City of Calgary, January 2, 2019 – As oversupply
continues in Calgary’s housing market, December prices
eased by one percent compared to last month and are over
three percent below last December.

“Persistent weakness in the job market and changes in the
lending market impacted sales activity in the resale market
this year,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.
“This contributed to elevated supply in the resale market,
resulting in price declines.”

December sales totaled 794 units, a 21 percent decline over
the previous year. Overall year-to-date sales in the city
totalled 16,144 units. This is a 14 per cent decline over 2017
and nearly 20 per cent below long-term averages.

Inventory levels in December sat at 4,904 units. This is well
above levels recorded last year and 30 per cent above typical
levels for the month. Elevated resale inventories in 2018 were
caused by gains in the detached and attached sectors.

Throughout 2018, the months of supply remained elevated
and averaged 5.2 months. This contributed to the annual
average benchmark price decline of 1.5 per cent. Price
declines occurred across all product types and have caused
citywide figures to remain over nine per cent below the
monthly highs recorded in 2014.

“Both buyers and sellers faced adjustments in expectations
this year. Sellers had to compete with more choice in the
resale market, but also the new-home market,” said CREB®
president Tom Westcott.

“With less people looking for a home, it became a choice
between delaying when to sell or adjusting the sale price.
However, buyers looking for the more affordable product did not
find the same price adjustments that existed in some of the
higher price ranges.”

More information on the 2018 housing market will be released
at CREB®’s 2019 Forecast Conference &
Tradeshow (www.crebforecast.com) on Jan. 30, 2019.