Detached supply stayed tight while condos tipped deeper into a buyer’s market
Calgary’s housing market sat at a crossroads in February, with detached and semi‑detached homes tightening even as a growing glut of apartments weighed on prices and sentiment.
Citywide inventory reached 4,822 units in February, with about three months of supply. That pointed to broadly balanced conditions, even though sales fell 11% year over year to 1,526 transactions, mainly because of weaker row and apartment activity, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).
Condominiums and row homes made up more than half of available listings.
“Slowing migration levels are coming at a time when supply for apartment-style homes is rising. Calgary reported record high starts last year, mostly due to gains in apartment starts where there are nearly 18,000 units currently under construction. While a large share of the units is targeted for rental, this also impacts condo ownership markets,” said Ann‑Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist.
“Meanwhile, on the opposite end of the spectrum, the detached market remains relatively balanced in the higher price ranges and continues to struggle with limited supply for homes priced below $700,000.”
Detached market stayed tight as condos softened
Detached sales and new listings in February were roughly in line with a year earlier, producing a sales‑to‑new‑listings ratio of 58% and keeping months of supply just under three.
The unadjusted detached benchmark reached $734,300, up slightly from January but still about 3% below last year’s level, with the tightest conditions in the West district and lingering excess supply in the North East.
Semi‑detached homes saw the leanest conditions of any property type, with sales rising to 175 units and months of supply falling to 2.4.
Benchmark prices in that segment edged above $682,000 and were broadly in line with a year earlier, supported by gains in central and western districts even as some outer areas softened.
Row homes, by contrast, shifted back toward balance after a January listing surge, with a sales‑to‑new‑listings ratio of 55% and just over three months of supply.
Their benchmark price rose to $423,600 but remained about 5% below February 2025, with the steepest year‑over‑year declines in the more affordable North East and East districts.
The sharpest pressure persisted in the apartment condominium sector. Despite a pullback in new listings, the sales‑to‑new‑listings ratio sat at 46%, pushing inventory to 1,580 units and keeping months of supply well above four.
Apartment benchmark prices slipped to $298,600 – nearly 1% below January and more than 9% lower than a year earlier – with some districts seeing double‑digit annual declines.
Forecasts point to modest easing, not a crash
Plenty of hopeful homeowners are still setting their sights on a move to Calgary, a trend that emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as prices skyrocketed in bigger cities.
“Toronto and Vancouver folks are still packing their bags and landing in YYC,” Max Singh, a broker with TMG The Mortgage Group in Calgary, told Canadian Mortgage Professional. “Lower prices and more space are irresistible.
Singh said he viewed Calgary’s outlook for first-time buyers as “better than almost any major city in Canada” because of that comparative affordability.
“It still offers manageable entry points, new builds with incentives, inventory in a variety of neighbourhoods, and one of the strongest dollar-for-value ratios in the country,” he said.
“2026 will still reward first-time buyers who plan early, get preapproved, and move confidently when the right place pops up.”
RBC Economics recently described Calgary as “largely stable and balanced,” noting that a historic ramp‑up in homebuilding since 2022 pushed homes for sale to a seven‑year high and left the city’s composite MLS Home Price Index down 4.7% year over year in December.
The bank expects “home values to continue easing in the short term as more supply” arrives, with builders working on roughly 26,000 units across the market.
Similarly, Royal LePage projects Calgary among a small group of Canadian cities likely to post up to 2% price growth this year – modest gains that would nevertheless outpace Toronto and Vancouver.
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