Benchmark price on townhomes rises

While resale prices on apartments and duplexes in Calgary eased last month, townhome values continue to rise.

The benchmark price on townhomes in Calgary in May was $303,200, says the Calgary Real Estate Board. This is a 3.7 per cent upswing from the same time last year and the fourth consecutive increase month over month.

Benchmark prices are that of a typical home based on a formula that uses various factors to ensure accurate comparisons.

The last time the townhome benchmark in Calgary was higher than the May mark, it was October 2017.

Four areas of the city recorded year over year increases in benchmark prices on townhomes last month, led by a two per cent hike in an area CREB defines as north Calgary. The other areas with price gains were the city centre, northwest Calgary and southeast Calgary.

PRICES

People who bought a previously owned apartment saved more than $10,000 last month compared to purchasing a similar unit during the same time in 2017. The benchmark price was $256,200, a four per cent dip from $266,600 in May 2017. Last month’s benchmark also eased $500 from this past April.

Meanwhile, duplex buyers saw prices slide $1,000 in May compared to a month earlier. The benchmark was $419,000, which is also a two per cent setback year over year. South Calgary paced the city in duplex price growth, rising eight per cent from May 2017. It was followed by rallies of seven per cent and six per cent in east Calgary and northeast Calgary, respectively.

SALES

On the heels of year-overyear declines every month this year, apartment activity showed stability in May. There were 282 transactions of resale apartments last month, the identical figure to the same month a year ago. Apartment sales in May were the most of any month in Calgary since June of last year.

In the townhome segment, there were 230 sales last month, a 15 per cent pullback from the same month in 2017, but up 38 sales from a month earlier.

For the fourth consecutive month, resale of duplexes was down year over year, says CREB. There were 156 such transactions in May, declining 17 per cent from 188 a year ago.

Neighbourhoods in the city centre led all ends of Calgary in both apartment and duplex deals last month with 120 and 42, respectively. North Calgary carried the pace in townhome sales with 38, followed by 34 in the city centre, says CREB.

SUPPLY

While new listings of apartments and duplexes grew, there were fewer additions of townhomes to Calgary’s resale market.

New listings of townhomes declined three per cent to 508 from 525 a year ago, says CREB. There were 1,163 townhomes listed in Calgary last month, jumping 23 per cent from May 2017. Neighbourhoods in the city centre led all ends of Calgary in townhome resale inventory last month with 210 listings.

New listings of apartments expanded by one per cent last month to 776 from 768 year over year. A substantial portion of last month’s apartment listings were located in the city centre, with 987 units available.

The sharpest increase in new listings last month came from the duplex segment, with 422 additions to the market last month, a 27 per cent climb from the same month last year. The city centre carried the pace in duplex listings with 340.