Realtors seeing a deluge of home buyers in Calgary after last months’ flooding

CALGARY – Calgary realtors say last month’s record floods are already having an impact on the city’s housing market.

Thomas Keeper of Tink International Real Estate says he’s been seeing a “crazy amount of activity” over the past few weeks, fielding multiple offers on some properties.

He says wealthy homeowners in posh flood-affected neighbourhoods are paying asking price on homes elsewhere in the city while their existing properties are being repaired.

That’s had a ripple effect on the entire city, as buyers who were in the market before the flood are forced to look further afield for properties in their price range.

Re/Max associate Mike Hornby says July is usually a slow time of year for him, but demand for homes has been “relentless” over the past few weeks.

The rental market in Calgary was tight before the flood hit and now, with virtually nothing on the market, Hornby says many would-be renters are being pushed into buying.