The Calgary Real Estate Board says housing market conditions continue to follow similar trends to last year as MLS sales picked up during the month of January.
In its monthly report on the market, the board said there have been further reductions in new listings and the overall inventory. Prices are either up or down depending on the measure used to monitor the market.
The board said MLS sales still remain well below January activity recorded before 2014 when oil prices collapsed.
“A persistent slowdown in the energy sector has resulted in a reset in many aspects of our economy. This includes the housing market,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s Chief Economist.
“We continue to see the slow adjustment to more balanced conditions, but it will take time before that starts to translate into price stability.”
Here are the key statistics from January with their percentage change from January 2019:
- MLS sales of 863 were 7.74 per cent higher than a year ago;
- Total dollar volume of sales rose by 7.89 per cent to $389.5 million;
- New listings fell by 8.32 per cent to 2,358;
- Inventory of homes for sale at the end of the month was down 8.04 per cent to 5,054;
- Months of supply, which indicates how long it would take to sell a home with the current demand, dropped by 14.65 per cent to 5.86 months;
- The sales-to-new listings ratio was up by 5.46 per cent to 36.60 per cent;
- The sales-to-list price ratio increased by 0.20 per cent to 96.08 per cent;
- The average days on the market to sell a home fell by 5.72 per cent to 67 days;
- The benchmark price, which is what CREB considers a typical home in the market, decreased by 0.95 per cent to $417,000;
- The median price of $400,000 was up 2.43 per cent; and
- The average MLS sale price rose by 0.14 per cent to $451,349.
Mario Toneguzzi is a business reporter in Calgary.
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