2020 opens with a slight gain in sales
City of Calgary, February 2020
City of Calgary, February 2020 – Housing market conditions continue to follow similar trends to last year, with gains in sales.
At the same time, there have been further reductions in new listings, inventory and more declines in prices. January sales activity was 863 units, nearly eight percent higher than last year’s levels. While sales remained well below January activity recorded before 2014, they remain consistent with activity recorded over the past five years.
“A persistent slowdown in the energy sector has resulted in a reset in many aspects of our economy. This includes the housing market,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “We continue to see the slow adjustment to more balanced conditions, but it will take time before that starts to translate into price stability.”
Citywide unadjusted benchmark prices were $417,100 in January. This is slightly lower than the previous month and nearly one percent lower than last year’s levels.
Benchmark prices eased, but there were some modest improvements in both the average and median prices. This is likely a reflection of some changes in the distribution of sales.
Housing Market Facts
Detached Sector
- Detached sales in January improved by six percent, thanks to growth in all districts except the North East.
- New listings declined by nearly 11 percent due to pullbacks in all areas except the City Centre and the North districts. Combined with adjustments in sales, this caused inventories to ease by 15 percent citywide.
- Reductions in supply and gains in sales supported reductions in the months of supply from nearly six months last year to just under five months this January.
- Detached benchmark prices eased by nearly one percent compared to last year. However, the only two areas to record notable year-over-year declines were the City Centre and West, with price declines exceeding three percent.
Apartment Sector
- Improving sales were met with gains in new listings, causing inventories to increase by 12 percent compared to last year.
- The gain in inventories prevented any significant adjustment in the months of supply, which remained elevated at nine months.
- The persistent oversupply continued to weigh on benchmark prices, which eased compared to last month and declined by two percent compared to last year.
Attached Sector
- Despite slower sales in the South and South east district, city-wide attached sales improved by four percent. At the same time new listings eased by nearly 18 percent, causing inventories to decline by ten percent.
- Improving sales and a drop in inventory helped the months of supply to dip below seven months, a significant improvement compared to last year’s level of nearly eight months.
- While this segment is trending toward more balanced conditions, persistent oversupply continues to weigh on prices, which trended down over the previous month and eased by over one percent compared to last year’s levels.
View the full report here: January 2020 Statistics Report
