Calgary house prices posted nearly double-digit price gains in the final three months of 2014, but due in part to the falling price of oil, one of the country’s largest realtor groups expects that growth to moderate to 2.4 per cent in 2015.
According to Royal LePage’s fourth quarter real estate report, average home prices climbed between 8.5 and 9.1 per cent year-over-year, depending on property type.
| Property type | Q4-2013 | Q4-2014 | % Change |
| Detached Bungalow | $469,078 | $511,889 | 9.1% |
| Standard Two-Storey | $461,089 | $500,320 | 8.5% |
| Standard Condo | $285,689 | $311,644 | 9.1% |
“There remains a structural imbalance between the availability of homes and number of eager homebuyers,” said Royal LePage spokesperson Ted Zaharko in a release. “This fundamental discrepancy between supply and demand explains why we’ve seen such aggressive price appreciation in 2014.”
“Inventory availability remains a major issue across the city, as frustrated buyers are chasing a limited number of homes. The one exception is condominiums, where new units are being built at a faster rate,” Zaharko added.
Going forward in 2015
So, while prices are expected to moderate to the tune of 2.4 per cent this year, Royal LePage says the upward trend the market has seen over the past few years “is unlikely to reverse without a meaningful increase in inventory.”
“Oil is a major economic influence in Calgary, so the recent price drop is worrying,” said Zaharko. “While we believe there may be some immediate term impact on the local housing market in the form of slowed appreciation, there would need to be prolonged low oil prices for any spillover into the housing market to be significant.”
Nationally, Royal LePage reports that home prices showed modest to healthy year-over-year gains in most markets in the fourth quarter of 2014. For more in-depth analysis on the Canada-wide picture, see our earlier coverage here.
