Calgary’s resale homes market took a breather in June, with 2,738 sales, down from 3,092 in May and 13% off the 3,140 sales in June 2023, as buyers moved to the sidelines in a market that still favours sellers. Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) said in a statement, “sales improved for homes priced at more than $700,000, but it was not enough to offset the declines reported in the lower price ranges. Despite the easing in June sales, they remain more than 17% higher than long-term trends.” “The pullback in sales reflects supply challenges in the lower price ranges, ultimately limiting sales activity,” said Lurie. “Inventory in the lower price ranges of each property type continue to fall, providing limited choices for potential purchasers looking for more affordable product. It also continues to be a competitive market for some buyers with more than 40% of the homes sold selling over list price.” June’s new listings also eased relative to sales, causing the sales-to-new listings ratio to remain elevated at 72%, added Lurie. “Inventory levels did improve over last year’s low levels, primarily due to gains in the higher price ranges,” she said. “However, with 3,789 units available, levels remain 40% lower than long-term trends. The modest change in inventory levels helped increase the months of supply. However, at 1.4 months, conditions continue to favour sellers.” The tight inventory conditions and homes selling over list price took the city-wide benchmark price in June to $608,000, up from $605,300 in May and from $560,300 in June 2023. “Prices rose across all districts, with the most significant year-over-year gains occurring in the northeast and east districts of the city,” said Lurie. Sales volume in June reached $1.7 billion, bringing the year-to-date sales volume to $9.1 billion. .Here are Lurie’s overviews of the market by housing type Single-family Gains in higher-priced single-family home sales were not enough to offset the pullbacks for homes priced below $700,000, leading to a 16% year-over-year sales drop. Despite the recent pullback, single-family home sales for the first half of the year remain in line with levels reported last year. Meanwhile, following several months of gains, new listings eased this month. By the end of June, there were 1,775 single-family homes in inventory, an improvement over last year but 45% below long-term trends for the month. While conditions remain tight in the single-family home market, we are starting to see better supply and demand balances in the upper end of the market. The months of supply have ranged from a low of one month in the most affordable east district to just over two months in the City Centre. Nonetheless, with less than one and a half months of supply, we continue to see upward pressure on home prices. In June, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $767,600, nearly one percent higher than May and 12% higher than prices reported last June. Semi-Detached Following a significant gain last month, new listings pulled back in June relative to sales, causing the sales-to-new-listings ratio to rise to 76%. While this did not prevent some gains in inventory levels, inventory levels remained nearly half of those traditionally seen in June. With just over one month of supply, we continue to see upward pressure on home prices. In June, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $686,100, a one per cent gain over last month and more than 12% higher than levels reported last year. Prices rose across all districts in the city, with the steepest gains occurring in the most affordable areas of the northeast and east districts. Row/townhomes Like other property types, row home sales slowed in June relative to the high levels achieved over the past two years. A higher pullback in sales compared to new listings caused the sales-to-new-listings ratio to fall to 75%, the lowest June level reported since 2021. However, conditions remain exceptionally tight with one month of supply, especially for properties priced below $600,000. The unadjusted benchmark price trended up in June, reaching $464,600, nearly 17% higher than levels reported last year at this time. While price adjustments have varied depending on location, we continue to see the highest price growth occurring in the most affordable districts. Apartment Condominium There were 791 sales in June, nearly eight percent down from last year. The decline in sales was primarily due to the significant pullback for units priced below $300,000. Limited supply choice for lower priced products is preventing stronger sales activity. Despite the monthly pullback, year-to-date apartment sales are up by 13% and are at record-high levels. New listings continue to rise relative to sales, causing the sales-to-new-listings ratio to fall and driving further inventory gains. However, much of the supply growth has occurred for higher-priced properties, resulting in tight conditions at the lower end of the market and more balanced conditions for higher-priced units. Overall prices continued to trend up this month, reaching $344,700, more than 17% higher than last year.
