The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) said home sales hit another new high in September with 2,441 transactions. .“Supply has been a challenge in our market as strong interprovincial migration has elevated housing demand despite higher lending rates,” said CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie in a Tuesday press release. .“While new listings are improving, it has not been enough to take us out of sellers’ market conditions.”.Despite year-over-year gains reported over the past four months, the CREB said year-to-date sales are 12% lower than last year’s levels. .It said new listings improved this month compared to last year and relative to sales. This caused the sales-to-new listings percentage to fall to 76%, preventing further monthly declines in inventory levels. .Nonetheless, inventory levels in September remained more than 24% lower than those seen last year and when measured relative to sales activity, it has not changed enough to cause any significant shift in supply and demand balances. As of September, the months of supply has remained low at less than two months. .The unadjusted residential benchmark price for property was $570,300 in September — similar to August and 9% higher than last year. .The CREB went on to say inventory levels for detached houses remained at record lows in September as the sales-to-new listings percentage remained high at 76%. It added the decline in inventory levels has been driven by those priced below $700,000, as supply shows some improvement for those priced above it. .Despite tight market conditions, the unadjusted benchmark price remained stable this month compared to the last one, as a monthly price adjustment in the west end of the Calgary offset monthly gains in all other districts. At a benchmark price of $696,100, prices are more than 11% higher than levels reported last year at this time, with year-over-year gains ranging from a high of 20% in the eastern end to a low of 9% in the downtown core. .The CREB continued by saying September reported a boost in new listings for semi-detached houses compared to sales activity as the percentage dropped below 70% — the first time it has done that since one year ago. It said the one-month shift supported a monthly increase in inventory levels, but with 295 units available, inventories have not been this low since 2005. .Following 10 consecutive monthly price gains, benchmark prices in September eased over the last month. At a benchmark price of $621,300, prices are 11% higher than last year’s levels..The pullback in monthly sales outpaced the pullback in new listings for row houses, contributing to the sales-to-new listings percentage falling to 84%. While conditions are tight, it is an improvement over the 90% average reported since April. .The benchmark price in September reached $419,400 — a 1.5% monthly gain and 17% higher than levels reported last year. Price gains have occurred across all districts, with the most significant gains occurring in the most affordable districts in Calgary. .New condo listings in September were at high levels, contributing to more sales this month. Year-to-date condo sales reached 6,286 — a 25% gain over last year and a record high for Calgary. .The tight market conditions have continued to drive further price gains. The unadjusted benchmark price reached $312,800 — a 1.2% increase over last month and 15% higher than last year..Calgary city council voted 12-3 to pass its proposed Housing Strategy on September 16. .READ MORE: Calgary city council votes to enact Housing Strategy.“Council made an important move to help Calgarians with housing affordability tonight,” said Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek. .The three councillors who voted against the motion were Dan McLean, Peter Demong and Sean Chu.
