Calgary sees home sales, benchmark price drop but average price rises

CALGARY – Calgary’s real estate market continues to show signs of stress with lower sales, listings and benchmark prices in February even as the average price climbed.

The latest Calgary Real Estate Board numbers show that the benchmark price, which represents the price of a typical home, dropped 3.45 per cent in February to $445,000 compared with a year ago, while the median price was unchanged at $420,000.

Total sales were down 6.6 per cent to 1,127 homes compared with last year and 37 per cent lower than the long-term trend, while inventory levels and the number of days homes stayed on the market both increased.

But the average sale price was actually up 2.7 per cent in February compared with last year, climbing to $472,529.

Real estate board economist Ann-Marie Lurie said the average price can easily be distorted and was likely boosted by an increase in sales of high-end homes.

In February the number of homes selling for over $1 million climbed 52 per cent to 38 from 25 the year before.

Lurie said the increase in high-priced sales could be because of an increase in supply, with close to 800 homes on offer at over $1 million apiece.

“When we see those elevated levels of supply it could mean that, actually, within that range, there have been some price declines happening, and that has potentially encouraged some sales activity,” said Lurie.

And with unemployment rising and no end in sight from the energy sector downturn, Calgary home prices will likely remain soft.

“There’s no fundamental shift expected to occur in the economy, so we are expecting to see further declines this year,” said Lurie.