Well folks, the stats are in for March so now we can take a look at how 2018 is shaping up so far!
As usual, I think it’s important to dive deeper and look at individual property types rather than the city of Calgary as a whole as that can give a skewed idea of what is really going on!
Let’s start with the detached sector. The Benchmark price rose every month from January to July of 2017 and then dropped every month from July 2017 to January 2018! This happens often in Calgary with increases through the spring months and a gradual decline later in the year.
So far in 2018, detached homes are continuing their normal trajectory, with slight increases every month from January to March. And when I say slight, I mean slight. We went from $499,400 to $503,800 in that time.
As far as the number of sales go, we are well below the numbers we were seeing in 2017. Last March had 1171 sales and this March had only 848 sales.
More than that, our supply/demand ratio isn’t looking as strong so far this year. Last March we had only 2 months worth of inventory and this year we have 3.6 (the lower the number, the hotter the market). Generally 3-4 months is considered a balanced market so this figure is still in a very healthy range.
Average days on market to sell is currently at 37.
Moving into semi-detached homes (which includes infills/duplexes), pricing generally followed the same trend as detached homes last year, increasing for the first half and decreasing for the second half. So far in 2018, the benchmark price has increased from $415,800 to $418,800.
The number of sales is also down from 199 last March to 144 this March.
There is 4.7 months worth of inventory in this category, putting it in the “buyer’s market” arena. Average days to sell is significantly higher at 48.
For row homes (i.e. townhomes), prices were actually stronger overall for the second half of 2017 but have been a bit all over the map, increasing and decreasing more randomly throughout the year. The benchmark price dropped from Jan to Feb of this year but then rose in March. Overall row home prices are up year-over-year about 1.7%.
The number of sales is down from 223 to 163 and average days on market is 58. There is 5.8 months worth of inventory, placing this sector firmly in the “buyer’s market” territory!
Lastly, looking at the apartment sector. This has been the hardest hit sector in Calgary over the past few years with a large amount of inventory and low demand. Prices rallied somewhat in the middle of 2017 before dropping the last few months. So far in 2018, the benchmark price has inched up from $256,200 to $257,100 but it is still down 3% year-over-year.
The number of sales is really in the dumps, down from 297 last March to 219 this March. More importantly, there is 7.7 months worth of inventory meaning that any condo seller right now is having to price their place very aggressively in order to actually sell. It also means that buyers have a TON of condos to choose from!
Average days on market is the highest of any sector, with apartments taking 64 days to sell. However, this number does not take into account all of the listings that terminate or expire without selling.
As always, it’s crucial to get real numbers for your own property type and area if you are thinking about buying or selling this year. Please contact us anytime for a detailed analysis.
-Amie
