Considered a market to watch in 2022, the city of Calgary has largely benefited from an influx of prospective out-of-province buyers over the last two calendar years. With housing prices hovering below the national average (and well below prices in larger markets such as Toronto and Vancouver) many first-time homebuyers have been flooding the Calgary housing market.
Market trends experienced through much of 2020 and 2021 are expected to continue into 2022; most notably high demand and low supply, which will likely continue pushing prices upward. Here are the latest numbers emerging from this thriving western Canada housing market:
Calgary Market Finishing 2021 with Record High Sales
Exceptionally high unit sales in December brought the Calgary housing market to a record high, with 27,686 unit sold in 2021 – up almost 72 per cent year-over-year and more than 44 per cent above than the 10-year average, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).
“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 the demand, causing strong price growth,” said CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie.
The number of new Calgary real estate listings in October sat 25 per cent below the long-term average for the month of December, rendering supply levels lagging well behind demand across all property types with the exception of condominiums, which maintained inventory levels above historical levels.
Tight market conditions throughout the month forced average property prices to rise across the Calgary market. The unadjusted benchmark price rose by nearly one per cent month-over-month in December, and 10 per cent above December 2020 figures. “Overall, the 2021 benchmark price rose by more than eight per cent compared to last year for a total of $451,567, just shy of the annual record high set back in 2015,” says CREB.
Reports Suggesting a Strong 2022 for Calgary Real Estate
Recently, PwC released its 2022 Canadian Real Estate Forecast. The report suggests that strong demand for real estate in Calgary will remain throughout 2022, and particular strain will be put on single-family detached homes where supply will remain tight.
The PwC study makes note that migration from larger markets and other provinces will help keep demand in Calgary strong as 2022 progresses; Calgary was ranked as experiencing the fourth-most migration of all Canadian cities over 2021.
With an influx in demand expected, average prices in the prairie city are also expected to creep upwards. According to the RE/MAX Canada 2022 Housing Market Outlook, Calgary residential real estate prices are expected to rise by 2.5 per cent this year.
Given the expected price increase and interest rates rumoured to rise, now might be an ideal time for hopeful buyers to begin the search for their prospective Calgary dream home.
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