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Calgary’s housing market had a strong showing in December 2021 to end off the year with higher prices and higher sales volume compared to the previous year. Calgary’s astonishing 45% year-over-year increase in sales for the month of December 2021 firmly puts Calgary among the hottest housing markets in Canada in terms of sales activity growth. The 27,686 total sales in Calgary for the entire year of 2021 is also 71% higher compared to the 16,149 sales seen in Calgary in 2020, and it also sets a record number of sales in a year for the city.

While total sales in December 2021 is 45% higher year-over-year, the presence of higher Calgary home prices has led total sales volume to increase by 55% year-over-year. New listings only grew by 5% year-over-year, which hasn't kept up with the frantic pace of Calgary home sales, meaning that inventory in the Calgary housing market has decreased by 29% year-over-year.

There is now just 1.5 months of supply left in the market, a 50% drop from last year, while Calgary's sales-to-new-listings ratio has grown from 102% in December 2020 to 141% in December 2021. Having a sales to new listings ratio over 100% means that there has been more sales in Calgary this month than new listings coming to market. With a SNLR ratio at over 140%, Calgary’s housing market is heading into a new year with dwindling supply. Despite being such a tight market, the sales to list price ratio remained under 100%, with it being 98.52% for December 2021. This means that the average home in Calgary is being sold for less than its listing price.

The average price of a home in Calgary for December 2021 was $477,977, which is a 7% increase year-over-year. Detached homes led the market in terms of annual price growth, with the average price of a detached home increasing 10% year-over-year to $587,413. Price growth of semi-detached homes in Calgary wasn't far off, with a 9.50% annual increase to an average price of $496,114. Townhouse prices grew 2% year-over-year to an average price of $317,282 for December 2021.

While Calgary condo apartments previously led the market in terms of annual price growth, the poor performance of condos in December 2021 has led to it falling to become the worst-performing property type this year. The 21.5% year-over-year increase in condo prices back in November 2021 has now given way to a more modest 6.6% year-over-year increase for December 2021, putting average condo prices in Calgary back to $261,785. Condos in Calgary also had the lowest sales to new listings ratio, highest inventory, and highest months of supply out of all property types.

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.

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