MULTI-FAMILY RESALE HOMES SEE MORE CHOICE
Benchmark price for townhomes drops nearly $10,000 from same period last year
People who were in the market for an apartment, townhome, or duplex in Calgary last month continued to see more favourable prices through the city’s resale market than the same time a year earlier.
The benchmark price for all three multi-family home styles dipped last month, led by yearover-year savings of more than $10,000 from the townhome segment, says the Calgary Real Estate Board. Benchmark prices are that of a typical home based on a formula that uses various factors to ensure accurate comparisons.
Last month’s townhome benchmark in Calgary was $296,700. This is a three per cent downtick from $307,100 in August 2017.
Year to date, the benchmark price for townhomes is 1.5 per cent short of last year’s mark.
The only end of the city to record an improved benchmark for townhomes last month was northwest Calgary, rising about one per cent from the same time a year earlier.
Apartments, which have seen prices slip three per cent year to date, recorded a two per cent decline last month, says CREB. The benchmark price was $258,100, down from $263,600 in August 2017. Month over month, the apartment figure was down $1,800.
The cost of purchasing a previously owned duplex saw the least change from last year. Its benchmark last month was $411,300, about a one per cent setback from $416,100 August 2017. Year to date, the benchmark is also one per cent down from the same period last year.
The only part of the city to see duplex prices climb last month was an area CREB defines as north Calgary, where the benchmark jumped nearly three per cent year over year.
*Resale of apartments steady, while duplexes dial back
There were five fewer apartments sold though the city’s resale market last month than there were in August 2017, says CREB, of the 243 such transactions. This follows a one-sale decline for the segment in July, and a year-over-year improvement in June.
Meanwhile, resale of duplexes recorded a 20 per cent setback. There were 141 on the books in August, after 177 changed hands a year earlier. In July, the market had three more sales than the same time last year.
Townhome resale last month was four per cent off the August 2017 mark, says CREB. There were 179 such deals compared to 197 year over year.
An area CREB calls the city centre led all ends of Calgary in resale of both apartments and duplexes with 119 and 36, respectively, while northeast Calgary led the townhome tally with 28. Resale of apartments in the city centre had a substantial lead over the next most active area, northwest Calgary, with 31.
*Apartment inventory declines, while resale duplex options soar
For the third consecutive month, resale supply of apartments in Calgary was down from the same time in 2017. In August, that figure was 1,666, sliding nearly six per cent year over year, says CREB. Neighbourhoods in the city centre accounted for 863 of those units.
Conversely, duplex supply grew. Its inventory was up nearly 57 per cent to 909 from 580, year over year. Year to date, duplex inventory has rallied 51 per cent.
The bulk of its options also came from the city centre, with 367 such units listed for sale.
Previously owned townhome supply is also up over last year. In August, the tally of 1,113 units represented a 12 per cent rise.
Areas CREB defines as west Calgary and north Calgary carried the pace with 199 and 183 units, respectively.