DETACHED
The market shifts for detached homes are pulling in different directions based on price points. Sales activity in this segment slipped for the sixth month in a row. Most of this pullback was driven by homes priced below $500,000. There was a significant decrease in supply levels so it was slim pickings for buyers looking in this price bracket. On the other hand, sales levels of homes priced between $600,000-$999,999 continue to improve and in September we saw the largest growth in new listings & supply levels. The overall detached home market is WAY more balanced now than it was earlier this year. Even though the benchmark price fell to $628,000, it is still early 13% higher than the benchmark price in September 2021.
SEMI-DETACHED
Compared to August, we saw further pullbacks for semi-detached homes but it was not enough to offset the incredibly strong gains earlier this year. The year-to-date sales are still 6% higher than 2021 levels. On the YTD note, the number of new listings this year is just a tad lower than levels from last year and kept the inventory way below long-term trends. That being said, the recent pullback in sales was enough to push the months of supply up to 2.49 months, up
0.76% compared to last year. Although the market is still pretty tight for semi-detached homes, prices trended down after higher-than-expected gains in Q1 and Q2. The benchmark price is still over 10% higher than September of last year.
ROWS & TOWNS
More & more buyers have their eyes on townhomes! With recent lending rate increases + tight market conditions in the two property types mentioned above, the demand for townhomes continue to grow. Sales activity improved beyond last year's level, and we saw a record high pace of sales this year. There were fewer new listings to go around but strong sales activity. You know what that means? Most listings that are priced properly are selling fast. Sales-to-new-listings ratio was almost 82% for the month of September, keeping months of supply under 2 months - that's pretty low. The highest year-over-year price gain was in Calgary's North district, driving the overall townhome benchmark price to $321,100 - that's over 15% higher than the same time last year!
APARTMENTS
Let's talk about the dark horse - condos! Hitting 450 sales this month, this is a record number of sales for the month of September. In 2022, there were 5,025 apartment sales, contributing to a 60% gain from last year. The strong demand for apartments this year shifted the market from the longstanding buyers' market, to more balanced conditions. If priced properly, apartments take an average of 46 days to sell - almost 30% faster than the average of 65 days same time last year. Because inventory levels & demand for apartments are in a very balanced region, we saw very modest price gains almost 1% from August, and nearly 11% from last September. Price gains were mostly driven by sales in the North, NE, and SE districts.
The market has always been a moving target. Gone are the days when a property will automatically sell regardless of the listing price. With so many forces (e.g. rate hikes, emigration, investor attention) influencing demand & supply levels, it is even harder to lock in the target. That's why it is so important for agents to communicate with their clients to keep up & stay ahead of the market.
Source: creb.com
