Calgary Real Estate Statistics for August 2020

Home sales in August held steady despite the continued impact of COVID-19

In August, total residential sales were relatively stable compared to last year with year-over-year gains in the detached and row sectors, which offset declines in the semi-detached and apartment products. 

August sales were reported at 1,573, which in comparison to the past five years remained consistent. Sales activity year-to-date remained almost 13 percent less than last year.

“Recent national reports have shown a bounce back to new record levels over the past several months. Calgary has seen improvements over the lows recorded during the lockdowns but is far from record levels,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

“The situation in Calgary has been slightly different as the job losses were not isolated to sectors that are typically associated with rental demand. We have started to see improvements in the job market compared to previous months as some jobs start to return.”

The impact that COVID-19 has had on the economy, however, is not over.

“There have been more than 100,000 jobs lost since last year and Calgary’s unemployment rate sits at 15 percent. This is well above the national average of 11 percent,” said Lurie.

New listings eased and helped to shave away at existing inventory compared to the higher levels reported last year. However, the year-over-year decrease has reduced as inventory levels have trended up relative to levels reported a few months ago.

There was an increase in supply months compared to the past few months, which now sits at four months. This increase has reduced some of the monthly gains on prices. In August, the residential benchmark price was $420,800 and is almost one percent less than levels last year.