High demand coupled with low inventory continues to drive significant price gains in Calgary's real estate market, particularly in February.
Despite a rise in new listings to 2,711 units, sales surged by nearly 23 percent compared to the previous year, totaling 2,135 units. This surge in sales, fueled by increased new listings, maintained an exceptionally high sales-to-new listings ratio of 79 percent, ensuring inventories remained near historic lows. As a result, the months of supply fell to just over one month, nearing the tight levels seen during last spring.
Ann-Marie Lurie, Chief Economist at CREB®, noted, "Purchasers are acting quickly when new supply comes onto the market, preventing inventory growth. It is this strong demand and low supply that continues to drive price gains in Calgary." Notably, the most significant supply challenge is for homes priced under $500,000, with inventories falling by 31 percent compared to the previous February.
In February, the unadjusted detached benchmark price reached $585,000, marking a gain of over two percent compared to the previous month and over 10 percent higher than the same period last year. The East district experienced the highest year-over-year price growth at 25 percent, while the City Centre reported the slowest price growth at under five percent.
For detached properties, although new listings improved to 1,195 units, sales rose by 20 percent year-over-year to 954 units, predominantly in the higher price range of over $600,000. Tight market conditions drove the unadjusted detached benchmark price to $721,300, nearly three percent higher than the previous month and over 13 percent higher than last February.
Semi-detached properties saw a brief rise in listings compared to sales, with 223 new listings met by 191 sales, resulting in an 86 percent sales-to-new-listings ratio. This prevented significant changes to the low inventory situation, leading to a monthly gain of over two percent in the unadjusted benchmark price, reaching $639,100.
Row properties witnessed a rise in new listings to 457 units, contributing to strong price growth with the unadjusted detached price reaching $436,500, over two percent higher than the previous month and nearly 19 percent higher than last February.
In the apartment condominium segment, sales reached 638 units in February, with the unadjusted benchmark price rising to $329,600, marking a 17 percent gain over last February. Despite a seasonal uptick in inventory levels, the market continued to favor sellers with just over one month of supply.
Regionally, Airdrie, Cochrane, and Okotoks all experienced similar trends of improved new listings but continued low inventory levels, contributing to significant price gains in their respective markets.
Overall, the combination of low inventory levels and high demand continues to put upward pressure on home prices in Calgary and its surrounding regions.
Information gathered from CREB.