Inventory in Calgary has hit a 17 year low, according to the Calgary Regional Real Estate Board (CREB). A decline in sales, with 1,648 homes trading hands, and only 1,611 newly listed homes, meant inventory totaled just 3,109, its lowest level since November 2005. However, the city is still on track to hit a record number of sales following a strong start to 2022.
Decline in Detached Homes Drives Dip in Sales
Detached home sales fell by nearly 34% month-over-month and 5% year-over-year. Calgarians are still favouring more affordable properties priced under $500,000, which has caused detached homeowners to hesitate in listing their homes, resulting in a 36% decline in newly listed detached homes in this price range. Despite the pullback, Calgary is still expected to see a record year for home sales as overall sales are almost 10% higher than last year’s record.
The tight conditions in the market are generally occurring in the lower price ranges. As a result of the pullback in both sales and new listings across Calgary, there are only 1.89 months of inventory, down from 2.09 last month, and up 1.1% year-over-year.
CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie explained: “Easing sales have been driven mostly by declines in the detached sector of the market. Higher lending rates are impacting purchasers’ buying power and limited supply choice in the lower price ranges of the detached market is likely causing many purchasers to place buying decisions on hold.”
Sellers: Semi-Detached Homes Still In Demand and Prices are Climbing
Despite the low inventory level, prices have decreased slightly since the spring. The decline has been steady, with prices dropping 4.7% since those highs, and only 0.7% from last month to $520,200. However, benchmark prices are still up 8.6% year-over-year.
Not all property types are experiencing the same price declines in Calgary, in fact, semi-detached homes have actually had a slight increase month-over-month. The average price in November was $562,800, up slightly from October at $558,700. With only 132 semi-detached homes listed for sale this month, inventory has declined by 29.8%, but unlike detached homes, the demand for semi-detached properties is still strong, signaling a great time for prospective sellers to list.
Sales in Surrounding Cities are Declining, but Inventory is Improving
Sales have dropped in Airdrie, Cochrane, and Okotoks. Airdrie experienced a 20.3% decline in sales, with only 114 homes sold in November. Cochrane followed suit with just 50 sales, a decline of 29.6% month-over-month, while Okoktok sales fell by 25.5% to 35.
However, inventory has improved in these areas; Okotok’s inventory is edging closer to two months of stock, at 1.94, up from 1.55 last month. Year-over-year, this marks a significant improvement, up over 70% from November last year. The average home price is trending upwards in Okotoks as well, increasing by just over 2% to $549,100.
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