Although Calgarians may think of spring as a time when the weather gets warmer and the grass gets greener (which can truly be the end of May…), realtors have a different take on what spring means.
Historically, February through June are the busiest months of the year for house sales and what I would consider our typical ‘spring market’ in Calgary real estate. Yes, February – the month of blizzards and little sunlight – is still a time of year during which Calgarians make their plans for the summer and trudge through the snow to see houses so they can make a move before their first summer holiday.
Even pre-pandemic, when Calgary was in more of a real estate slump, February was the kickoff to a higher number of house sales and rising prices. Even in a pretty dismal year like 2016, we saw the absorption rate (or ‘months of supply’) tighten every month from January to June before softening for the second half of the year.
Jump ahead to the post-pandemic Calgary, where we are the hottest city in Canada for both interprovincial and international migration, and we are seeing very HOT spring numbers in our real estate market through the whole first quarter of 2024.
Contrasting again with 2016, January saw 766 property sales in Calgary. In January of 2024, we had 1,649 – more than twice as many!
January of 2016 had 6.76 months of supply (i.e. it would take more than half a year to sell all current listings at the current rate of sales). January of 2024 had 1.31 months, which has now dropped to a staggering 0.95 months across all property types. This means that all listings are being absorbed in the market within one month.
The average days on market for a property to sell in January 2016 was 51. In 2024, it was 34 and has now dropped to 20 days in March. Please keep in mind that this figure includes the time a house is conditionally sold (when buyers are doing their home inspection and getting final financing approval). And this includes all property types from apartments to luxury homes. It truly is a low number when you consider that the five years pre-pandemic saw averages of 41 days on market to 59.
Diving in a little deeper to the stats for different property types in March:
- Detached home prices are up 14% year-over-year to a benchmark price of $739K
- Semi-detached home prices are up 13.6% year-over-year to a benchmark price of $658K
- Row home prices are up 20.4% year-over-year to a benchmark price of $449K
- Apartment-condo prices are up 17.1% year-over-year to a benchmark price of $338K
As you can see, the lower price categories have seen the biggest jumps in pricing as more buyers are having trouble affording a detached or semi-detached home. Even within the categories, we are seeing condos under $300,000 being an especially tight market.
One interesting stat is that apartments are selling for an average of 0.9% ABOVE asking price! This has never been seen before in Calgary, particularly in the condo market. Detached homes are even wilder, selling at an average of 1.8% ABOVE asking!
The biggest gap between list price and sale price in the past month in Calgary was a little townhome in Braeside that sold 43% above asking! This was a court-ordered sale, but still an incredible number. There were 22 other properties that sold more than 20% above asking price in the past month and we are routinely seeing properties sell 5%-10% above asking price in certain neighbourhoods and property types.
Sellers are enjoying strong market conditions where they can achieve a great sales price and very favourable terms and conditions, whereas buyers are struggling to be the successful bidder in an increasing number of multiple offer situations.
We have the boots-on-the-ground experience to guide you through either side of this crazy marketplace. Even for sellers that know they can sell their place quickly, having a strong agent representing you and navigating the multiple offer situation for you can mean the difference of thousands or tens of thousands of dollars.
For a more detailed stats package, please contact us. And here’s to the spring weather coming in as hot as the spring market!
-Amie
