Calgary housing market outperforms long-term trend despite sales pullback: CREB

Calgary home sales figures fell in May year-over-year but remained above trends, with the housing market continuing to move toward more balanced conditions, the city’s real estate board reported Monday.

The completion of townhomes and apartment-style condos helped to push prices down in those sectors, while prices for detached and semi-detached homes varied widely depending on where supply was available, the Calgary Real Estate Board said in its monthly report.

“Compared to last year, easing sales and rising inventories are consistent trends across many cities, as uncertainty continues to weigh on housing demand. However, prior to the economic uncertainty, Calgary was dealing with seller market conditions, and the recent pullbacks in sales and inventory have helped shift us toward balanced conditions taking the pressure off prices,” said CREB chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie in a news release issued Monday. “This is a different situation from some of the other larger cities, where their housing markets were struggling prior to the addition of economic uncertainty.”

The residential unadjusted benchmark price in Calgary was $589,900 for May 2025, 2.5 per cent lower than the same month a year earlier and slightly lower than in April 2025 , the real estate board said.

The inventory of available housing in Calgary last month was almost twice as high as it was in the same period a year ago, leading to more than 2½ months of supply on the market.

Price gains for detached homes were driven by those costing $600,000 or more, CREB said, with a city-wide unadjusted benchmark price of $769,400, similar to April 2025 and one per cent higher than last May, while still reaching higher than last year’s seasonal peak price.

“Sales activity has slowed across most price ranges, supporting a shift toward more balanced conditions and relative stability in prices,” the real estate board added. “However, districts that are facing more competition from new home product or are seeing a larger pullback in demand are starting to show some signs of elevated supply.”

Conditions eased particularly in northeast Calgary, according to CREB, balancing the price gains observed in the board’s City Centre, West, and North West districts.

The semi-detached market saw a slow pace of inventory growth, with only two months of supply and benchmark prices reaching $697,300.

“Semi-detached homes continue to remain less than 10 per cent of all sales and inventory levels in the city,” the real estate board said. “This in part is due to construction patterns shifting toward more row style properties over semi-detached, and is one of the reasons we do not see the same inventory build as row and apartment style homes.”

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Inventory of row homes surpasses 1,000 units

Calgary’s inventory of row homes reached a four-year high, exceeding 1,000 units, CREB reports, with the benchmark price falling to $453,600.

Meanwhile, the addition of new rental apartments on the market are weighing on condo sales and causing prices to ease, according to the real estate board.

“This is likely slowing condo ownership demand coming from existing renters and potential investors, contributing to some of the shifts witnessed in the apartment condominium sector,” CREB said.

With 579 units sold in May 2025, it represented a 36 per cent drop in sales compared to the same month a year ago, which logged a record 907 sales.

“While prices have eased and are below peak levels, recent declines have not offset the double-digit gains reported over the past two years,” according to CREB.

Airdrie reported the highest housing inventory in May since before the COVID-19 pandemic, with sales numbers improving in May versus April but lower than 12 months earlier. The benchmark price fell to $540,600, which is one per cent lower than in April and two per cent less than in May 2024.

Home sales in May fell 17 per cent in Cochrane compared to April after a long steady period, CREB said, while a surge in listings provided for more robust supply of homes. The benchmark price of $589,400 last month was four per cent higher than it was a year earlier.

Meanwhile, in Okotoks, a higher number of listings supported an increase in home sales, with the local market struggling to add housing inventory. “The limited supply choice given the relatively strong demand has continued to support some price growth in the town,” CREB said, with the benchmark price reaching $633,900, two per cent higher than the same month in 2024.