Calgary December 2022 Home Sales Record-High Sales

2022 saw record-high sales and double-digit price growth December sales eased, however, slowing sales over the second half of 2022 were not enough to offset earlier gains as sales reached a record high of 29,672 units in 2022. Over the past several months, the pullback in sales was also met with a significant pullback in new listings, causing further declines in inventory levels. As of December, there were 2,214 units available in Inventory, making it the lowest level of inventory reported for December in over a decade.“Housing market conditions have changed significantly throughout the year, as sales activity slowed following steep rate gains throughout the later part of the year,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “However, Calgary continues to report activity that is better than levels seen before the pandemic and higher than long-term trends for the city. At the same time, we have faced persistently low inventory levels, which have prevented a more significant adjustment in home prices this year.”Benchmark prices eased to $518,800 in December, down nearly five percent from the peak price in May but almost eight percent higher than last December. While prices have trended down annually, they remain over 12 percent higher than last year’s levels.The housing market in 2022 generally outperformed expectations both in terms of sales and price growth. Detached The detached market has felt most of the impact of higher rates as a pullback in sales in the year’s second half contributed to the year-to-date decline of over seven percent. While there have been some gains in new listings over the last quarter, much of the growth has occurred in the market's upper-end, supporting more balanced conditions. However, supply levels for lower-priced homes remain low relative to the sales activity, causing that market segment to continue favouring the seller. Overall, the detached market has seen activity shift away from the strong sellers’ conditions reported earlier in the year.Prices in the detached market have trended down in the second half of the year, as the December benchmark price of $619,600 has eased by just over four percent from the June high. The recent adjustments have not erased all the earlier gains, as benchmark prices reported an annual gain of over 14 percent. Annual price growth has ranged from a high of 19 percent in the South East, North and North East districts to a low of nearly eight percent in the City Centre. Semi-Detached Further declines in sales this month contributed to the year-to-date sales decline of nearly three percent. While sales have eased relative to last year’s record levels, activity is still far stronger than long-term trends and levels reported prior to the pandemic. At the same time, new listings have been trending down for this property type, keeping the inventory and months of supply relatively low compared to historical levels. While conditions are not as tight as earlier in the year, there has been some downward pressure on prices. The monthly benchmark price peaked in May of this year and has eased by nearly four percent since then. However, on an annual basis, benchmark prices remain nearly 12 percent higher than in 2021. The North district reported a higher annual price gain of over 18 percent. Row Significant reductions in new listings weighed on sales over the last few months of the year. Despite recent shifts, annual sales in the city reached a new record high, with 5,153 sales in 2022. Not only was it a record year, but sales were nearly double long-term trends. Higher lending rates are driving more purchasers toward the more affordable row options. While new listings were still higher than last year’s levels on an annual basis, the recent pullback combined with relatively strong sales has caused inventory levels to fall.As of December, inventory levels were at the lowest since 2013. This has ensured that this segment of the market continues to favour the seller. While prices have eased by just over one percent from the June peak, overall year-to-date prices are nearly 15 percent higher than last year. Apartment Condominium Unlike other property types, apartment condominium sales continue to rise above the previous year’s levels throughout the year. This caused year-to-date sales to rise by 50 percent to 6,221 units, a new record high. Demand for affordable product, along with renewed investor interest thanks to rental rate growth, helped support sales growth. Gains in this sector were also possible thanks to the growth in annual new listings. However, like other sectors, the increase in new listings was not enough to outweigh the sales growth, and inventory levels trended down to levels not seen since 2013.After several years of being oversupplied, the shift to tighter conditions supported annual price gains of nearly nine percent. While price gains occurred across every district, city-wide prices remain well below the previous highs reached back in 2014.   REGIONAL MARKET FACTS Airdrie Sales in Airdrie have declined since April, mainly because of the significant drop in detached home sales. December was no exception, as sales slowed compared to last year’s levels. Despite recent declines, year-to-date total residential sales increased by seven percent and have set a new record-high of 2,469 units. Regional population growth combined with the relative affordability of homes in Airdrie compared to Calgary are some factors supporting the record sales in 2022.While new listings trended down in December, 2022 saw a general rise in new listings in the market. This has helped support some recent year-over-year gains in inventory levels over last year’s exceptionally low levels. Recent adjustments in both sales and inventory levels have caused the months of supply to trend up from the strong seller’s market conditions reported earlier in the year. However, conditions remain relatively tight with less than two months of supply.The December benchmark price in Airdrie has eased by over six percent from the April peak. However, this is still 12 percent higher than last year's level. Overall, the annual benchmark price in 2002 was $489,558, nearly 20 percent higher than last year's level. Cochrane December sales eased, contributing to the year-to-date decline of eight percent. The annual pullback in sales was met with new listings comparable to last year. This has helped support some inventory growth in the market, but levels are still well below what is typically available in the resale market. While inventory levels remain low, the recent pullback in sales has resulted in more balanced conditions taking some of the pressure of price growth seen over the last four months of the year.On an annual basis, the benchmark price reached $504,067 in the town, nearly 17 percent higher than last year’s prices. Price gains were the strongest in both the detached and semi-detached sectors, where prices rose by 19 percent, establishing 2022 as the new record-high price. Okotoks Sales activity eased in December, but the year-over-year pullback over the past few months has not offset the gains reported earlier in the year, as year-to-date sales activity rose by nearly two percent. This growth in sales was met with additional new listings in the market, helping support higher inventory levels over last year’s record lows. Even with some inventory growth, conditions continue to remain tight with under two months of supply, placing limits on the price adjustments.While prices have trended down from the high seen in May, on an annual basis, benchmark price growth in the town was nearly 16 percent. Price growth was strongest in the detached sector, which for the first time, pushed above $600,000 on an annual basis. via CREB 

