Chinese inquiries up for Calgary's residential real estate
Inquiries by Chinese buyers into the Calgary real estate market have jumped dramatically over the past year, according to figures compiled by the Juwai.com website, which bills itself as the largest Chinese international real estate search engine. Meanwhile, the Calgary Real Estate Board says Chinese investors haven’t yet made an impact on sales statistics. But some realtors say sales to buyers from the People’s Republic of China have been significant for them. Juwai CEO Carrie Law says Chinese inquiries into the Calgary market were up 50 per cent in the third quarter, from the second quarter of 2018, and increased 200 per cent above the third quarter of 2017. But she says actual numbers of inquiries are proprietary. Law says an uptick in inquiries is typically reflected in sales increases within six to nine months, but she has no figures on the rate at which inquiries are converted to sales. Chinese investment has been a driving force in the high-priced Toronto and Vancouver markets but it’s clearly not yet a defining factor in the Calgary market place. “Chinese demand in Calgary is higher than it has ever been,” Law says. “This is a long-term growth trend. For Chinese buyers, Calgary is the essence of everything good about Canada. Calgary is a full-fledged city with international connections and good schools, but it’s small enough to be very livable and to not suffer from congestion or pollution. It’s one of the five most livable cities in the world,” she notes.
Tags : INTERNATIONAL