City of Calgary, March 1, 2017 – After the first two months of the year,

Calgary’s detached sector continues to drive a slow transition in the housing

market. February sales totaled 1,342 units, which is still 19 per cent below

long-term averages, but an improvement over the past two years.

As sales kept trending upward, detached inventory levels continued to ease

in February. These conditions caused months of supply to fall to 2.4 months,

putting less downward pressure on pricing. Unadjusted detached

benchmark prices totaled $501,900 in February, which is one per cent lower

than prices recorded last year, but slightly higher than January figures.

“There seems to be a new sense of optimism these days,” said CREB®

president David P. Brown. “Some sellers are feeling upbeat about the

changing landscape and the improved chances of selling their home. Other

people are looking at the spring market with caution and wondering if we’re

going to see a higher than expected surge of listings. While there’s less

product on the market right now, sellers still need to be realistic with their

pricing.”

The amount of excess inventory eased in the overall market in February,

setting the stage for a transition to a more stable market this year. Months

of supply totaled 3.4 months, down from five months over last February. At

the same time, the sales-to-new-listings ratio trended from a near record

February low of 39 per cent last year to 55 per cent this February.

With sales improving and new listings and inventories contracting—two key

measures of market balance, there’s good evidence to show that the

housing market has started a trend toward more balanced conditions.

“The transition in the housing market appears to be underway,” said CREB®

chief economist Ann-Marie Lure. “However, it is important to note that this
change is primarily being driven by improvements in the detached market

and stability in the labour market.”

“It will take some time for these conditions to translate into all housing

segments and achieve price recovery,” said Lurie. “But all indicators

continue to point toward a slow transition from a contracting market toward

one that is stabilizing at lower levels.”