Home sales in Calgary up almost 23% in February, prices rising

The Calgary Real Estate Board says February home sales improved almost 23 per cent from last year as new listings rose.

Sales of all property types totalled 2,135 units — led by a 30 per cent year-over-year jump in condo sales — while the volume of sales in dollars rose 41 per cent to $1.25 billion.

New listings were up 13.6 per cent to 2,711, while inventory was down just over 14 per cent from last year.

Ann-marie Lurie, chief economist at CREB, said strong demand and low supply are continuing to drive price gains in the city.

“Purchasers are acting quickly when new supply comes onto the market, preventing inventory growth in the market,” Lurie said in a news release, with homes priced under $500,000 in increasingly short supply.

“At the same time, we are starting to see supply levels rise for higher-priced homes, supporting more balanced conditions in the upper end.”

The benchmark price across all home types was $585,000 for the month, up more than two per cent from January and 10 per cent higher than a year earlier. The average sale price last month was about $583,000, up 15 per cent over 2023.

Sales of detached homes rose 20 per cent from a year ago, to 954 units, with the benchmark price rising 13 per cent to $721,300. The average sale price was up 14 per cent to $777,086.

The largest price gains were on the east side of the city, with prices for all property types 25 per cent higher than a year ago. The benchmark price was 17 per cent higher at $329,600. The average sale price last month was $332,000.

“Relative affordability has supported the strong demand for apartment-style homes, and sales growth has been possible thanks to the continued growth in new listings,” the CREB report states.

Condo and apartment sales totalled 638 units last month, with new listings rising 20 per cent from February 2023.

Limited housing supply in communities surrounding Calgary also continued to drive up prices last month, the report states.

Inventory levels in Airdrie were half what’s typical for February and the lowest since 2006. The unadjusted benchmark price there was $529,700, 10 per cent higher than a year ago.

Listings were higher in Okotoks, but so were sales, keeping the town’s housing supply at near-record lows, according to CREB.

“Okotoks has struggled to add enough supply to keep pace with demand, keeping conditions tight and driving home prices,” the report states.

The unadjusted benchmark price topped $605,000, almost three per cent higher than January.