The real estate market is resilient and persistent. This year is living proof that Calgary real estate is alive and well! Compared to this time last year, the number of new listings is improved but so has sales activity. The pace of new inventory in the market has been lagging behind the continued demand for homes this year. Sales this year are on pace to hit new record highs; we're 42% higher than past 10-year averages. We're hoping the momentum in the market continues to swing upward. Who knew the market was going to flip so quickly from a buyer's market into a seller's market?
DETACHED
Tight market conditions continue for this property type. There were more new listings compared to this time last year but October showed very strong sales activity. The sales-to-new-listings ratio rose to a whopping 99% and we know this usually goes hand in hand with benchmark pricing. Benchmark price of detached homes rose to $540,900 - that's more than 10% higher than last year. The strongest sales growth this month was in the NE and East districts - the city's most affordable districts. Looking at all of 2021 so far, price growth has been strongest in North and SE districts where prices have gone up by 11%.
SEMI-DETACHED
Sales continue to move in the upward direction for this property type. In October, there were fewer new listings hitting the market so inventory levels were low in relation to both existing & new buyer demand. Like its not-so-distant cousin mentioned above, the semi-detached homes sales-to-new-listing ratio this month hovers above 98%. Talk about tough luck for buyers!
ROWS & TOWNS
Prices in townhomes have not recovered to previous highs, but prices did trend up in October to $300,000. Sales remained relatively strong this month and unlike the previous property types, there was a significant influx of townhome listings. This helped keep the inventory levels from being depleted. Although the market conditions were not as tight as they were last month, total sales were still almost 25% higher than in October 2020.
APARTMENTS
Some good news for condo owners in City Centre! Compared to last October, condominium sales are up 54% and almost half of the sales were in City Centre. There has been an oversupply in apartments across Calgary but it is no secret that City Centre is flooded with inventory, so we cannot rule out the possibility that price reductions contributed to the improved sales activity. The decrease in prices in the downtown area offset the gains recorded in other districts of the city. Despite a slight drop in benchmark pricing from last month, October apartment sales were strong compared to both last year's levels & long-term averages.
Demand remains higher than inventory levels in most areas of the city. Even though the market is not as tight as it was in the spring & summer months, we are still seeing very strong sales in the fall season. It has been a much more gradual cool-down compared to previous years - for the real estate market and for the temperatures as well! I've been pretty thankful for the extra long fall season this year. There seem to be many buyers trying to get into their new homes before the holidays. What a great time to have friends & family over!
Source: creb.com
