Sales down a fifth and prices easing for a second month — but with listings vanishing just as fast, this was never going to be a crash.
In July 2022, Calgary’s benchmark home price was $539,900 — down 0.7% from June but still 17.4% above a year earlier. Sales fell 20.8% on the month to 2,249, now 2.8% below last July. Critically, new listings fell 21.6% as well, so inventory held at 5,343 homes, 20% below last July, and supply stayed at just 2.4 months. A typical home sold in 31 days. Apartment condos, at $278,800 and up 9.7% year-over-year, kept rising while everything else eased.
July 2022 at a glance
Calgary’s correction continued in July, and the shape of it was already clear. The benchmark fell 0.7% to $539,900 and sales dropped 20.8% to 2,249. But new listings fell 21.6% — almost exactly in step — so inventory barely moved and stayed 20% below last July. Supply sat at 2.4 months, which is still a seller’s market. That single fact explains why Calgary’s 2022 downturn looked nothing like the sharper declines happening in Toronto and Vancouver at the same time.
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 July) | $539,900 | ▲ +16.4% |
Sales, listings and inventory
| Month | Sales | New listings | Inventory | Days on market | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| May 2022 | 3,063 | 4,297 | 5,214 | 25 | $546,000 |
| June 2022 | 2,839 | 4,055 | 5,404 | 27 | $543,900 |
| July 2022 | 2,249 | 3,178 | 5,343 | 31 | $539,900 |
The headline numbers
| Metric | July 2022 | vs prev month | vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark price | $539,900 | ▼ -0.7% | ▲ +17.4% |
| Sales | 2,249 | ▼ -20.8% | ▼ -2.8% |
| New listings | 3,178 | ▼ -21.6% | ▼ -3.6% |
| Inventory | 5,343 | ▼ -1.1% | ▼ -20% |
| Days on market | 31 | ▲ +4 days | ▼ -9 days |
A look by property type
| Property type | Benchmark | vs last year | Sales | Days on mkt | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | $643,600 | ▲ +19.2% | 1,131 | 29 | 2.3 |
| Semi-detached | $577,000 | ▲ +34.7% | 173 | 29 | 2.5 |
| Row / townhouse | $362,500 | ▲ +21% | 432 | 30 | 1.7 |
| Apartment condo | $278,800 | ▲ +9.7% | 513 | 37 | 3.1 |
Why Calgary’s correction stayed shallow
A steep price decline needs two things: buyers stepping back, and sellers being forced to accept less. Calgary had the first but not the second. Homeowners weren’t under pressure to sell — employment was solid, and anyone holding a mortgage from 2020 or 2021 had a rate they had no desire to give up.
So as demand fell, supply fell with it. Inventory at 5,343 homes was lower than the same month a year earlier, in the middle of a downturn. Markets don’t fall far when there is nothing to buy.
Where the pain was concentrated
The decline was not evenly spread. Detached homes had come down from a $648,500 peak in May to $643,600 — off about $4,900 in two months. Row homes eased from $363,700 to $362,500.
Apartment condos went the other way entirely, rising to $278,800 and up 9.7% year-over-year. With rates climbing, buyers who could no longer qualify for a house were still able to qualify for a condo, and that demand kept the bottom of the market firm while the top softened.
Days on market told the real story
At 31 days, homes were selling eleven days slower than in March — the clearest measure of how much leverage had shifted. Still fast in absolute terms, and nine days quicker than July 2021, but the trend was consistent.
For buyers, this was the practical improvement. Not lower prices — those had barely moved — but time. Time to view twice, time to get an inspection, time to keep a financing condition in the offer.
What this meant if you were buying
The question everyone asked that summer was how far prices would fall. The honest answer was that with supply this tight, probably not far — and Calgary’s subsequent recovery bore that out. Waiting for a substantial discount meant waiting through further rate increases, which would erode your buying power faster than prices were falling.
The more useful exercise was to compare specific scenarios: what your payment and qualifying amount look like today, against what they’d look like if prices fell 5% but rates rose another point. For most buyers in mid-2022, that comparison did not favour waiting.
Frequently asked questions
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Source: CREB, July 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.
