The Calgary real estate market is ringing in spring with a record number of homes bought and sold.
For the second consecutive month, sales activity in March reached both a monthly high and new all-time record for any given month, according to the latest information from the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB). A total of 4,107 homes traded hands last month, 41.5 per cent more than the transactions made during the same month last year.
Records were broken with all property types, a trend that was supported by a rush in new listings to the market as 5,485 homes came online. Still, relatively-low inventory is keeping market conditions in favour of home sellers. Calgary’s home inventory fell 19.5 per cent year-over-year in March to 4,364 properties, which represents just 1.06 month’s worth of supply.
“While supply levels have improved from levels seen over the past four months, inventory levels are still well below what we traditionally see in March, thanks to stronger than expected sales activity,” said CREB’s chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie in a press release. “With just over one month of supply in the market, the persistently tight market conditions continue to place significant upward pressure on prices.”
The unadjusted benchmark price for the region rose four per cent monthly in March to $518,600, up 17.6 per cent from March 2021. Since December, prices have climbed $55,000.
Sales take off for all Calgary property types
A boost to new listings hitting the market helped to drive up sales last month.
Sales for detached homes shot up to record levels as 2,280 homes were purchased, up 22 per cent from March 2021. Sales growth for detached homes occurred in every district of the city except the City Centre. Year-to-date, 5,328 detached homes have been sold, up 43 per cent from 2021.
Semi-detached homes saw year-to-date sales rise over 43 per cent higher than 2021 and soared 29 per cent year-over-year. A total of 347 semi-detached properties were sold last month, with 843 properties sold in 2022 so far.
Row sales hit an all-time record high in March with 1,550 year-to-date sales, a 96 per cent increase over last year. For the month alone, there were 709 row homes sold in March, 85 per cent more than in 2021.
Apartment sales also exploded in March, establishing the best start of the year on record according to CREB. Last month, 771 units exchanged hands, a 100 per cent increase year-over-year. In 2022 so far, 1,692 condos have been sold in Calgary.
Available home supply hovers around one month’s worth
Despite the rise in properties sold, the Calgary market still maintains comparatively low levels of inventory.
The months of supply for detached homes has been below one month since December, CREB stated. There is currently 0.96 months of detached supply available in the region. Last month, 3,152 new detached listings came online.
Semi-detached inventory levels remain almost 70 per cent lower than long-term trends for this time of year, CREB said, even as 456 new listings in this category were added to March’s market. In March, there was 1.08 months of semi-detached home supply on the market. Supply for row homes was at the lowest March levels recorded compared to the past seven years. A total of 881 row homes were added to the market last month, but there was only 0.89 months of inventory available in this category.
Less supply for other property types likely drove some to purchase condos, which caused available units to fall to the lowest level on record since 2007. In March, 996 new Calgary condos became available, equaling 1.51 months of inventory for that month.
Prices continue to climb in March
Lower levels of supply helped to drive up Calgary prices in March.
Now, over 57 per cent of the available detached home supply is priced over $600,000. Last month, the benchmark price for detached homes grew to $620,500, $73,000 more than December’s prices and 20 per cent higher than levels recorded in 2021.
On a yearly-basis, prices for semi-detached properties increased 16.3 per cent to $478,400. The benchmark price climbed to $335,400 for a row home, up four per cent from February and nearly 17 per cent from the same time last year. The benchmark price for a Calgary condo increased to $265,900 last month, up three per cent monthly and an increase of 6.1 per cent from 2021.
