What a great summer! Hope everyone else enjoyed some of the nice weather as it seems like we are smack dab in to winter. I suppose we should expect this kind of change here in Calgary as it seems to happen every year. The summer was slow with respect to real estate. City wide sales were off by 6.6% year over year. Year to date sales are still down by 15%, however, it’s getting better compared to the 20-25% off we were through the spring. New listings are comparable to what we saw last year, however, inventory levels are still sitting at 22% higher than last year. This recipe spells price declines and, previously, where the detached segment kept its proverbial ‘head’ above water, that part of the market is now showing signs of weakness.
The benchmark prices are starting to slip in the detached segment ($497,000 down 0.7% since last month and down 3% year over year). Months of supply still shows just over 5 months which puts the segment in balanced territory, however, each community will show a little different story. It’s imperative if you are buying or selling that you have up to date information when you are ready to make a decision. The market has been changing fairly quickly. Sales in the segment are down 5.7% y/y and are still down 16% YTD. Inventory levels are up 35% since this time last year. The months supply remains relatively low in the Northwest, Southeast and East districts and is quite high in the City Centre area. Prices in the West and East have faired the best over the last year with both only dropping less than 2%.
The apartment segment has been showing signs of stability over the last few months. There hasn’t been quite as many listings so inventory levels have kept at a reasonable level. Currently there are 1,666 active listings which is down 6% y/y. Sales year to date are down 7% (1,892 units), however, sales are only down 2% (243 units) compared to August 2017. Months of supply is just under 7 and the best we’ve seen in the last few years. Benchmark prices are down 2.1% y/y and still remain approximately 14% down since the peak of 2014. The Northeast area is showing high supply while the Northwest is under 4 months supply. The City Centre, Northwest and Southeast districts have seen the lowest price decreases year over year (<2%).
The semi detached segment continues to be plagued with high inventory levels and low sales. Sales for August were 20% down y/y and YTD is down 13.7%. Benchmark prices are starting to fall and are down 1.2% y/y ($411,300). Inventory levels are up 57% since this time last year and months of supply is 6.45. Although the City Centre, Northeast and East districts have the highest inventory levels, the Northeast is the only district that has seen substantial price drops. The Northwest, North and City Centre have seen the least amount of price erosion year over year.
Row housing has seen similar market conditions in that inventory levels are high (up 12% y/y) and sales have somewhat kept pace (only 4% down from last year). Benchmark prices have seen an adjustment to the tune of 3.4% ($296,700). The Northeast and South districts have the least amount of supply (under 5 months) while the biggest price declines have happened in the Northeast, East & South areas. The Northwest has faired the best of any district with prices up 1.4% since August last year.
Surrounding Towns
Airdrie –
- Benchmark prices are down 0.7% month over month to $366,900
- Sitting at 5.1 months supply
Cochrane –
- Benchmark prices are flat year over year at $426,100
- Sitting at 7.7 months supply
Okotoks –
- Benchmark prices are flat year over year to $436,350
- Sitting at 9.3 months supply
Chestermere –
- Benchmark prices are at $488,800
- Sitting at 7.3 months supply
Strathmore –
- Benchmark prices are at $398,100
- Sitting at 8.7 months supply
For a more in depth look at the stats, here are the Calgary & Regional
Here is the latest labour report for Calgary.
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