Low inventory and migration behind Calgary's housing price surge in 2023

Bradley L. Grant/Shutterstock

December’s housing story in Calgary was much like it was throughout the entire year, with near-record lows continuing to contribute to high prices.

In the Calgary Real Estate Board’s (CREB) most recent report, data shows that inventory levels were persistently below long-term trends for the city throughout most of the year, averaging a 44% decline over the 10-year average.

In 2023, the city continued to see low inventory for properties, with prices continuing to climb in the last month of the year as they had throughout the whole year.

Calgary also saw the months of supply remain well below two months throughout most of the year across homes priced below $1,000,000.

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“Higher lending rates dampened housing demand this year, but thanks to strong migration levels, housing demand remained relatively strong, especially for affordable options in our market,” said CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie in a statement.

“At the same time, supply levels were low compared to the demand throughout the year, resulting in stronger than expected price growth.”

Sales in 2023 did ease relative to last year’s peak, but with 27,416 sales, levels were still far higher than long-term trends and activity reported before the pandemic, according to the CREB report.

While sales stayed relatively strong, there was a notable shift in activity toward more affordable apartment condominium-style homes.

According to CREB, those were the only property types to report a gain in sales in 2023, resulting in a record high of 7,884.

“The growth in sales was possible thanks to the higher starting point for inventory levels and gains in new listings,” reads the report.

“However, conditions tightened throughout the year, favouring the seller and driving price growth.”

Those persistently tight conditions drove Calgary’s new record-high price.

While the average annual benchmark price growth did slow from 12% in 2022 to nearly 6% growth in 2023, the price growth was still relatively strong, especially compared to some markets in the country, according to CREB.

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