Calgary’s vibrant housing market continues to defy expectations, showcasing remarkable resilience and record-breaking activity in May. This surge was predominantly fueled by an unprecedented demand for apartment condominiums, signaling a significant shift in buyer preferences and market dynamics. While earlier months in the year hinted at potential declines, the latest figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) paint a picture of undeniable momentum. The market remains exceptionally tight, characterized by a persistent scarcity of new listings compared to the previous year, which has consequently driven down overall inventory levels to critical lows. With an impressive sales-to-new-listings ratio hitting 85 percent and a mere one month’s supply of homes available across the city, conditions unequivocally favor sellers, exerting sustained upward pressure on home prices across nearly all property segments.
“Calgary’s housing market continues to exceed expectations with the recent gain in sales activity this month,” affirms Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB Chief Economist. She further elaborates that several converging factors are contributing to this robust performance. The steady rise in interest rates has made larger mortgages more challenging for many prospective buyers, leading them to explore more accessible housing options. Concurrently, a significant increase in rental rates has made homeownership, particularly in more affordable segments like apartment condominiums, an increasingly attractive alternative to renting. This confluence of factors, coupled with a notable uptick in new apartment listings, has provided buyers with more choices within this segment, directly contributing to the sector’s exceptional surge in sales. Lurie also highlights Calgary’s booming job market and sustained population growth as foundational pillars, ensuring that housing demand remains strong and diversified across all property types, solidifying the city’s position as a dynamic real estate hub.
The unadjusted benchmark price for a home in Calgary reached an impressive $557,000 in May. This figure represents a healthy increase of over one percent from the previous month and stands nearly three percent higher than last year’s monthly peak price of $543,000, underscoring the consistent appreciation property values are experiencing within the city.
Strong Demand for Higher-Priced Detached Homes Partially Offsets Declines in Lower Price Ranges
Despite the overall surge in May’s sales activity, the detached housing segment presented a more nuanced picture. It did not translate into across-the-board growth, primarily due to a noticeable decline in sales for lower-priced homes. However, this dip was partially counteracted by a significant increase in sales for detached properties priced above $600,000, illustrating a clear segmentation within this category. CREB’s analysis attributes the limited choices for consumers actively seeking more affordable detached homes to an ongoing and pronounced decrease in new listings within that specific price bracket. Conversely, properties situated in higher price ranges benefited from improved new listing numbers. Yet, the unrelenting demand spanning all price segments meant that market conditions remained exceptionally tight, subsequently contributing to further and sustained price gains within the detached sector.
The benchmark price for detached homes in Calgary climbed to $674,000 in May, marking a nearly two percent increase from the preceding month. More remarkably, this figure represents a robust four percent increase when compared to last year’s peak price of $647,000, indicating strong year-over-year growth. This upward trend was pervasive, with every district across Calgary reporting new record high prices for detached homes. Year-over-year gains demonstrated a wide range, from a two percent increase in the city’s established City Centre to a substantial 12 percent surge in the more rapidly developing East District, reflecting diverse market pressures and growth patterns across the metropolitan area.
Semi-Detached Sector Achieves Near-Record Sales, Resulting in Further Price Gains
The semi-detached housing market in Calgary also experienced an exceptional surge in sales during May, reaching levels that neared all-time record highs for the month. However, this heightened activity was met with critical supply constraints. With only 279 sales recorded against a mere 269 new listings, available inventories dwindled rapidly, pushing the months of supply figure to well below one month. CREB’s assessment points to these exceptionally tight market conditions as the primary driver behind further significant price gains. This intense pressure pushed the benchmark price for semi-detached homes above the $600,000 threshold for the very first time in Calgary’s history. This milestone marks the seventh consecutive month of price increases in this segment, with current levels soaring over three percent higher than last year’s monthly peak, highlighting a sustained and robust appreciation.
