Calgary’s Housing Market Experiencing Surge in Prices and Listings

Last week, the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) released its Q2 2024 housing market report, which provides an overview of the real estate landscape in Calgary and surrounding areas, highlighting trends in sales and pricing.

A seller’s market with sales-to-new listings below 80% for the first time since Q1 2023

New listings have increased for the fourth consecutive quarter compared to last year, particularly in the higher price ranges of each property type. Rising prices and high lending rates have motivated more sellers to list their properties, causing the sales-to-new listings ratio to drop below 80% for the first time since Q1 2023.

Nevertheless, the market still favors sellers with a Q2 sales-to-new-listings ratio of 75% and a one-month supply.

Slower sales due to lower-priced properties, yet still above trends

In the second quarter, sales decreased by three percent compared to the same period last year, mainly attributed to lower-priced properties with limited supply. Despite this, sales levels were 29% above long-term trends and nearly six percent higher than last year after the first half of the year.

“The unexpected surge in migration over the past two years has contributed to the demand growth and supply challenges seen in the Calgary market,” says Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at CREB.

“While we still need to address the pent-up demand, a slowdown in migration levels and supply increases in the resale and new home markets should begin to create more balanced conditions, alleviating some pressure on home prices.”

 Source: CREB

Home prices have increased by 10% thus far this year, with row properties experiencing the largest gain at 19% and detached and semi-detached homes seeing a 13% growth.

What’s next

CREB anticipates that a rise in supply from the new home sector will help establish a better-supplied market, including for rentals, and alleviate pressure on home prices.

Slower price growth is projected for the second half of the year as supply expands, particularly affecting higher-priced properties. The board suggests that further price increases will impact the most affordable property types with ongoing tight conditions.

Review the full report here.