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2021 Market Update

  2021 Record Year for Home Sales City of Calgary, Jan. 4, 2022 – Thanks to exceptionally high sales in December, 2021 was a record year for home sales. Calgary sales reached 27,686 units this year, nearly 72 per cent higher than last year and over 44 per cent higher than the 10-year average.“Concerns over inflation and rising lending rates likely created more urgency with buyers over the past few months. However, as is the case in many other cities, the supply has not kept pace with the demand, causing strong price growth,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie.As of December, the unadjusted benchmark price rose by nearly one per cent over last month and was sitting over 10 per cent higher than last year’s figures. Overall, the 2021 benchmark price rose by more than eight per cent compared to last year for a total of $451,567, just shy of the annual record high set back in 2015.We are entering 2022 with some of the tightest conditions seen in over a decade. As of December, inventory levels are nearly 25 per cent lower than long-term averages for the month. This will have an impact on our housing market as we move through 2022. More details on the housing market forecast for 2022 will be released on Jan. 25.   HOUSING MARKET FACTS Detached With 17,038 sales in 2021, home sales remained slightly lower than the record high set in 2005. While a new record was not set, sales are still over 40 per cent higher than long-term averages and supply challenges likely prevented stronger sales this year. New listings rose, but it was not enough to offset sales, causing inventories to ease. In the detached sector, average inventory levels were over 23 per cent lower than long-term trends. With only 898 units in inventory in December, we are entering 2022 with the lowest detached inventory on record.Strong sales relative to inventory levels caused the months of supply to dip below one month, which is tighter than levels recorded in the spring market. Tightening conditions over the past several months once again weighed on prices. The detached benchmark price rose by nearly one per cent compared with last month and is nearly 12 per cent higher than last year’s levels. Overall, the detached sector has recorded the largest annual price gain at nearly 10 per cent, not only recovering from the 2015 annual high, but exceeding it by nearly three per cent. Semi-Detached In 2021, there were 2,571 semi-detached sales, an annual gain of 55 per cent and over 47 per cent higher than longer-term trends. Relative affordability and less supply choice in the detached sector caused many to consider semi-detached properties. However, like other property types, semi-detached sales growth outpaced new-listings growth, especially at the end of the year, causing significant declines in inventory levels and the months of supply, which has remained below two for the past three months.Tight conditions have caused further price growth, as December prices were nearly 10 per cent higher than last year. Overall, on an annual basis, semi-detached home prices improved by eight per cent, reaching a new record high. However, prices have not recovered across all districts, as the City Centre, North East and South districts have not seen full price recovery, Row Over the past few months, row properties have increased in popularity, reporting strong sales growth that has outpaced the growth in new listings. This has created much tighter conditions and is supporting stronger price growth.Inventories were not as much of a challenge earlier in the year, so the pace of price growth was not as high as the growth seen among some of the other property types during that time. However, benchmark prices rose by six per cent on an annual basis, supporting some price recovery. Despite the gains, prices remain nearly nine per cent lower than the previous high. Apartment Condominium Record sales in December were not enough to support annual record-high sales for this property type. Unlike the other property types, the apartment condominium sector has not experienced many supply challenges, as inventories this year generally remained above historical levels. However, the growth in sales was enough to help shift the market from one that favoured the buyer to one that was relatively balanced.The balanced conditions did support modest annual price growth of just over two per cent. Each district saw some improvement in price this year, varying from less than one per cent growth in the City Centre to over six per cent growth in the West district. Despite these price gains, prices are still recovering across all districts and citywide prices remain 14 per cent lower than previous highs recorded in 2014.   REGIONAL MARKET FACTS Airdrie December sales reached record levels despite further reduction in new listings. The strong sales have caused inventory levels to drop to a mere 82 units, which is the lowest they’ve been since 2005. Overall, Airdrie recorded a record 2,299 sales this year. This is 78 per cent higher than activity recorded over the past 10 years and is 36 per cent higher than the previous record set in 2014.Airdrie’s strong growth in housing demand could be related to the relative affordability of detached homes there compared to Calgary and less concern among consumers over commute times, as some companies shift toward hybrid work options. Bringing on new supply has been a challenge in Airdrie, and this has driven some significant price gains in the city. Overall, annual benchmark prices hit a new record at $380,867 in 2021, nearly 12 per cent higher than last year’s levels and two per cent higher than the previous annual record. Cochrane Despite persistently low levels of new listings relative to sales, Cochrane’s sales reached record levels in 2021. However, the sales-to-new-listings ratio has exceeded 100 per cent for four of the past six months, causing inventories to drop to the lowest levels seen in over a decade.This has caused further tightening in the market, as the months of supply has remained below one month over the past two months. The exceptionally tight conditions, especially over the past few months, have caused further price gains. As of December, the benchmark price was nearly 10 per cent higher than levels reported last year. Overall, on an annual basis, the benchmark price has increased by seven per cent, reflecting a new record high for the town. Okotoks Despite persistent challenges with supply levels, sales in Okotoks reached record levels in 2021. However, the strong sales weighed on inventory levels, which on average eased by 41 per cent this year and remain over 50 per cent lower than what the market typically has available.Easing inventory and strong sales left the months of supply at record-low levels in December with less than one month of supply. With sellers’ market conditions throughout the year, there have been some significant gains in prices. On an annual basis, the benchmark price hit a new record high at $474,842, which is an annual gain of nearly nine per cent.   Via: CREB

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