New condo market posts best quarter sales in 3 years

New condominiums were a hot ticket item in the city's real estate market over the summer months into early fall, a new report shows.

The finding comes from a report by Urban Analytics, released earlier this month. It shows third quarter sales for the year grew by more than 70 per cent over the same quarter last year.

All told, 834 units sold from July to the end of September in Calgary. That's the strongest quarter on record since the final three months of 2017 when 928 new units sold.

“Overall, the city's market is performing really well; it's just a matter of taking three months out of the year where people hit the pause button in the spring,” says Jackson Cornelius, consulting and advisory lead for Alberta with Urban Analytics.

Beginning in June, activity picked up as buyers flocked back to the market, a result of pent-up demand from April and May and lower mortgage rates.

Developers have also been taking note of changing conditions as buyers become more budget conscious due to economic uncertainty.

As Cornelius notes, even in typically higher-priced communities like Aspen Landing and Cougar Ridge, new condominium product can be found for about $200,000.

“Now there's working professionals, downsizers and all kinds of folks coming into these areas because the price points are so attractive.”

Still, the growth is not uniform. Inner city sales grew in the third quarter over the second quarter, but remain far below activity in third quarters dating back to 2016.

“Downtown remains a bit slow,” Cornelius says, adding the city centre features more concrete projects, which tend to be more costly.

“But everywhere else seems really active.”