Sales of detached homes in Calgary have declined to levels not since for a decade.
Weakness in that property type continues to impact overall sales activity, which in May was down 19% year-over-year and 26% below longer-term averages with total sales of 1,726 units.
Calgary Real Estate Board’s latest figures show that the detached sector was down 23% year-over-year with 1,058 sales; apartment sales were unchanged at 282; attached sales dropped 15.9% to 386.
"The impact of rising lending rates and stricter qualification levels is causing demand to ease across all product types," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie." Economic conditions have improved compared to several years ago, but the pace of economic recovery has not been enough to outweigh the changes in lending conditions."
Market supply has risen to 4.9 months and prices have stagnated at $436,900 (benchmark), 0.6% lower than May 2017.
$500K+ sector impacted by mortgage rules
Although there have been broad increases in inventory, CREB says it is most notable in detached homes priced $500,000 or above.
"The changes in the lending market are preventing some people from moving up in the market. Uncertainty has also caused others to wait on making changes to their housing situation," said CREB® president Tom Westcott.
Months of supply for the higher price ranges remain high compared to the past several years. However, they still remain below record levels that occurred post financial crisis (2008 – 2009).
