New listings continued to rise in February, reaching 2,711 units. However, the rise in new listings supported further growth in sales, which increased by nearly 23 percent compared to last year for a total of 2,135 units. The shift in sales and new listings kept the sales-to-new listings ratio exceptionally high at 79 percent, ensuring inventories remained near historic lows. Low supply and higher sales caused the months of supply to fall to just over one month, nearly as tight as levels seen during the spring of last year.
"Purchasers are acting quickly when new supply comes onto the market, preventing inventory growth in the market," said Ann-Marie Lurie, Chief Economist at CREB®. "It is this strong demand and low supply that continues to drive price gains in Calgary. The biggest supply challenge is for homes priced under $500,000, which saw inventories fall by 31 percent compared to last February. At the same time, we are starting to see supply levels rise for higher priced homes supporting more balanced conditions in the upper end."
In February, the unadjusted detached benchmark price was $585,000, an over two percent gain compared to last month and over 10 percent higher than levels reported this time last year. Our most affordable East district is experiencing the highest year-over-year price growth at 25 percent. In comparison, the relatively better-supplied City Centre has reported the slowest price growth in the city at under five percent.
Housing Market Facts
DETACHED SECTOR
In February, 1,195 new listings came onto the market, of which 75 percent were priced over $600,000. While new listings did improve over last month in line with seasonal expectations, levels are still below typical for February. At the same time, sales in February rose to 954 units, a year-over-year gain of 20 percent. The growth in sales was driven by where we saw listings growth, but with a sales-to-new listings ratio of nearly 80 percent, inventory levels were near record lows for February.
Exceptionally tight market conditions drove further price growth. In February, the unadjusted detached benchmark price rose to $721,300, nearly three percent higher than last month and over 13 percent higher than last February. While prices rose across every district, the most significant year-over-year gains occurred in the North East and East districts.
SEMI-DETACHED SECTOR
Last month's rise in listings compared to sales was short-lived, as the 223 new listings this month were met with 191 sales, driving up the sales-to-new-listings ratio to 86 percent. This prevented any significant change to the low inventory situation and caused the months of supply to fall to just over one month.
In February, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $639,100, a monthly gain of over two percent and 13 percent higher than last year. Year-over-year price gains ranged from a low of 10 percent in the City Centre to over 26 percent in the East district.
TOWNHOME/ROW SECTOR
New listings rose to 457 units in February, contributing to the year-to-date increase in new listings of 22 percent. The rise in new listings supported sales growth, preventing any significant change to the low inventory situation. For the second consecutive month, the months of supply were below one month.
The exceptionally tight market conditions have contributed to strong price growth for row properties. In February, the unadjusted detached price reached $436,500, over 2 percent higher than last month and nearly 19 percent higher than levels reported last February. Prices rose across all districts, with the highest growth occurring in the most affordable districts.
APARTMENT SECTOR
Sales in February reached 638 units, contributing to the year-to-date sales increase of 39 percent. Relative affordability has supported the strong demand for apartment-style homes, and sales growth has been possible thanks to the continued growth in new listings. Inventory levels trended up over the last month in line with seasonal expectations. However, inventory levels declined by 12 percent compared to the previous year, ensuring the market continued to favour the seller with just over one month of supply.
Persistently tight conditions continued to place upward pressure on home prices. Prices have steadily increased since January of last year, and as of February, they reached $329,600, a 17 percent gain over last February. Prices rose across every district in the city, with year-over-year gains surpassing 19 percent in all districts except the City Centre, which reported a year-over-year increase of 13 percent.
