Calgary Housing Market Balancing

The Calgary housing market saw the first month since December 2014 where residential unadjusted benchmark prices actually improved compared to the previous month. During the month of May, the housing prices within the city of Calgary totalled $454,100. This was a monthly increase of 0.55% and a year-over-year increase of 0.96%.

Compared to last year, new listings have eased a bit, which has also helped to push closer to balanced conditions even though sales are a bit slower, currently. This can help to prevent any further declines when it comes to the unadjusted benchmark price.

For the month of May, Calgary had 3,161 units listed, which is a 27% decrease over May of 2014. The total inventory levels for May were 5,342 units, which is 16% higher compared to May of 2014.

The most common measures of balance are the supply for the month and the ration of sales to new listings. For the month of May 2015, the supply saw a decrease of 2.43, while ratio of sales to new listings was 69%. Both of these fall within the normal levels for balanced conditions in Calgary.

The largest decline in new listings has come from the detached sector with an 8% decline. However, the overall inventory is 12% higher compared to the same time last year. The majority of detached sales happened below the $500,000 mark with 1,366 units sold in May. This shows the conditions not as tight as the same time last year and in favour of the seller.

The apartment sector has been the only housing sector with prices reaming about the same as last year's figures. The May apartment benchmark price was only 0.2% lower than last year, but it increased by 1.2% over April of 2015.

Overall, the statistics show the real estate market in the City of Calgary becoming more balanced. The impact this will all have on the housing prices will depend on how long the economy slows down and on the inventory and how it builds up in the new home sector.