Calgary real estate market continues to fall: January stats

Real estate prices in the city continued to fall in January according to figures released by the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) this week.

The average price of a property in Calgary fell to $447,300 in January, a year-on-year decrease of 3.27% While prices were down across the board, the most striking corrections have been experienced in the apartment sector where the average benchmark price tumbled to $281,900; a 6.35% drop from January 2015, and a 2.12% decrease from December last year.

As well as falling prices, Calgary also experienced slow sales activity in January with just 763 units sold, 13% down on the same time last year, and 43% below long-term averages. New listings also decreased by 16% compared to last year while the number of new listings also far outpaced sales, causing an imbalance between housing supply and demand that has helped to drive prices downwards.

While the figures will come as bad news to the city’s sellers it will provide some hope to buyers who are hoping to take advantage of the current conditions:

“Selection for buyers in all product types and price ranges has improved,” said CREB® president Cliff Stevenson in a press release. “More choice and low interest rates have encouraged some potential buyers to start window shopping. So far, this hasn’t translated into sales activity as many are waiting for steeper price declines.”