February 2020 – Market Update

Housing Market Experiencing Similar Trends to 2019

While there have been gains in sales, there are fewer new listings, further reductions in inventory and continuing price declines.

In January there were 863 units sold, almost 8% above 2019 levels. Although sales continued to be well below January 2014 levels, they are consistent with sales figures over the last 5 years.

According to Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB^® chief economist, “A persistent slowdown in the energy sector has resulted in a reset in many aspects of our economy. This includes the housing market.”

“We continue to see the slow adjustment to more balanced conditions, but it will take time before that starts to translate into price stability.”

Benchmark prices citywide in January were $417,100, which is a bit lower than in December, and almost 1% lower than 2019 levels.

While there was some softening in benchmark prices, there were some slight increases in both the median and average prices. This most likely resulted from some changes in how sales were distributed.

 UPDATES IN THE HOUSING MARKET

Detached Homes

• Sales of detached homes increased in January by 6%, due to gains in all but one district, which was the North East.
• There was a decline in new listings by almost 11%, thanks to pullbacks everywhere but the North and City Centre districts. The combination of this plus adjustments in sales caused inventories to soften by 15% across the city.
• Reduced supply and sales gains led to lower months of supply from almost 6 months in 2019 to just below 5 months this past January.
• Benchmark prices for detached homes softened by nearly 1% compared to 2019. But the only 2 areas to record year-over-year declines were the West and City Centre, with declines in prices exceeding 3%.

Condominiums & Apartments

• Increasing sales were met with increases in new listings, leading to an increase in inventories of 12% compared to 2019.
• This increase in inventories prevented any major movement in the months of supply, remaining elevated at 9 months.
• The continued oversupply weighed down benchmark prices, which softened compared to December and declined by 2% compared to 2019.

Attached Homes

• Attached sales citywide increased by 4% despite slow sales in the South East and South districts. New listings softened by almost 18%, leading to a decline in inventories of 10%.
• Increasing sales and lowered inventory led to the months of supply dropping below 7 months, a major improvement compared to 2019’s level of almost 8 months.
• As this segment moves towards being more balanced, continued oversupply continues to weigh down prices, which moved down over December and softened by more than 1% compared to 2019 levels.

REGIONAL MARKET UPDATES

Airdrie

• Increasing sales and softening inventories pushed down the months of supply to 4.7 months. These levels correspond with longer-term trends and indicate comparatively balanced conditions.
• Improvements in supply compared to demand have begun generating much more price stability, which remains comparable to December and a bit higher than 2019 levels.

Cochrane

• Recorded sales in January show a significant gain, plus significantly fewer new listings. This caused the months of supply to drop to 4 months, which is significantly better than the 14 months recorded in January 2019.
• If things continue to improve, this should lead to more stability in prices. However, we have yet to experience this. So, prices remain almost 3% below 2019 levels.

Okotoks

• Sales increased citywide to levels in line with longer-term trends. These increases helped offset the small increase in new listings, which helped lower inventories and bringing down the months of supply to levels more in line with balanced conditions.
• The continued lowering in oversupply seems to be generating more price stability. Benchmark prices in January stayed comparable to January 2019 levels.

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