Relatively more affordable housing types, such as row and apartment-style homes, saw the most significant year-over-year price gains
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Published Apr 01, 2024 • Last updated 4 hours ago • 2 minute read
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The Calgary Real Estate Board says March home sales were up 10 per cent from last year as interprovincial migration to Alberta contributed to tight market conditions.
The board says 2,664 units changed hands last month, while the benchmark price across all home types was $597,600 for March — up 10.9 per cent from a year earlier and two per cent from February.
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Relatively more affordable housing types, such as row and apartment-style homes, saw the most significant year-over-year price gains.
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New listings fell 4.3 per cent to 3,172 and there were 2,532 units in inventory, 22 per cent lower than last year and half the levels traditionally seen in March. The board says inventory levels declined the most for properties priced below $500,000.
Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist at CREB, said conditions for March have not been this tight since 2006, which also marked the last time Calgary experienced high levels of interprovincial migration.
Alberta received more than 9,000 newcomers from other parts of Canada in the fourth quarter of 2023, lifting annual interprovincial migration to more than 55,000 — the largest gain in interprovincial migration nationally in more than five decades, StatCan reported last week.
“Given supply adjustments take time, it is not a surprise that we continue to see upward pressure on home prices,” Lurie said.
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Sales of detached homes rose slightly in March but were likely suppressed by inventory pressures, with listings down 24 per cent from March 2023.
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The unadjusted detached benchmark price rose to $739,700, up almost three per cent from February and 14 per cent higher than a year ago. The average price was $801,348.
Overall, 71 per cent of the available inventory in March was priced above $700,000, the board reported.
Apartment and condo sales topped 800 units in March, lifting first-quarter sales to a record 1,940 units — 30 per cent higher than last year.
“Demand for lower-priced homes has supported the growth of apartment-style properties, but the tight conditions have also contributed to further price gains,” the board reported.
The March benchmark price in the apartment condo category was $337,700, more than two per cent higher than February and 17 per cent higher than a year earlier.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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