The Calgary Real Estate Board held its annual forecast meeting Wednesday and this year's Board president expects another good year for the resale real estate market in Calgary.

In his inaugural speech, president Don Dickson remarked, "Taking into account our record-breaking year in 2002 and the healthy year just ended, combined with consumer confidence and relatively low interest rates, we expect another positive year for resale real estate in Calgary."

Over 500 Calgary Real Estate Board members and industry guests were on hand to hear Dickson report that last year marked the second highest number of combined residential sales ever in Calgary at 24,359 units, behind 2002's record of 25,054 units. The number of residential sales is expected to decrease in 2004 to 22,750 units. The combined residential number is single-family units and condominiums together. Broken out, in 2004 the Board expects 17,100 of the sales to be single-family units, with the balance of 5,650 being comprised of condominiums.

"While we are expecting the market to ease somewhat from 2003's pace, any time over 20,000 units change hands in a year it indicates a very healthy real estate market," said Dickson.

The Calgary Real Estate Board is forecasting a slight increase in the number of residential listings coming to market in 2004, from last year's 39,276 (a new record) to 40,000 units in 2004.

"The numbers for 2003 saw us returning to a much more balanced market than 2002's environment of multiple offers, and we expect that trend to continue," said Dickson.

Breaking out the categories on the listings front, 30,000 single-family and 10,000 condominium listings are expected to hit the market in 2004.

Calgary's condominium market had another excellent year in 2003 and will remain a significant percentage of the overall market in 2004. Condominium sales for this year will account for about 25% of the resale market - this compares to 15% in 1994 and 10% in 1989.

"The concept of condo living has changed significantly over the past few years," said Dickson. "It's a lifestyle choice for many empty-nesters and people relocating to Calgary from larger urban centres, where condo living is the norm," he continued.

The average residential sale price was up 6.5% in 2003 over 2002. The Board's 2003 year-end statistics showed the average residential selling price at $211,164. It is expected to rise about 4.5% in 2004 to $221,000. Broken out, in 2003, the single-family average price was $229,095 and the average condominium price was $156,781. For 2004, these average prices are expected to come in at $239,400 and $163,800 respectively.

Given the projected numbers, the total dollar volume for residential properties trading hands in Calgary in 2004 is estimated to be in excess of $5 billion dollars.

"If you add commercial and rural transactions to the residential side, the total dollar volume could be as high $5.5 billion dollars by the end of 2004," remarked Dickson. "This gives us a clear picture of just how powerful the MLS(R) marketing system is to the real estate industry," he continued.

The Calgary Real Estate Board is a professional body of 4,474 licensed brokers and registered agents, representing 249 member offices. The Board does not generate statistics or analysis of any individual member or company's market share. All MLS(R) active listings for Calgary and area may be found on the Calgary Real Estate Board's website at www.creb.com.

-For more information, please contact: Don Dickson, President, at 272-0033 or Ron Esch, Executive Vice President, 263-0530.