Calgary's hot house-flipping market is cooling off, real estate insiders say

Calgary leads the country in flipping houses, as recent data from the Bank of Canada shows nearly seven per cent of homes purchased in the Calgary metropolitan area were re-sold within 12 months.
That's far above cities like Toronto, Quebec, Vancouver and Edmonton, which came second to Calgary at 4.2 per cent of homes purchased and successfully flipped.
But, according to Andrew Jones, a Calgary-based Realtor who spoke to the This is Calgary podcast, Canada's hottest house-flipping metropolis may be entering a cool-down period.
LISTEN | Will Calgary's house flipping trend continue?
Since 2020, he said, "markets [have] been running like crazy. We have seen prices just taking off. We've seen really low inventory levels and all of that has led to a lot of people getting into the flipping because, quite honestly, if you just buy a property and hold it for six months or a year and do nothing, you were probably going to make money."
Now, Jones said, it's less of a guarantee.
"As we get to a balanced market, we have more inventory. There's a lot more competition out there," he said. "If you're flipping, you're going to have to do a little bit more than, you know, paint everything white and throw some black fixtures on and call it a day."
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB), last month's inventories rose to 5,876 units, more "consistent with what we typically see in April," while sales were down 22 per cent from last year's level, with 2,236 units sold.
Economic uncertainty has played a role in the dip in home sales, but "previous gains in migration, relatively stable employment levels, lower lending rates, and better supply choice compared to last year's ultra-low levels have likely prevented a more significant pullback in sales and have kept home prices relatively stable," Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB chief economist, said in a press release.
According to Calgarian Shelly Visser, who flips houses with Front Door Investments and Rich Girl Renovators, Calgary is an attractive place for house flippers.
"It's a beautiful city to live in. There's a lot of opportunities. It's affordable compared to some of the other provinces, there's growth, there's a younger demographic, there's a lot of different price points for everyone," she explained to This is Calgary's Jenny Howe.
"So no matter what product you are flipping, you can meet a price point that is needed for that demographic."
Jones said an influx of migrants helped keep Calgary's housing market afloat as interest rates went up.
"We saw a lot of migration here. Everyone in Canada wanted to move here. It was an attractive place to be, and because of that, I think the flip market ... garnered a lot of action, a lot of activity."
The lack of any vacancy tax or land-transfer tax adds to the appeal, especially for 25-40 year olds who use house flipping as a side hustle, Visser said.
"It's doable to make anywhere from $80,000 up to $200-300,000 depending on what is going on. Depends on the market as well," Visser said.
"That's a really important factor in your decision making because if you've bought at a height of a market or the market's a little bit higher and then six months later you're finishing and then now the market's in a downturn, there goes maybe your profit."
"Things are cooling off, but a balanced market is good," said Jones, the Calgary Realtor.
"It's been excellent for sellers for a long time, but it's been really challenging for buyers. So a balanced market is an opportunity for both buyers and sellers to have a little bit of benefit out there."
Jones is seeing flipped homes close to the University of Calgary still selling quickly, in neighbourhoods like Charleswood and Brentwood.
But what's slowing down is the full two-storey detached homes, where "someone's gone in there ... they've thrown lipstick on a pig. They've painted the house, they've thrown in some new appliances, but the home itself is still a little bit older."
He said because there isn't as much of an inventory crunch anymore, buyers have the option to wait and see what other properties enter the market.
Visser said that while the market is balancing out, it isn't declining — just cooling off.
"When you don't have that big panic and rush, it feels like a cooling off, right?" she said. "So when we're talking about Calgary, we are still very healthy and it's actually good to be balanced.
Jones said, moving forward, there's going to be more competition in the housing market.
"You're gonna have to do a little bit more to make your property stand out."

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