Peter Kusch

Total residential sales in Calgary eased by 17 per cent compared to May of last year. New listings continued to rise this month, resulting in further gains in inventory levels. We have 2.6 months of supply, which indicates a relatively balanced market. Due to the high building activity, the weakest sector is the apartments and townhouses.

Detached

New listings in May rose to 2,419 units, with most of the gains driven by homes priced over $600,000. At the same time, sales activity has slowed across most price ranges, supporting a shift toward more balanced conditions and relative stability in prices.  The sales-to-new listings ratio is down to 53 per cent, and the months of supply was 2.3 months in May. The unadjusted benchmark price in May was $769,400, similar to last month, one percent higher than last May, and still above last year’s seasonal peak price.

Semi-Detached

The 428 new listings in May were met with 256 sales, causing the sales-to-new-listings ratio to rise to 60 per cent this month. This slowed the pace of inventory growth, and the months of supply remained just above two months. The North East has the highest months of supply at nearly three months and is reporting some price declines, while the tightest conditions are in the North West, where prices continue to rise. The unadjusted benchmark price was $697,300, a monthly gain of less than one per cent, nearly three per cent higher than last year’s levels and above last year’s seasonal peak.

Row

Row home sales have eased over last year’s near record high pace, but stayed well above long-term trends. For the second month in a row, inventory levels were over 1,000 units; we have not seen this much inventory for row units since 2021. While inventory levels have improved across all districts, we are starting to see higher months of supply in the North East district at 3.5 months, resulting in some downward pressure on prices. The benchmark price in May was $453,600, down over last month, nearly two per cent below last May, and lower than last year’s seasonal high.

Apartment

Sales this month totaled 579 units, a significant decline from last May’s record high of 907 units. While new listings were lower than levels reported last year, they remained high compared to sales, causing the sales-to-new listings ratio to drop to 47% this month. This contributed to further inventory gains and drove the months of supply up to 3.6 months. High levels of apartment rental units under construction are adding to the rental supply and contributing to rent adjustments. This is likely slowing condo ownership demand coming from existing renters and potential investors. More supply choices are also weighing on condominium prices. In May, the benchmark price eased to $335,300, down from last month and over one per cent lower than last year.