Calgary Real Estate Market Report: May 2023 | Insights and Trends

Calgary Real Estate Market Report

In the Calgary real estate market, thanks to a significant gain in Calgary apartment condominium sales, May sales rose to 3,120, a new record high for the month. While the monthly gains have not outweighed earlier declines, this does reflect a shift from the declines reported at the start of the year.

At the same time, we continue to see fewer new listings on the market than last year, causing inventory levels to fall. With a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 85 percent and months of supply of one month, conditions continue to favor the seller, placing further upward pressure on home prices.

“Calgary’s housing market continues to exceed expectations with the recent gain in sales activity this month,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “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.”

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Calgary Detached Homes

Detached homes in the Calgary real estate market saw rising sales for homes priced above $600,000, but it was not enough to offset declines in the lower price ranges. May sales reached 1,486, showing a year-over-year decline of eight percent. New listings continue to fall for homes priced below $700,000, providing limited choices for consumers seeking 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 detached benchmark price in the Calgary real estate market reached $674,000, nearly two percent higher than last month and over four percent higher than last year’s peak price of $647,000. Each district reported a new record high price this month, with year-over-year gains ranging from a high of 12 percent in the East District to a low of two percent in the City Centre.

Calgary Semi-Detached Homes

Sales of semi-detached homes in the Calgary real estate market also rose to near-record highs for the month. However, with 279 sales and 269 new listings this month, inventories fell, and the months of supply dropped below one month.

The exceptionally tight conditions in the Calgary real estate market caused further price gains, pushing prices above $600,000 for the first time. This is the seventh consecutive month where prices have trended up, and as of May, levels are over three percent higher than last year’s monthly peak. Like the detached sector, each district in the Calgary real estate market reported new record high prices in May. However, the strongest year-over-year gains occurred in the most affordable East district at nearly 12 percent.

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Calgary Townhomes/Row Housing

In the Calgary townhomes/row housing segment of the Calgary real estate market, 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 percent, 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 percent compared to last year.

With less than one month of supply in the Calgary real estate market, it is not surprising that prices continue to rise. In May, the benchmark price reached $390,500, a two percent gain over last month and nearly nine percent higher than last year's peak price of $359,600. Row prices rose across all districts, with year-over-year gains exceeding 15 percent in the city's North East, South, and East districts. The slowest price gains occurred in The City Centre, North West, and South East at rates of over seven percent.

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Calgary Apartment Condominiums

In the Calgary apartment condominium segment of the Calgary real estate market, sales in May reached 858 units, showing a year-over-year gain of 36 percent and reaching a new record high for year-to-date sales. Stronger sales were possible thanks to the recent gains in new listings. There were 1,025 new listings in May, reflecting an 8 percent year-over-year increase. Despite the gain in new listings, the sales-to-new listings ratio remained high at 84 percent, preventing any significant shift in inventory levels. As a result, inventory levels remained 23 percent lower than what was available in the market in May 2022. The rising sales and low inventories kept the months of supply low at just over one month.

Persistently tight conditions in the Calgary real estate market drove further price gains in May. The unadjusted benchmark price reached $298,600, representing a monthly gain of over one percent and a year-over-year gain of nearly 11 percent. The recent growth has finally caused unadjusted apartment condominium prices to return to 2014 levels. Unlike other areas, not all districts in the Calgary real estate market reported a new record high price. The only areas to report a full recovery were the North, North West, West, and South East districts. Overall year-over-year price growth in the Calgary real estate market ranged from a high of 16 percent in the North District to a low of 10 percent growth in the City Centre.

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Regional Market Facts

Airdrie

Limited supply choice continues to weigh on sales activity in Airdrie in the Calgary real estate market. In May, there were 260 new listings and 225 sales, keeping the sales-to-new listings ratio high at 87 percent and preventing any significant shift in inventory levels. However, with less than one month of supply, conditions are tighter than they were last year at this time.

Persistently tight conditions caused prices to trend up for the fifth consecutive month in the Airdrie market. The benchmark price reached $502,900 in May, remaining shy of the record high of $504,200 achieved in April 2022. While total residential prices have not reached new record highs, detached home prices have reached a new record with a benchmark price of $587,200.

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Cochrane

Like other markets in the Calgary real estate market area, the limited level of new listings is preventing stronger sales activity in Cochrane. In May, 135 new listings came onto the market, and there were 122 sales, keeping the sales-to-new listings ratio elevated at 90 percent. While inventory levels are still higher than last year’s, they are still exceptionally low for this time of year, leaving the months of supply just above one month in May.

The persistently tight conditions in the Cochrane market caused prices to trend up for the fourth consecutive month. While the benchmark price of $515,600 remains below the monthly high of $517,900 achieved in June 2022, should conditions continue to remain this tight, we could see further upward pressure on home prices over the next several months.

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Okotoks

Like other markets in the Calgary real estate market, low levels of new listings are limiting sales activity in Okotoks. In May, new listings reached 87 units, and with 76 sales, the sales-to-new listings ratio pushed above 87 percent. This also prevented any significant shift in inventory levels, and the months of supply once again dropped below one month.

Persistently tight market conditions caused prices to trend up for the fifth consecutive month in Okotoks. With a benchmark price of $575,900, prices are nearly four percent above last year’s levels and at a new record high in the Calgary real estate market.

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