Hey everyone, it’s Pete de Jong here with REMAX Professionals with a market update for January of 2024 versus January of 2023. And there is some good news. New listings are up 15.4%. But wait a minute. Why is inventory still down? Hold on one second. I’ll tell you.
All right. So before we get into that, you’re probably wondering, Pete, why are you in your car? And where is Katelyn? Well, Katelyn of course, is working on her tan. That’s what she does. And when she’s not in Mexico or Los Angeles. Now she’s actually even further out. She’s in the Philippines, but I’m sure she’s on a really nice beach and having a really nice time while I drive around like mad trying to get the work done of myself and her and and having trouble keeping up.
But that’s why I’m not in the office and that’s why Kate’s not here. But let’s go back to the market. So like I said, new listings are up 15.4% but inventory is down. And the reason that happened is sales are up. Almost 38% in January of 2024 versus last year. So even though new listings are up a little bit, sales are up even substantially more, which of course drives inventory down.
So inventory is actually down over 10% from last year. And our month supply is, you know, get this like for the whole city we’re down to 1.3 months. So whatever that works out to a month and a week or something like that. If we stopped listing houses, we’d be done in a month. And we’d have nothing left to sell.
Hopefully the number of listings does continue to improve. I doubt the number of listings coming on will at any time soon start to outpace demand. But but that’s what’s driving prices up. And that’s what’s making it making it fun to sell, impossibly hard to buy. And we’re seeing so many of these multiple offers happen and stuff like that.
So, in general, the city’s pricing is up to 10% from last year, 10.0% actually, but most of that’s being driven in the townhouse and apartment style properties. So in terms of houses semi detached houses, you know, we’re up 11-12%, but it’s really, when you look at the row houses which are up about 20% and apartments that are up 19%. That’s really where the price growth has happened. And it makes sense. I mean, if you know, prices are up this much and interest rates are up, it’s the smaller places and stuff that are going to be the most attractive to the most number of people.
So that’s what’s going on across the city. If you want to know what’s going on in your neighborhood, by all means, give me a shout. I’m happy to help you. There’s a lot of different ways I can do it. As I’ve mentioned before, I can send you just a monthly snapshot of what’s happening in your area, whether it’s, you know, Sunalta or Tuscany or Whitehorn.
Or if you say, I actually want it narrowed down a little bit more, Pete, I want to know what my, what my bi-level in Ogden. I can send you the bi-levels in Ogden once a month or wherever you are. So yeah, feel free to give me a shout anytime. I’m happy to set that up for you. It’s free of charge and there’s no obligation, but you will be the best informed person in your neighborhood if you want to work with me.
Anyways good to see you all again at least from here. I guess I’m not seeing you all. I guess you’re all seeing me. Which I’m not sure is good, but especially not with, without Kate here, but regardless I hope she’s back next month and she could well have been back and left again.
Cause again, like that’s what Katelyn does. She goes on holidays and goes to beaches, but I guess that’s how you get a tan like Katelyn. So anyways give me a call with any questions. I’m happy to chat real estate anytime. We’ll talk to you later.
January sees strong sales fueled by boost in new listings
January sales rose to 1,650 units, a significant gain over last year’s levels and long-term trends. The growth was possible thanks to a rise in new listings totalling 2,137 units in January. New listings rose for homes priced above $300,000, but the largest gains occurred for homes priced above $700,000.
The rise in new listings relative to sales did little to change the low inventory situation in the city. With 2,150 units in inventory, levels are near the January record lows set in 2006 and are nearly 49 per cent below the long-term average for the month.
“Supply challenges have been a persistent problem since last year. This month’s gain in new listings has helped provide options to potential purchasers, supporting sales growth. However, the growth in sales prevented any significant adjustments in supply, keeping conditions tight and supporting further price growth,” stated Ann-Marie Lurie, Chief Economist at CREB®.
