Sales down a sixth from March’s record, homes taking slightly longer to sell, and the first clear evidence that higher rates were doing their job.
In April 2022, Calgary’s benchmark home price was $544,300 — up 1.3% from March and 20.8% from a year earlier, but the smallest monthly gain of the year so far. Sales fell 16.9% to 3,399 and new listings fell 16.5%, while inventory rose to 4,874 homes and supply eased to 1.4 months. A typical home took 22 days to sell, two days longer than March. Apartment condos, at $271,600, were up 7.6% year-over-year — the fastest condo growth since 2014.
April 2022 at a glance
April was the month Calgary’s market began to turn. Sales fell 16.9% from March’s record to 3,399 — still a strong month by any historical standard, but the direction had changed. Price growth slowed to 1.3%, the smallest monthly gain of 2022. Inventory rose 11.1% to 4,874 homes and supply eased from 1.1 months to 1.4. None of these are large moves on their own. Taken together, and arriving one month after the Bank of Canada’s first rate increase, they tell a consistent story.
Calgary prices over time
| Year | Benchmark price | Change on the year |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | $459,500 | — |
| 2015 | $448,800 | ▼ -2.3% |
| 2016 | $434,100 | ▼ -3.3% |
| 2017 | $433,200 | ▼ -0.2% |
| 2018 | $424,600 | ▼ -2% |
| 2019 | $415,900 | ▼ -2% |
| 2020 | $421,300 | ▲ +1.3% |
| 2021 | $463,900 | ▲ +10.1% |
| 2022 (to April) | $544,300 | ▲ +17.3% |
Sales, listings and inventory
| Month | Sales | New listings | Inventory | Days on market | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | 2,981 | 4,562 | 6,789 | 32 | $454,800 |
| June 2021 | 2,914 | 4,134 | 6,920 | 34 | $457,900 |
| July 2021 | 2,314 | 3,298 | 6,682 | 40 | $459,700 |
| August 2021 | 2,146 | 2,823 | 6,065 | 42 | $459,200 |
| September 2021 | 2,156 | 2,906 | 5,619 | 44 | $457,900 |
| October 2021 | 2,184 | 2,501 | 4,875 | 43 | $460,100 |
| November 2021 | 2,108 | 1,999 | 3,932 | 47 | $461,000 |
| December 2021 | 1,737 | 1,230 | 2,608 | 47 | $463,900 |
| January 2022 | 2,004 | 2,474 | 2,627 | 44 | $495,300 |
| February 2022 | 3,293 | 4,651 | 3,607 | 25 | $522,900 |
| March 2022 | 4,091 | 5,492 | 4,389 | 20 | $537,400 |
| April 2022 | 3,399 | 4,585 | 4,874 | 22 | $544,300 |
The headline numbers
| Metric | April 2022 | vs prev month | vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark price | $544,300 | ▲ +1.3% | ▲ +20.8% |
| Sales | 3,399 | ▼ -16.9% | ▲ +6.1% |
| New listings | 4,585 | ▼ -16.5% | ▼ -1.9% |
| Inventory | 4,874 | ▲ +11.1% | ▼ -19.8% |
| Days on market | 22 | ▲ +2 days | ▼ -11 days |
A look by property type
| Property type | Benchmark | vs last year | Sales | Days on mkt | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | $646,400 | ▲ +22.4% | 1,849 | 18 | 1.3 |
| Semi-detached | $580,000 | ▲ +38.2% | 304 | 22 | 1.3 |
| Row / townhouse | $360,600 | ▲ +22.9% | 604 | 20 | 1.2 |
| Apartment condo | $271,600 | ▲ +7.6% | 642 | 34 | 2.0 |
How rate increases actually slow a market
Higher rates don’t reduce the number of people who want to buy a house. They reduce the amount those people can borrow. A buyer qualifying for a certain mortgage in January simply qualifies for less by April, which means the pool of buyers able to compete at any given price shrinks.
That shows up first in volume, then in days on market, and only later in price. April 2022 was the volume stage: sales down 17%, prices still rising 1.3%. The rest would follow over the next several months.
Prices kept rising for now
It’s worth being clear that April was still a strong month for sellers. The benchmark reached $544,300, up 20.8% year-over-year, and at 1.4 months of supply the market remained far tighter than balanced. Homes sold in 22 days.
The lag between a market turning and prices reflecting it routinely runs several months. A buyer in April who assumed rate hikes would deliver immediate discounts was going to be disappointed for a while yet.
Condos were finally the growth story
Apartment condos rose 7.6% year-over-year to $271,600 — their strongest annual growth in years, and a striking reversal from the 0.4% decline recorded in January 2021. Supply sat at 2 months with 34 days on market.
The logic is straightforward. As rates rose and qualifying amounts fell, buyers moved toward what they could still afford, and in Calgary that meant condos and row homes. The segment that spent the entire boom being left behind became the one with momentum precisely because affordability had become the binding constraint.
What this meant if you were buying
April was the first month in over a year when a buyer had meaningfully more choice than the month before — 4,874 homes on the market against 2,627 in January. Still tight, but no longer desperate.
The practical task was to re-run your numbers. If your pre-approval dated from before March, the amount it supported had likely fallen. Better to discover that before writing an offer than after, and better to shop within a current figure than an expired one.
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Source: CREB, April 2022 (City of Calgary geography). Prices shown are benchmark (HPI) values. Month-over-month compares to the prior month; year-over-year to the same month last year. The board may revise past months as late sales are recorded. Prepared by Mortgages for Less.
