Spooky season is over and the leaves have all fallen. You can't say the same for the buying temperature in Calgary real estate market though. October sales pulled back compared to the previous month but this happens every year - it's a typical seasonal pattern of our market and sales were still 17% higher than same time last year. About 30% this month's sales were made up of apartment-style condos as the demand for affordable properties continue to grow. New listings improved but it wasn't enough to tip the scale. Inventory levels were still more than 40% lower than what is usually for sale in the month of October. We are still in sellers' market territory and it will take some time to get back towards more balanced market conditions. The tight market pushed total residential benchmark price up almost 10% higher than last October, currently sitting at $571,600 across the city. As usual, let's dissect this further.
DETACHED
Buying temperature on the rise and so are the prices. In October, there were 976 recorded detached home sales - a slight pull back from the previous month but again, this is typical during this time of year. Compared to October of last year, sales have increased by almost 4%. Buyers searching for homes under $700,000 are having a hard time with the incredibly low inventory levels. These tight market conditions pushed the benchmark price up 12% higher on an annual basis. The benchmark price for a detached home in Calgary in October was $697,600. Price gains were recorded across all Calgary districts except the SE. The most significant price gains happened in the city's East and NE districts.
SEMI-DETACHED
Same same, but different. Semi-detached properties faced similar supply challenges as the detached sector. New listings improved this month but the added inventory was gobbled up real quick. The sales-to-new-listings ratio pushed past 76% this month leaving buyers for this property type with very few selections. Inventory levels were almost half of what is typically observed in the month of October in other years - it's the lowest it's been since October of 2005. As the market gets tighter, the prices of homes also get higher. The benchmark price of a semi-detached home in Calgary moved up from last month to $628,700, a 13% Y/Y increase. Just like the detached sector, the highest price gains were recorded in the city's most affordable East and NE districts.
ROWS & TOWNS
Townhomes took the spotlight as the shiny new toy in real estate this year. There were 420 new listings that came to market in October and 375 recorded sales, bringing the S/NL ratio up over 89%. The added inventory was not enough to level the playing field for buyers. Sales activity reached a record high for the month of October but the inventory levels have not been this low in 18 years. These tight market conditions kept the months of supply low at 1 month, and pushed the benchmark price up from last month. At $425,200, the benchmark price of a townhome is 19% higher than same time last year. Prices have trended up across all Calgary districts but the largest price gain was recorded in City Centre where growth this year has been the lowest compared to the rest of the city.
APARTMENTS
Breaking records this month! Record sales in October were made possible by the influx of new listings. There were 727 listings that came to market this month, which is a much needed 36% improvement compared to last year. However, 88% of the added inventory sold, keeping the inventory levels low. This is especially true for apartments price below $300,000. Supply challenges hold back potential sales while pushing price growth. The benchmark price of an apartment-style condo in Calgary for the month of October inched up from the previous month to $316,600, a 16% gain from October of 2022. Price growth occurred across the city with the most growth noted again, is Calgary's most affordable East and NE districts.
Source: creb.com