The months of supply in January was 1.3 months, falling over last month’s and last year’s levels. The persistent tightness in the market contributed to further upward pressure on home prices. The unadjusted benchmark price in January reached $572,300, a gain over last month and ten per cent higher than levels reported last January.
Detached
A boost in new listings helped support stronger sales this month. However, with a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 77 per cent, there was minimal change in the low inventory situation reported in the detached sector. New listings rose for all homes priced above $500,000, but the largest gains occurred in the over $700,000 market segment. Low inventory levels compared to sales prevented any improvement in the months of supply, which at 1.4 months was lower than levels reported last month and last January.
The exceptionally tight market conditions continued to drive further price growth. In January, the unadjusted detached price reached $702,200, nearly one per cent higher than last month and nearly 13 per cent higher than prices reported last year. Year-over-year price gains ranged from a low of 10 per cent in the City Centre and South East districts to a 27 per cent gain in the East district of the city.
Semi-Detached
With 223 new listings and 131 sales, the sales-to-new listings ratio fell to 59 per cent, the lowest level reported since 2020 and significantly improved over the 82 per cent average reported in 2023. The sudden shift did cause inventories to improve over the last month, but they remain well below long-term trends.
The unadjusted benchmark price in January was $625,000, slightly lower than last month but over 11 per cent higher than last January. The monthly decline was driven mainly by adjustments in the higher-priced districts of the West and City Centre.
Row
Like other property types, new listings and sales rose in January over levels reported last month and last year. However, with 322 new listings and 297 sales, the sales to new listings ratio remained exceptionally high at 92 per cent. This contributed to further reductions in inventory levels, and the months of supply once again fell below one month.
Limited supply and strong demand contributed to a rise in prices. In January, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $426,400, up over last month and nearly 20 per cent higher than levels reported in January 2023. While year-over-year prices are higher in every district, the West and City Centre districts saw unadjusted benchmark prices ease slightly over December.
Apartment Condominium
Apartment-style properties continued to see the most significant gain in sales activity, rising to 488 sales in January, a year-over-year increase of 54 per cent. This was possible thanks to the growth in new listings. However, the gain in listings did little to supply levels; with 682 units, inventories were 40 per cent below long-term trends.
Tight market conditions continued to contribute to further price gains. In January, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $324,000, nearly one per cent higher than last month and 19 per cent higher than last January. Prices rose across all districts, with the largest year-over-year gains occurring in the most affordable districts of the North East and East.
REGIONAL MARKET FACTS
Airdrie
Stronger detached and row sales were enough to offset pullbacks in the semi-detached and apartment sectors, causing total residential sales to increase over levels reported last January. This, in part, was possible thanks to a boost in new listings. However, the boost in new listings and sales prevented any significant shift in inventory levels, which was half of the levels typically seen in the market.
While conditions remained tight, the unadjusted benchmark price remained stable over the last month but was nearly 10 per cent higher than levels reported in January 2023. The most substantial price gains have occurred for apartment-style homes, which are the most affordable property type.
Cochrane
Eighty-three new listings and 70 sales occurred in January, keeping the sales to new listings relatively high at 84 per cent. This prevented any significant change in inventory levels compared to last month but caused the months of supply to fall below two months once again. The drop in the months of supply is a shift over the last four months, where the months of supply was over two months.
Despite recent tightening, the unadjusted benchmark price did ease slightly over last month’s levels. Overall, the unadjusted benchmark prices across all property types remained over 10 per cent higher than last January.
Okotoks
Both sales and new listings rose in January compared to last month’s and last year’s levels. This caused the sales to new listings ratio to fall to 75 per cent, which was still relatively high but an improvement over the 86 per cent average reported last year. Nonetheless, the sudden gain in new listings was insufficient to cause material changes to the low inventory levels.
With just over one month of supply, conditions remain tight in Okotoks, driving prices up. In January, the benchmark price reached $589,600, higher than last month’s and year’s levels. Year-over-year price growth occurred across all property types, with gains ranging from a high of 15 per cent for row properties to a low of six per cent for apartment-style homes.
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