Calgary Real Estate Market Update OCTOBER 2019

October’s sales activity improved by almost 10 percent compared to the previous year, led mostly by improvements for apartment and attached product.

Besides, new listings also eased, which helped reduce inventory levels and market over-supply. Despite the switch to more stable conditions, the market remains oversupplied, and prices continue to remain low as compared to last year’s levels.

“Employment has shifted in the city, with job growth occurring in our non-traditional sectors and often at a different pay scale. This is consistent with the shift to more affordable housing product,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“However, at the higher end of the market, the amount of oversupply is rising, as supply cannot shift enough to compensate for the reductions in demand. This is likely causing divergent trends in pricing and preventing prices from stabilizing across the city.”

This is a market where signs of progress are not uniform across all product types and price ranges. However, improvements in sales are taking place across all product types in the lower price ranges. This does not necessarily mean price shifts since persistently high supply levels continue to put downward pressure on prices.

As of October, unadjusted benchmark prices across the city are $422,900, just below last month’s level and 2% less than the standards of the previous year.

CALGARY HOUSING MARKET STATS

Detached Homes for Sale in Calgary

• This month’s sales activity came in just above last year’s levels due to growth in all districts except the North East and North. Nonetheless, citywide year-to-date levels stand comparable to previous year’s levels and more than 19 percent less than longer-term trends.

• This month’s new listings continued to ease but at a slower pace than those recorded over the past eight months.

• Improvements in sales for homes for sale and the easing of new listings have reduced inventory levels by 15%. The months of supply are just under four months, with 3,391 units in inventory. Compared to last year, this is a decline, but it is still significant, based on long-term patterns. Months of supply eased in all districts except the North, possibly due to the increased pressure from the new-home sector.

• Unadjusted benchmark prices dropped during the previous month due to declines in all districts, except the South East and East. Overall, expenses in October stayed nearly 2% lower than the levels of last year and almost 8% lower than previous highs.

Apartment & Condo Sales in Calgary

• In October, prices of apartments continued to improve, and new listings eased. It helped to reduce inventory levels and shortened months of supply to under six months. The market remained firmly in the territories of buyers’, despite improvements.

• Year-to-date improvements in sales were driven by progress in the West, South East, and North sectors. Similarly, inventory declines have occurred in all districts, except for the South East.

• Ultimately, year-to-date prices stayed lower than last year’s levels by over two percent and approximately 17 percent lower than peak pricing. There are, however, some signs of price stability this year, with prices remaining comparable to those of last year in the North East, South East, and East for condos for sale in Calgary.

Attached Homes for Sale in Calgary

• The attached home market continues to show the most significant growth in sales, with a year-to-date increase of nearly 7%. Improvements happened across all districts except for the North West and North East.

• So far this year, new listings have eased by eight percent, causing inventory declines and over-supply reductions.

• Like most sectors, this segment stays oversupplied, causing price adjustments. As of October, both semi-detached and row prices remained 2% and 4% lower than last year’s levels, respectively. Prices continue to ease across nearly all districts and stay well below previous highs.

Now more than ever it is extremely important to engage an experienced and market educated Calgary real estate agent like Jesse Davies. Jesse is an award-winning top producer at Re/Max house who has been a licensed realtor in the city of Calgary for over 12 years. Contact him or his team at 403.969.2363 or via email at [email protected].