The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) reports that In February, the City of Calgary witnessed a rise in new listings, reaching 2,711 units. Despite this increase, sales also soared, marking a nearly 23 per cent rise compared to the previous year, totalling 2,135 units.
Price jumps driven by low inventory and high demand
This surge in sales, coupled with new listings, maintained an exceptionally high sales-to-new listings ratio of 79 per cent, ensuring that inventories remained at historic lows. Consequently, the months of supply dropped to just over one month, approaching the tight levels seen a year ago during the spring.
“Purchasers are acting quickly when new supply comes onto the market, preventing inventory growth in the market,” notes Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist. “It is this strong demand and low supply that continues to drive price gains in Calgary.
The biggest supply challenge is for homes priced under $500,000, which saw inventories fall by 31 per cent compared to last February. At the same time, we are starting to see supply levels rise for higher priced homes supporting more balanced conditions in the upper end.”
February’s unadjusted detached benchmark price surged to $585,000, marking a gain of over 2 per cent compared to the previous month and a 10 per cent increase from the previous year.
Notably, the East district witnessed the highest year-over-year price growth at 25 per cent, while the City Centre (which has more supply) reported the slowest price growth at under 5 per cent.
Here’s how the market fared by property type.
Detached homes
The detached housing segment observed 1,195 new listings in February, with 75 per cent priced over $600,000. Despite an improvement in new listings compared to the previous month, sales rose to 954 units, driving inventory levels to near-record lows for February.
The exceptionally tight market conditions propelled further price growth, with the unadjusted detached benchmark price hitting $721,300, a nearly 3 per cent increase from the previous month and over 13 per cent more than the previous year.
Semi-detached homes
In February, 223 new listings faced 191 sales in the semi-detached segment, maintaining the low inventory situation. The unadjusted benchmark price reached $639,100, marking a monthly gain of over 2 per cent and a 13 per cent increase from the previous year.
Row homes
February saw 457 new listings in the row home segment, contributing to a year-to-date increase of 22 per cent. Strong price growth persisted, with the unadjusted detached price reaching $436,500, more than 2 per cent over the previous month and a nearly 19 per cent surge from the previous year.
Apartment condominiums
Sales in the apartment condominium segment reached 638 units in February, supporting a year-to-date sales increase of 39 per cent. A persistently tight market continued to drive price growth, with prices reaching $329,600, marking a 17 per cent gain over the previous year.
Review Calgary’s city and regional February updates, including area summaries.
