lower than they would have received had they used the services of organized Professional Real Estate. Which is fair. If there are no Real Estate Companies involved, there should be no Fees or Commissions to pay.

So if it's that easy why use a Professional Realtor? Because it's not that easy!

More than a third of all MLS listings expire unsold. Professional Realtors with all their skills, resources, time and money are not able to sell 1/3 of the new listings first time out. Many of these homes come back on the market at prices that buyers are willing to pay and do eventually sell.

If 1/3rd of homes marketed by Professional Real Estate do not sell first time around, I would imagine the % is much higher for FSBO's. For Sale By Owners do not have the resources or experience to expose the home to all the Currently Active Qualified Home Buyers in the market today. Realtors do!

In fact Professional Realtors will not show a house unless they know for certain, if that is the right house an offer would be written up and bank financing is already arranged. There is no worse waste of time than showing homes to people who can't buy one to if they wanted to. However, it happens to new Realtors and FSBO's all the time.

Real Estate Commissions are negotiable. And because Real Estate Fees are negotiable, aside from the typical 7 & 3 there are all kinds of other options out there. The old adage of "You Get What You Pay For" is as relevant today as when it was first spoken. You still cannot buy a Cadillac for the price of a Volkswagen. You cannot buy a home in Mount Royal for the average price of a home in Haysboro, not going to happen.

So I encourage you to research all your options before you decide to sell your home. 

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About Calgary Real Estate Commissions

Who pays and how much? I decided to write this article because the friendly lady at the post office yesterday thinks all real estate agents are rich and make $14,000 on every deal.

In Calgary, all real estate fees are negotiable. There is no set limit either high or low. Some Realtors will work for nothing and some have a lot higher standards.

Let's say a person lists a home for sale with a listing agent and agrees to pay 7% on the first $100,000 of the selling price and 3% on the balance. And let’s say the home sells for $350,000. The fees deducted from the sales proceeds of $350,000 would be $7,000.00 plus $7,500 plus 5% GST for a total of $15,225.00 leaving the seller with $334,775.00 So the nice lady at the post office wasn’t too far off the mark with her estimate of $14,000.

The truth is that most deals involve a buyer's Realtor and a Sellers Realtor. And the two Realtors as a rule of thumb would split the commission 50/50. So each Realtor would end up with $7,612.50 minus the 5% GST they collected on behalf of the Government Of Canada, each agent is down to $7,250.00 30% of that should probably be set aside for Income Taxes, so now those Calgary Realtors each have about $5,075.00.

Out of that comes fees to the Realtors Brokerage, Calgary Real Estate Board, Real Estate Council of Alberta, Alberta Real Estate Association, and office expenses, advertising and promotions, professional development costs, vehicle expenses, insurance, and the always popular unforeseen expenses.

Little by little that huge commission everyone thinks Realtors make on every deal gets whittled away to; not much left.

The 80/20 Rule applies to Realtors. 80% of the Realtors split up 20% of the business. Most Realtors don’t make much money if any and most don’t last in the business very long because it is a tough way to make a living. The 20% of the Realtors doing 80% of the business usually have massive expenses and large teams that all get a piece of the commission pie. The Realtors that really do the best, are the agents that own rental properties. There are no company pensions in the Real Estate Business, Realtors have to create their own and the smart ones do it with Rental Properties.

Back to the commissions. I know you really don’t care about our expenses you only care about the gross amount you have deducted from the sales proceeds. There are lots of options to avoid paying what some call typical commissions in Calgary and all have their pros and cons.

Some people become so focused on not paying commissions that they end up losing a lot more money in other ways. At the end of the day if you are buying a home, get a Realtor you know will be looking out for you 100% of the time. And the same thing if you are selling. Buyer Agents work for buyers and Sellers Agents work for sellers.

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Categories:   Canyon Meadows, Calgary Real Estate | Commissions | Condos | First Time Home Buyers | Foreclosures | Home Buyers | Home Sellers | Investors | Mortgages
Data is supplied by Pillar 9™ MLS® System. Pillar 9™ is the owner of the copyright in its MLS®System. Data is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate by Pillar 9™.
The trademarks MLS®, Multiple Listing Service® and the associated logos are owned by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and identify the quality of services provided by real estate professionals who are members of CREA. Used under license.