Home sales gained almost 10% in Calgary in October but the market was mixed with not all housing segments benefitting.
Calgary Real Estate Board says that overall sales totaled 1,447 compared to the 1,320 a year earlier, making a year-to-date increase of 1.4% and a total of 14,370.
But sales were not consistent with more affordable homes, below $500,000, showing demand while the pricier end of the market remains oversupplied, putting prices under pressure.
CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says the market’s economics have changed.
"Employment has shifted in the city, with job growth occurring in our non-traditional sectors and often at a different pay scale. This is consistent with the shift to more affordable housing product," she said. "However, at the higher end of the market the amount of oversupply is rising, as supply cannot shift enough to compensate for the reductions in demand. This is likely causing divergent trends in pricing and preventing prices from stabilizing across the city."
Citywide unadjusted benchmark prices were $422,900, just below last month's levels and two per cent lower than last year's levels.
Market stats
Detached
- Sales activity this month came in just above last year's levels, thanks to growth in all districts except the North East and North. However, year-to-date citywide levels remain comparable to last year's levels and over 19% lower than longer-term trends.
- New listings continued to ease this month, but at a slower pace than levels recorded over the past eight months.
- Improvements in sales and easing new listings brought down inventory levels by 15%. With 3,391 units in inventory, the months of supply is just under four months. This is a decline compared to last year, but it is still high based on longer-term trends. Months of supply eased across all districts except the North, likely due to the increased pressure coming from the new-home sector.
- Unadjusted benchmark prices eased over the previous month due to declines in all districts except the South East and East. Overall, prices in October remained nearly 2% lower than last year's levels and nearly 8% lower than previous highs.
Apartment
- Apartment sales continued to improve this month and new listings eased. This helped reduce inventory levels and brought the months of supply down just under 6 months. Despite improvements, the market remained firmly in buyers' territory.
- Year-to-date improvements in sales were driven by gains in the North, West and South East sectors.
Inventory declines have occurred in all districts except the South East. - Overall, year-to-date prices remained over two per cent lower than last year's levels and nearly 17% lower than peak pricing. However, there are some signs of stabilization in prices this year, with prices in the North East, South East and East remaining comparable to last year.
Attached
- The attached market continues to show the largest increase in sales, with year-to-date growth of nearly 7%. Improvements occurred across all districts except for the North West and North East.
- New listings have eased by 8% so far this year, causing inventory declines and reductions in the amount of oversupply.
- Like most sectors, this segment remains oversupplied, which is causing price adjustments. As of October, semi-detached and row prices remained two and four per cent lower than last year's levels, respectively. Prices continue to ease across nearly all districts and remain well below previous highs.
