Covid-19: What is Happening in the Calgary Real Estate Market + How to Prep Your Home for Sale

Covid-19 is wreaking havoc with the stock market.

The central banks in Canada and the US have either dropped their key lending rates or are headed in that direction.

The BoC dropped by another 1/2 point last week putting the benchmark rate at .75%, will the banks follow suit?

One will have to wait and see.

Right now, Scotia is the only lender reporting any sort of alteration to their rates and they are actually RAISING their rates, they have gotten rid of their Variable Prime Minus product altogether. It used to be their prime lending rate minus .65%, that is now gone.

I am hopeful the other lenders don't follow this, that said, the longer rate hold options are looking good with 5 year fixed rates at or around 2.34%.

So what will the pandemic do to the local housing market?

Good question. Right now I am hearing a lot of agents talk about showing cancellations on their listings. I am hearing about buyer's being scared to get out and look.

I am hearing about open houses on the weekends being cancelled.

Being that this virus will likely peak at 4-6 months, we are still very much in the early stages of all of this so it would be irresponsible of me to try and tell you what I believe will be the affect on our market. 

I simply don't know, but with rates dropping like they are the affordability index has certainly gone up for a lot of people that may have been on the bubble before the drop and will certainly reduce the cost of borrowing for those that weren't close to the edge.

Here's some advice I can give you as a buyer and as a seller.

As a buyer when viewing homes:

• Don't touch anything when going into a property.
• Don't turn off lights
• Don't sit on the furniture 
• Don't use the washroom
• Use hand sanitizer after you view each property.

As a seller when presenting your home:

• Talk to your Realtor and have them send a note to the buyer's agent to not turn off the lights, to not sit on the furniture, to not use the washroom and to not close interior doors.
• Leave all interior doors open
• Wipe down all handles with wet wipes after the showing

I am still working with buyer's and I am looking to work with my current sellers and future sellers to ensure that we are getting the best exposure and finding the right homes, but at the same time keeping everyone safe.

I will have a market update for you later in the week, for now, I hope you are keeping warm this weekend and that you've been able to spend some quality time with loved ones.

Happy Sunday!

Kelley Skar | Realtor CIR Realty

️ Cell: 403.827.7527 | kelleyskar.com