Calgary's Resale Housing Market Exhibits Pockets of Resilience Amid Broader Declines
Calgary's resale real estate market experienced a general cooling trend throughout February, characterized by declining sales activity, falling prices, and increasing inventory levels. However, specific segments of the market demonstrated surprising strength and resilience, offering a nuanced picture of the city's housing landscape.
Market Overview Shows Mixed Performance
The overall benchmark price for Calgary's housing market in February settled at $560,500, representing a decrease of approximately four percent compared to the same period last year. Despite this year-over-year decline, the price did show a modest increase from levels recorded over the previous three months, suggesting some stabilization. Market activity generally declined, with rising supply across most housing categories.
Semi-Detached Homes Defy Market Trends
Among all housing types, semi-detached homes emerged as a particularly resilient segment. Despite constituting the smallest portion of resale activity in the city, this category saw demand increase by seven percent year over year. The benchmark price for semi-detached homes fell less than one percent to $682,200, demonstrating remarkable price stability compared to other property types.
Supply for semi-detached homes remained relatively tight at less than 2.5 months, although this represented a 19 percent increase from February of the previous year. This limited inventory level was the lowest among all housing types surveyed.
Single-Family Detached Homes Show Relative Strength
The largest segment of Calgary's housing market, single-family detached homes, also demonstrated greater resilience than other property categories. Sales declined by just four percent year over year, a much smaller decrease compared to row homes (down 15 percent) and apartments (down 27 percent).
New listings for single-family homes remained essentially flat compared to the previous year, indicating fewer sellers entered the market during February. Despite this, inventory for single-family homes grew by 14 percent year over year. The benchmark price for this category fell three percent from February last year to $734,300, which still represents the highest price level since October.
Other Housing Segments Experience More Significant Declines
Row homes saw their benchmark price drop five percent year over year to $423,600. Apartment homes experienced the most substantial decline, with their benchmark price decreasing more than nine percent to $298,600. This marked the first time apartment prices fell below $300,000 since July 2023.
Supply for apartment homes reached more than 4.5 months in February, representing a significant 48 percent increase from the previous year. This inventory level was the highest among all housing types surveyed by the Calgary Real Estate Board.
Market Dynamics Reflect Selective Demand
The February statistics reveal a housing market in transition, with buyers showing selective interest in specific property types. While overall market conditions moderated, the resilience demonstrated by semi-detached and single-family detached homes suggests continued demand for these housing formats despite broader economic pressures.
The varying performance across different housing segments indicates that Calgary's real estate market is experiencing nuanced shifts rather than uniform decline, with certain property types maintaining stronger appeal among buyers even as the overall market adjusts to changing conditions.
