Calgary real estate has had a slippery 2016, and December was no exception for the condo market. According to the latest numbers from the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB), demand for condos slipped much more than detached homes. In December, the market saw significantly lower prices, further declining sales, and declining inventory.
Prices Declined
The benchmark price across Calgary generally declined. The average for the city fell a further 0.77% in December, bringing the price to $269,200. This represents a 6.53% drop from the same time last year. That’s not quite real estate crash territory, but the decline is significantly stronger than that of detached homes that only fell 3% during the same period.
Breaking down that number from CREB, some areas saw prices decline more than others. The benchmark of condos in North Calgary saw prices declined a whopping 8.45% to $237,200 from the same time last year. Although North Calgary did show a sign of hope in December, as the only region that saw prices increase – by a whole 1.32%. North West Calgary also didn’t do too bad, with prices falling only 4.68% from last year to $256,500.
Sales Declined
Sales have been declining around Canada as policy changes designed to cool Toronto and Vancouver real estate impact regions beyond. Calgary saw 146 condo sales in December, a 3.95% decrease from the same time last year. This impacted the total dollar volume going into condos, which fell 4.62% from the same time last year to $44.22 million.
Declining sales alsoimpacted time on market and bid price. You’re average condo sold in December spent 71 days on the market, a 25.11% increase from the month before. These units are selling at an average of 95.53% of list, a 0.53% decline from the same time last year. More days on the market and less money than ask are bad news for sellers, and great news for buyers.
Inventory Declined
Calgary condos saw inventory decline, but not quite rapid enough to balance demand (or lack of). Inventory available across the city fell 1.07% to 1,108 units. Due to declining sales however, the number of months of supply rose 2.99% to 7.59 months. There are only 3 months of supply for detached homes in contrast, so Calgarian interest in condos isn’t super hot at this time.
As with anything, some areas had a better balance of supply and demand than others. North West Calgary had the fewest months of inventory available, with only 4.94 months. South Calgary had the worst inventory build, with a massive 13.8 months of inventory when current demand is factored.
Alberta’s employment rate slipped to a 22-year low, which might have something to do with the declining prices. Calgary being the economic engine of the province, will clearly bounce back the fastest of any region. When that bounceback is expected however, is a little less clear.
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