Richard Fleming, a seasoned broker and owner of Re/Max Real Estate (Mountain View), provides valuable insight into these market shifts. He explains that the escalating interest rates are posing a considerable challenge for numerous potential buyers who initially had their sights firmly set on purchasing detached homes. “Residents in the area, who two years ago, could afford a detached home at a 2.25 per cent rate for a five-year fixed term, are no longer able to today, due to interest rates coupled with inflation and the rising cost of living,” Fleming clarifies. This dramatic shift in affordability is compelling buyers to recalibrate their expectations and explore alternative housing types. Despite these financial headwinds, Fleming notes a strong underlying desire for homeownership: “With that being said, prospective buyers are still eager to enter the market, even if it means doing so through semi-detached homes and condominiums.” This sentiment perfectly explains the intense demand observed in these more accessible segments.
Mirroring the trend in detached homes, every district within Calgary reported new record high prices for semi-detached properties. The most substantial year-over-year gains were particularly evident in the highly affordable East district, where prices surged by nearly 12 percent, underscoring its growing appeal and demand.
Low Inventory Continues to Hamper Row Home Market
According to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB), the row home market observed an improvement in new listings during May when compared to the earlier months of the year. While this might suggest an easing of supply constraints, a simultaneous surge in sales meant that the sales-to-new-listings ratio remained exceptionally high, registering at an impressive 89 percent. This imbalance prevented any significant positive change in the persistently low inventory situation that has plagued this segment. Consequently, overall sales activity for row homes remained lower than that of the previous year, a direct result of the acute lack of available supply.
Inventory levels in the row home sector have plummeted dramatically, decreasing by a staggering 50 percent year-over-year, leaving less than one month’s supply available for prospective buyers. As a direct consequence of this severe supply-demand imbalance, prices for row homes have continued their upward trajectory without significant pause. The benchmark price for a row home reached $390,500 in May, marking a two percent increase from the previous month. More significantly, this price point is nearly nine percent higher than last year’s peak price of $359,600, showcasing robust annual growth. All districts across Calgary experienced considerable price gains for row homes, with the most pronounced year-over-year increases exceeding 15 percent in the highly sought-after North East, South, and East districts, further emphasizing the intense demand in more affordable pockets of the city.
Apartment Condominium Sales Surge to New Record High
The undisputed standout performer in Calgary’s real estate market in May was the apartment condominium sector, which witnessed an extraordinary surge in activity, reaching an unprecedented 858 units sold. This represents a remarkable year-over-year gain of 36 percent, clearly indicating a dramatic shift in buyer focus. This significant increase in sales was actively supported by recent gains in new listings, with 1,025 new apartment condominium listings recorded in May, marking an eight percent increase compared to the previous year. While this boost in new inventory was welcome, it was still insufficient to meet the overwhelming demand. The sales-to-new-listings ratio remained exceptionally high at 84 percent, a clear indicator that despite more units coming onto the market, inventory levels continued to be significantly lower than those observed in May 2022, with a 23 percent decrease overall.
Richard Fleming highlights the escalating demand within this segment, specifically noting a significant increase in interest for condominiums and apartments priced below $400,000. He further elaborates on the competitive environment: “The shortage of condo inventory is making this a very competitive market that favours sellers. Listings are seeing multiple offers come through, and I anticipate that prices will increase across the board for condominiums specifically.” This seller-centric environment is a direct result of buyers being priced out of other market segments and turning to condominiums as their most viable entry point into homeownership in Calgary. The combination of surging sales and critically limited inventory levels culminated in an extremely low months of supply figure, standing at just over one month for apartment condominiums, underscoring the fierce competition.
In May, the unadjusted benchmark price for apartment condominiums reached $298,600, reflecting a healthy monthly gain of over one percent. Even more notably, this represents a significant year-over-year increase of nearly 11 percent. CREB reports that this impressive growth has not only recovered but also brought apartment condominium prices back to levels last seen in 2014, signaling a full turnaround for a segment that experienced a protracted period of stagnation. While not every district reported new record high prices for apartment condominiums, several key areas, including the North, North West, West, and South East districts, did report a full recovery to or beyond previous peaks. Overall, year-over-year price growth in the apartment condominium segment displayed a broad range, from a high of 16 percent in the thriving North District to a still robust low of 10 percent in the established City Centre, illustrating widespread and significant appreciation across the city.