Below is a short summary of what is really happening in the Calgary Real Estate Market. It cuts through all the extra and provides key information on supply and demand which is what drives prices. For each area I have also included a few comments. All numbers are taken from the Calgary Real Estate Boards Stats package for Realtors. In summary the Calgary housing market is starting off 2013 with very strong sales and our inventory is on the low side putting us in a Seller’s market.
Calgary Listing Inventory: Inventory levels for all categories increased throughout March. Seeing our inventory increase is very normal at this time of year as many people wait until spring to list their homes. This trend of increasing inventory should continue for the next few months.
Inventory |
February 2013 |
March 2013 |
Change |
Single Family Home |
2408 |
2727 |
+13.2% |
Condo Townhouse |
427 |
484 |
+13.3% |
Condo Apartment |
704 |
796 |
+13.1% |
Total |
3539 |
4007 |
+13.2% |
Calgary Sales:
Sales increased in all categories this month. The trend seems that buyers are coming to the market a little earlier every year. I am also finding that good single family homes in the lower price ranges are harder to find and therefore we are seeing more buyers moving into the condominium market.
Sales |
Feb 2013 |
March 2013 |
Change |
% Change |
Single Family Home |
1209 |
1480 |
+271 |
+22.4% |
Condo Townhouse |
223 |
283 |
+60 |
+25.6% |
Condo Apartment |
279 |
347 |
+60 |
+24.4% |
Total |
1711 |
2110 |
+399 |
+23.3% |
Calgary Real Estate Sales Prices: Please note that we are now using the Benchmark price for this comparison.
In March the benchmark price increased slightly for all categories. This is simply a reflection of demand outpacing supply and may continue until the inventory starts to increase faster than sales.
Sales Prices |
Feb 2013 Benchmark Price |
March, 2013 Benchmark Price |
Change |
Single Family Homes |
442,500 |
446,500 |
+4,000 |
Condo Townhouse |
283,000 |
286,800 |
+3,800 |
Condo Apartment |
252,900 |
257,700 |
+4,800 |
Sales Prices “Year to Date”
Once again we saw increases in all categories.
Sales Prices |
Dec 31 2012 Benchmark Price |
March 2013 Benchmark Price |
Change |
% Change |
Single Family Homes |
434,800 |
446,500 |
+11,700 |
+2.7% |
Condo Townhouse |
284,100 |
286,800 |
+2,700 |
+.95% |
Condo Apartment |
248,700 |
257,700 |
+9,000 |
+3.62% |
Absorption Rate (Months of Inventory) (the inventory divided by the number of sales in the last month). What does this mean you might ask?
Below 3.0 indicates a Seller’s Market
Between 2.8 to 4.0 indicates a Balanced Market
Above 4.0 indicates a Buyer’s Market.
Absorption Rate |
Feb 2013 |
March 2013 |
Change |
Single Family Homes |
1.99 |
1.84 |
-.15 |
Condo Townhouse |
1.91 |
1.71 |
-.2 |
Condo Apartment |
2.52 |
2.29 |
-.23 |
Total Calgary |
2.07 |
1.90 |
-.17 |
= “ Seller’s Market”
As you can see above we are in a Seller’s market for all categories and it is getting stronger in favour of sellers. Please note that these numbers do change on a community basis and more so for towns. If you would like to find stats on your community just let me know.
If you have any questions about this summary, the attached stats package or any Real Estate questions please feel free to contact us.
If you know anyone else who might enjoy seeing our monthly summary please feel free to pass this on.
Gord, Eric & Brent