Calgary Real Estate Market Update - March 2022

March Sales Hit New Monthly High After Record High Set in February

We not only saw record sales in February, but the trend continued in March with sales reaching another monthly high. On top of that, March sales broke all monthly records with all property types reaching new record highs.

The uptick in new listings helped spur the increase in sales activity. Despite this, inventories are still fairly low, which ensures the continuation of sellers’ market conditions.

Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB® Chief Economist said, “While supply levels have improved from levels seen over the past four months, inventory levels are still well below what we traditionally see in March, thanks to stronger than expected sales activity. With just over one month of supply in the market, the persistently tight market conditions continue to place significant upward pressure on prices.”

The benchmark price in March was $518,600, which means that the monthly gain rose again by 4%. With three monthly gains in a row, prices are now almost $55,000 more than they were in December and are presently almost 18% higher than 2021 levels.

Even though the year has started out strong, prices are still going up as are interest rates, which will certainly dampen demand during the second half of 2022. However, tight conditions can be expected to affect the market for the next few months.

UPDATES IN THE HOUSING MARKET

Detached Homes

Sales of detached homes reached record highs in March, due in large part to the increase in new listings. All districts except the City Centre experienced year-over-year growth in sales. The substantial decrease in new listings in the City Centre likely caused the pullback, since this gave potential buyers fewer choices.

Since December the months of supply in this sector have been less than one month. These exceedingly tight conditions are significantly affecting prices with the benchmark price in March for detached homes reaching $620,500. This is more than $73,000 higher than the benchmark price in December and 20% higher than 2021 levels. Price gains have also led to a situation in which 57% of the homes now listed for sale are priced over $600,000,

Semi-Detached Homes

March sales for semi-detached homes show another record month, with year-to-date sales being more than 43% higher than in 2021. A rise in new listings contributed to some of the sales growth but didn’t do much to enhance the amount of inventory.

Inventory levels are still quite low, which is why the months of supply are still nearly 70% below long-term trends going into the second quarter of the year. Tight market conditions led to an uptick in prices again in March, for a monthly gain of almost 4%. In fact, prices rose across all districts and are currently 16% higher than March 2021. Year-over-year gains in price range from a low of 9% in the City Centre to nearly 22% in the North district.

Row Houses

Sales of row houses reached record highs in March, helping year-to-date sales reach 1.550 units for a 96% increase over 2021. The rise in new listings contributed to the increase in sales. Unfortunately, inventory levels are still dropping compared to 2021 and were at their lowest in March compared to levels in the last seven years. The combination of strong sales with lower inventory levels led to the months of supply being less than one month.

Ongoing tight market conditions have led to price increases. The benchmark price for row houses in March went up to $335,400, which is more than 4% higher than in February and almost 17% higher than in 2021. There were heavy gains across all districts, but the East, South, North West, and North East districts have still not fully recovered from previous highs.

Condominiums & Apartments

The surge in condominium and apartment sales continued in March, helping to create the best-recorded start of any year. This unexpected shift in demand may be due to fewer choices in the lower price ranges of other types of properties, leading many buyers to consider condominiums. New listings have not kept pace with the increase in sales, causing inventory levels to soften compared to 2021 while the months of supply has plunged to its lowest since 2007.

With tight conditions persisting for several months, we are seeing increases in price. The benchmark price in March went up to $265,900, which is almost 3% higher than in February and 6% higher than in 2021. These recent price gains have contributed to some degree of price recovery in the apartment and condominium sector, but prices are still more than 11% lower than previous highs.

REGIONAL MARKET UPDATES

Airdrie

For the second consecutive month, new listings hit a record high in Airdrie for the month. This contributed to the growth in sales throughout the city. The ratio of sales to new listings softened to 75%, giving a chance for inventory levels to increase compared to numbers seen over the previous five months. On the other hand, inventory levels continued to be exceedingly low compared to sales, which kept the months of supply under one month.

Airdrie has been experiencing these same conditions of having under one month of supply since November 2021. It’s no surprise that the continuing tight conditions have driven up prices. The benchmark price in March went up to $473,400, which is almost 10% higher than in February and 30% higher than in 2021. The highest gains are seen in detached and semi-detached homes.

Cochrane

March sales reached record highs and are over twice the levels typically seen in March. Just like other markets, Cochrane has been facing strong demand compared to the available supply. Inventory levels have come up over the previous month but since there are only 86 units for sale, it remains the lowest March levels in Cochrane’s recorded history. March was also the fifth month in a row when the months of supply continued to be under one month.

As tight market conditions persist, prices will continue to go up as they did in March, with the benchmark price reaching $520,000, almost 6% higher than in February and 23% higher than in 2021.

Okotoks

Just like in Airdrie and Cochrane, sales activity in Okotoks reached an all-time record in March, thanks to an increase in new listings. All these new listings also contributed to a rise in inventory levels over the previous seven months. But with just 99 units listed for sale after 113 sales, Okotoks’ months of supply is still extremely tight at less than one month.

With tight market conditions so persistent, there is a lot of pressure to keep raising prices. There have now been five months of gains in a row, driving the benchmark price to $534,200 in March, which is almost 13% higher than in 2021.