October was an interesting month for Real Estate in the Calgary area. It has been two years since we had sales this robust and city-wide sales were up 16% over sales for October of last year.
“The shift in sales activity this month is likely related to the new mortgage rule changes, inventory gains in the lower price ranges and further price adjustments,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “The combination of all these factors may have encouraged some purchases to take advantage of the market conditions, particularly in the lower price ranges. However, with several factors at play, the monthly shift in demand may be temporary and will need to be monitored over the next several months.”
Although the sales were up across all types of housing (attached/detached/apartment) for October over last year, we are still down in Year-to-date sales activity which means that a lot of people are still feeling the pinch and prices have continued to decline. Currently the Benchmark Price across all sectors is down 3.81% year over year.
Listings in the detached sector have reached balanced market territory. Unlike Apartment listings that are still well into a buyer’s market with over 6 months of supply, the highest they have been since 2009.
City of Calgary
October 2016
| Sector | Inventory | Monthly Sales | Percent of change Y/Y | Months of Supply | Benchmark price YTD |
| Detached | 2565 | 1031 | 18.23% | 2.49 | $503,030 |
| Apartment | 1542 | 251 | 5.91% | 6.14 | $278,610 |
| Attached | 1320 | 362 | 15.61% | 3.3 | $333,650 |
In Airdrie we experienced similar sales trends for October with an increase in number of sales and a decrease in the number of new listings. Improved inventory levels reduced the pressure driving pricing down. As in Calgary, the Benchmark price remains down for Airdrie year-to-date.
“This year has been a challenge for many sellers,” said CREB® president Cliff Stevenson. “So when we have a rise in sales, it means more buyers got into the market and more sellers got out, which is a positive for consumers on both sides of the transaction.” “Sales activity changed direction in October, but we need to see some consistency next month and the month after to call it a trend,” adds Stevenson. “For now it’s a nice building block.”
City of Airdrie
October 2016
| Sector | Inventory | Monthly Sales | Percent of change Y/Y | Months of Supply | Benchmark Price |
| Detached | 207 | 79 | (3.62)% | 2.62 | $381,100 |
| Apartment | 61 | 10 | (3.41)% | 6.10 | $200,900 |
| Row | 84 | 27 | (4.90)% | 3.11 | $254,100 |
| Semi Detached | 27 | 13 | (4.25)% | 2.08 | $295,000 |