Calgary Real Estate Market Update: Trends, Prices & Insights

What is the Benchmark Price?
The benchmark price represents the estimated value of a “typical” home in Calgary, based on common attributes for homes in a specific area. It’s designed to track market trends more accurately than average or median prices, which can be influenced by the mix of homes sold each month.

What is the Average Home Price?
The average home price is calculated by dividing the total dollar value of all homes sold by the number of sales. This figure can be affected by the sale of more expensive or less expensive homes in a given period.

What does Year-over-Year (YoY) and Month-over-Month (MoM) mean?
Year-over-Year (YoY) compares a statistic (like price or sales) to the same month in the previous year. Month-over-Month (MoM) compares data to the previous month, showing short-term trends.

What is Months of Supply?
Months of supply measures how long it would take to sell all current homes on the market at the current sales pace, assuming no new listings are added.

• 3 to 5 months of supply is considered a balanced market.

• Fewer than 3 months signals a seller’s market (more demand than supply).

• More than 5 months signals a buyer’s market (more supply than demand).

What is the Absorption Rate?
The absorption rate is the percentage of new listings that are sold in a given period. A higher absorption rate means homes are selling quickly; a lower rate suggests a slower market.

What does the Sold-to-List Price Ratio mean?
This ratio compares the final sale price of a home to its original listing price.

• A ratio close to 100% means homes are selling at or near their asking price.

• Below 100% suggests buyers are negotiating prices down.

What does Days on Market mean?
Days on market is the average number of days it takes for a home to sell after being listed. A higher number means homes are taking longer to sell, which can indicate a cooling market.

What is Inventory?
Inventory is the total number of homes available for sale at a given time. Rising inventory usually means more options for buyers and can lead to slower price growth.

What is a Detached Home?
A detached home is a free-standing, single-family house that does not share any walls with another residence.

What is a Semi-Detached Home?
A semi-detached home shares one wall with another house. Each half is a separate property with its own entrance and yard.

What is a Row House (Townhouse)?
A row house or townhouse is part of a row of similar homes that share side walls but have separate entrances. They often combine some features of both detached homes and condos.

What is an Apartment (Condo Apartment)?
An apartment or condo apartment is a unit within a multi-story building. Owners share common areas and amenities with other residents.

What is the BoC Prime Rate?
The BoC (Bank of Canada) Prime Rate is the benchmark interest rate set by Canada’s central bank, which influences the rates that banks and lenders charge for loans and mortgages. Changes to the BoC Prime Rate affect borrowing costs for variable-rate mortgages and other types of loans.

What is a 5-Year Variable Rate Mortgage?
A 5-year variable rate mortgage is a home loan with an interest rate that can change over a 5-year term, based on fluctuations in the lender’s prime rate (which is influenced by the BoC Prime Rate). Monthly payments may stay the same or change with the rate, depending on the lender’s terms.