Current conditions build on the market's strong 2021 performance
Calgary has continued to exhibit sellers’ market conditions with 2,009 home sales and a total of 2,476 new residential listings in January, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board.
“Thanks to persistently strong sales, inventory levels in the city eased to 2,620 units, the lowest levels seen since 2006,” the CREB said in its latest data release. “This caused the months of supply to remain exceptionally low for this time of year at 1.3 months.”
Together, these trends resulted in a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 81%, a level much higher than the numbers traditionally associated with the month of January, the CREB said.
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“Expected gains in lending rates are contributing to persistently strong demand in the housing market, as purchasers are eager to get ahead of any increases,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at the CREB.
“We did see more listings this month, but it did little to change the market balance or take any pressure off prices. This was expected, as these conditions should persist for several more months,” Lurie added.
These conditions built on a strong 2021 performance. The market saw a 72% annual increase in year-total sales, ending up at 44% above the 10-year average for the region, the CREB said.
“Concerns over inflation and rising lending rates likely created more urgency with buyers over the past few months. However, as is the case in many other cities, the supply has not kept pace with demand, causing strong price growth,” Lurie said.
