Calgary home sales set a record in May, based very much on the strength of the apartment-condo sector..“Calgary’s housing market continues to exceed expectations with the recent gain in sales activity this month,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB)..“The higher interest rate environment and recent rental rate gains have driven more consumers to seek apartment condominium units.”.“In addition, the recent rise in new apartment listings has provided enough options to support the sales gain. Calgary continues to benefit from the relatively healthy job market and recent population growth keeping housing demand strong across all property types.”.Sales in May were 3,120, up from 2,687 sales in April, and 3,063 sales in May 2022 and while recent monthly sales gains haven’t outweighed earlier declines, May’s number reflects a shift from the declines reported at the start of the year, says Lurie..“At the same time, we continue to see fewer new listings on the market than last year, causing inventory levels to fall,” she says..“With a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 85% and months of supply at just one month, conditions continue to favour the seller placing further upward pressure on home prices.” .Lurie says the tight market conditions in Calgary drove further price growth..“In May, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $557,000, more than 1% higher than April and nearly 3% higher than last year’s price of $543,000,” she says..Here are Lurie’s overviews of the market by home type..Single-family.Increased sales of homes priced above $600,000 was not enough to offset declines in the lower price ranges as May sales reached 1,486, up from 1,306 in April. New listings continue to fall for homes priced below $700,000, providing limited choice for consumers seeking out lower-priced detached homes. While new listings did improve for higher-priced properties, the relatively strong demand kept conditions tight across all price ranges, driving further price gains..In May, the benchmark price reached $674,000, nearly 2% higher than April and more than 4% higher than last year’s peak price of $647,000. While each district reported a new record high price this month, the year-over-year gains ranged from a high of 12% in the East District to a low of 2% in the City Centre..Semi-Detached.Sales also rose to near-record highs for the month for semi-detached homes, reaching 279 homes sold, compared to 234 in April. However, with only 269 new listings in May, inventories fell and the months of supply dropped below one month..Exceptionally tight conditions caused further price gains, which for the first time, pushed above $600,000. This is the seventh consecutive month where prices have trended up and, as of May, levels are more than 3% higher than last year’s monthly peak. Like the single-family sector, each district reported new record high prices in May. However, the strongest year-over-year gains occurred in the most affordable East district at nearly 12%..Row/townhomes.New listings in May improved over levels seen earlier in the year, but thanks to monthly gains in sales, the sales-to-new listings ratio remained exceptionally high at 89%, preventing any significant shift in the low inventory situation. While sales activity is still lower than last year’s levels, this is likely related to the lack of supply in this segment of the market. Inventory levels are down 50% compared to last year..With less than one month of supply, prices continue to rise. In May, the benchmark price reached $390,500, a 2% gain over April and 9% higher than last year's peak price of $359,600. Row prices rose across all districts, with year-over-year gains exceeding 15% in the city's Northeast, South and East districts. The slowest price gains occurred in the City Centre, Northwest and Southeast at rates of more than 7%..Apartment Condominium.Sales in May reached 858 units, a year-over-year gain of 36%, enough to take year-to-date sales up by 4% to a new record high. Stronger sales were possible thanks to recent gains in new listings, which totalled 1,025 in May, a year-over-year gain of 8%. Despite the gain in new listings, the sales-to-new listings ratio remained high at 84%, preventing any significant shift in inventory levels. As a result, inventory levels remained 23% lower than May 2022. The rising sales and low inventories kept the months of supply low at just over one month..Tight conditions drove further price gains in May, with the unadjusted benchmark price reaching $298,600, 1% higher than April and 11% higher than May 2022. Unlike other areas, not all districts reported a new record high price. The only areas to report a full recovery were the North, Northwest, West and Southeast districts. Overall year-over-year price growth ranged from a high of 16% in the North District to a low of 10% growth in the City Centre.
