Calgary home sales remain robust despite supply shortages in lower price ranges

The Calgary Real Estate Board reported on the most recent stats, saying, in a market that continues to show resilience, May saw a total of 3,092 resale home sales. While this figure is nearly one per cent below last year’s record high, it is 34 per cent higher than long-term trends for the month. The pullback in sales was primarily driven by declines in lower-priced detached and semi-detached homes, where there was limited supply choice compared to last year.

“Although new listings have increased, much of this growth is in higher price ranges for each property type,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, Chief Economist at CREB^®. “Our strong economic situation has supported sales growth in these higher price ranges. However, this month’s sales could not offset the declines in the lower price ranges due to a lack of supply choice.”

New listings in May reached 4,333 units, almost 19 per cent higher than last year. This increase in new listings compared to sales caused the sales-to-new listings ratio to drop to 71 per cent, supporting a modest year-over-year inventory gain. Despite this, inventory levels remained nearly half what we typically see in May, with most gains driven by homes priced above $700,000.

While inventories did improve this month, conditions continue to favour sellers with one month of supply. Several districts continue to report less than one month of supply, while the City Centre reported the highest supply-to-sales ratio at one and a half months. Seller market conditions drove price growth across all districts in the city. The unadjusted total residential benchmark price in May reached $605,300, nearly one per cent higher than last month and 10 per cent higher than last May.

Airdrie
A boost in new listings compared to sales helped support a gain in inventory this month. However, with only 208 units available, levels are still half what we traditionally see in the market in May. Detached homes accounted for nearly 70 per cent of all the inventory in Airdrie, with half of the detached supply priced below $700,000.

While Airdrie remains a relatively affordable alternative to Calgary for consumers, benchmark prices continue to rise over last month’s and last year’s levels. Benchmark prices ranged from $289,000 for apartment-style homes to $651,000 for detached properties.

Cochrane
This month’s 132 new listings were nearly matched with the 130 sales, causing the sales-to-new-listings ratio to rise to 98 per cent and inventories to decline.

The persistently tight market conditions continue to drive further price growth. The total residential benchmark price rose by over one per cent compared to last month and 10 per cent over last year. The most significant price growth occurred for apartment-style homes, which reached $304,900. Detached home prices rose to $667,700 in May.

Okotoks
Inventory levels in Okotoks continued to remain exceptionally low in May. With only 84 units in inventory, levels are 55 per cent lower than what is traditionally available in the market. While new listings improved slightly in May, the 100 new listings were met with 75 sales, keeping the sales-to-new listings ratio elevated at 75 per cent.

With one month of supply in the town, it is no surprise that we continue to see upward pressure on home prices. In May, the unadjusted residential benchmark price rose by one per cent over last month and is over eight per cent higher than last year’s. Prices ranged from $262,500 for an apartment condominium to $699,600 for a detached home.

Read the full release here https://www.creb.com/News/Media_Releases/2024/June/May_housing_stats/ and connect with me for more about the real estate market in and around Calgary. Join me on Facebook and Google to be a part of the action!