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Calgary Real Estate News

Continuing off of September's high sales volume, Calgary's housing market broke an all-time record for October sales with 2,186 home sales for October 2021. Average home sold prices in Calgary also experienced a slight rise this month, as housing inventory and months of supply decrease. The average sold price of a home in Calgary was $485,482 for October 2021. That’s a slight increase from $476,041 in September. Compared to October 2021’s homes sales of 2,186, October 2020 had 1,764 sales and October 2019 had 1,447. November historically has seen a drop-off in sales into December, yet it remains to be seen whether Calgary’s hot housing market will cool down next month.

Perhaps the most surprising figure to come out of October 2021’s housing market report is the performance of Calgary condos. The average sold price of condos in Calgary increased from $257,687 in September 2021 to $288,118 in October 2021. That represents a hefty 11.8% monthly increase in the average price of condos, and brings condo prices up 19% year-over-year.

In comparison, detached home prices are up 3% year-over-year, while semi-detached prices are up just under 5% year-over-year. The spectacular growth of Calgary condos has resulted in almost a 54% increase in condo sales year-over-year. Comparatively, all other home types have just under half of the year-over-year gains that condos have had in sales. Looking at other property types, detached homes had a decrease in its average sold price compared to last month, falling to an average price of $571,258. Semi-detached homes increased to an average of $484,213, while townhouse average prices increased to $326,783.

Detached homes accounted for 61% of all home sales; semi-detached homes accounted for 10% of all home sales; townhouses accounted for 12% of all home sales; and condo apartments accounted for 16% of all home sales. This market share distribution has slightly shifted away from detached homes in favour of townhouses since late spring, but there has been an uptick in favour of detached homes this month.

As a new regulatory tailwind to Calgary's housing market, the CMHC has recently decreased their standards for insured mortgages. This reverses the increase from last year and drops required credit scores from 680 to 600 and increases GDS and TDS ratio limits to 39% and 44% from 35% and 42%, respectively. This increases potential leverage for home buyers across Canada, especially in cities like Calgary where average home prices remain under $1 million.

However, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and the Ministry of Finance have recently raised the benchmark mortgage stress test rate for both insured and uninsured borrowers from 4.79% to 5.25%, limiting affordability for marginal buyers.

Mortgage rates have also risen from their 2020 lows but have remained stable for the past few months. However, the prospect of tighter monetary policy from the Bank of Canada as early as mid-2022 could lead to increased rates and limit home affordability in Calgary.

Calgary Commission Structure

Real estate commissions are the fees that home sellers pay to the seller and buyer real estate agents for their services. In Calgary, the total commission rate is structured as 7% for the first $100,000 of a home’s sale price and 3% on the remaining balance. Seller agents usually get half or 50% of this total commission with buyer agents getting the other half. To calculate your real estate commission for Calgary, see our calculator below. For other cities in Alberta, please visit our Alberta real estate commission calculator page for more information.

Calgary Real Estate Tools for Buyers and Sellers