Calgary's New Multi-Family Home Market Experiences Significant Downturn
Sales of new multi-family homes in Calgary concluded 2025 substantially below long-term historical averages, according to recent market analysis. A comprehensive report from Zonda Urban reveals that during the fourth quarter of 2025, sales plummeted to 35 percent below the established historical average for the region.
Sharp Decline in Sales Activity
The city recorded only 507 sales of new multi-family units during this period, representing a concerning 24 percent decrease from the previous third quarter. This category encompasses both apartment condominiums and townhomes, indicating broad-based weakness across multiple housing types.
The slow absorption of available units has directly contributed to escalating inventory levels. Completed units, known as standing inventory, surged by 35 percent compared to the third quarter of 2025. More significantly, this inventory increased by 11 percent year-over-year, highlighting a persistent trend of supply outpacing demand.
Geographic Variations in Market Performance
Market conditions varied dramatically across different areas of Calgary:
- The city centre experienced the most severe contraction, with sales plunging an astonishing 93 percent compared to the same quarter in 2024.
- Most other urban sectors reported year-over-year declines in new unit sales.
- The inner south emerged as a notable exception, with sales increasing approximately 68 percent from 2024 levels, though this still represented a 59 percent decline from the third quarter of 2025.
- The Airdrie and Cochrane region demonstrated resilience with year-over-year sales growth of 79 percent.
Inventory Accumulation Across Housing Types
Throughout 2025, new townhome supply continued to expand across the Calgary region, extending a trend that originated in late 2023. Inventory for this housing type has now approached 1,800 units, placing it on par with supply levels for new wood-frame apartment condominiums.
Concrete-built apartment condominiums presented particularly concerning metrics, with nearly 1,000 unabsorbed units recorded at the end of 2025. This represents a sharp quarter-over-quarter increase, largely attributable to the dramatic decline in downtown sales where concrete construction projects predominate.
Comprehensive Inventory Assessment
For the Calgary metropolitan area overall, released and unsold inventory levels—including both completed and unfinished units—across all multi-family housing types surged by 58 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. This substantial inventory accumulation underscores the challenges facing Calgary's new multi-family housing market as absorption rates continue to lag behind historical norms.
