Supply levels ease with fewer new listings in August

While sales have remained relatively strong, there continues to be a shift towards more affordable options as the year-over-year pullback in detached sales was nearly matched by gains for multi-family product types.

“While higher lending rates have slowed activity in the detached market, we are still seeing homebuyers shift to more affordable options which is keeping sales activity relatively strong,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “This makes Calgary different than some of the larger cities in the country which have recorded significant pullbacks in sales.”

At the same time, new listings continue to trend down, preventing any supply gains or a substantial shift in the months of supply.

Despite year-over-year gains in new listings, the spread between new listings and sales this month narrowed compared to the past three months. This caused total inventory to trend down and prevented any significant shift in the months of supply. The months of supply in August remained at just above two months, not at tight as earlier in the year, but still below levels traditionally seen this time of year.

For the third month in a row, benchmark prices eased declining to $531,800. While the reduction reflects shifting market conditions, it is important to note that previous gains are not lost, and prices remain over 11 per cent higher than last year.

Detached

Sales continued to trend down compared to levels seen earlier in the year and August of last year. While the recent declines have not offset the strong gains reported earlier in the year, conditions are changing in this segment of the market. At the same time, we have seen listings continue to ease in for lower-priced homes. This is causing persistently tight conditions for homes priced below $500,000. Meanwhile, supply gains in the higher price range of the market are supporting more balanced conditions.

Easing demand has had an impact on prices which have trended down relative to the high levels achieved in May. However, with a benchmark price of $633,000, levels are still over 13 per cent higher than last year.

Semi-Detached

There was a significant pullback in new listings relative to a slight easing of sales for semi-detached properties this month. This caused the sales-to-new-listings ratio to push above 80 per cent for the first time since April while total inventory dropped relative to levels seen over the past several months and last year. Like the detached sector, conditions do vary depending on price ranges with the lower-price ranges continuing to see relatively tight market conditions.

Despite the adjustment this month, prices still trended down compared to May levels. However, like other property types, price levels are over 10 per cent higher than last year with a benchmark price of $569,300.

Row

Despite sales trending down relative to levels seen earlier in the year, the row-home market remains strong and year-to-date levels are nearly 50 per cent higher than last year. At the same time, there was a notable decline in new listings this month causing a decline in inventory levels. This prevented any significant adjustments to the months of supply which remained below two months.

While market conditions remain relatively tight, home prices have remained fairly stable over the past few months. Overall, the benchmark price for row properties in August was over 14 per cent higher than levels reported last year.

Apartment Condominium

Sales activity improved in August, contributing to year-to-date record sales of 4,576 units, which is an increase of 65 per cent compared to last year. Some of this growth was possible thanks to this segment of the market having more supply. However, the recent growth in sales relative to new listings has caused the supply gap to narrow.

Though conditions have shifted over the past month, prices remain relatively stable compared to July but are over 10 per cent higher than last year’s prices. Despite the recent gains in prices, apartment condominium sales remain below peak prices set back in 2014.