The tightest January on record, with condos and townhouses up nearly a fifth on the year and buyers competing hardest at the bottom.
In January 2024, Calgary’s benchmark home price was $565,300 — unchanged from December but 9.5% above January 2023. Sales rose 37.6% year-over-year to 1,649, while inventory fell to 2,155 homes, 12.1% below last January. Supply was just 1.3 months and a typical home sold in 34 days. Row homes were tightest at 0.9 months of supply, up 19.5% year-over-year to $422,800; apartment condos rose 17.2% to $309,400.
January 2024 at a glance
Calgary started 2024 with the tightest January in its record: 2,155 homes for sale, 12.1% fewer than last January, against 1,649 sales — up 37.6% year-over-year. Supply was 1.3 months. The benchmark held flat at $565,300, but that stability disguised what was happening underneath, where row homes had risen 19.5% over twelve months and apartment condos 17.2%. The affordable end of Calgary’s market was where the squeeze had concentrated, and January made that unmistakable.
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 | $518,800 | ▲ +11.8% |
| 2023 | $565,200 | ▲ +8.9% |
| 2024 (to January) | $565,300 | — 0% |
Sales, listings and inventory
| Month | Sales | New listings | Inventory | Days on market | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2023 | 1,737 | 2,386 | 2,747 | 33 | $526,500 |
| March 2023 | 2,424 | 3,314 | 3,235 | 27 | $535,100 |
| April 2023 | 2,686 | 3,132 | 3,234 | 24 | $545,100 |
| May 2023 | 3,117 | 3,650 | 3,214 | 24 | $552,700 |
| June 2023 | 3,140 | 3,939 | 3,469 | 22 | $560,300 |
| July 2023 | 2,644 | 3,247 | 3,498 | 23 | $563,100 |
| August 2023 | 2,716 | 3,129 | 3,267 | 25 | $566,000 |
| September 2023 | 2,430 | 3,191 | 3,383 | 25 | $565,600 |
| October 2023 | 2,169 | 2,685 | 3,205 | 27 | $566,800 |
| November 2023 | 1,783 | 2,227 | 3,001 | 29 | $567,900 |
| December 2023 | 1,362 | 1,248 | 2,170 | 33 | $565,200 |
| January 2024 | 1,649 | 2,137 | 2,155 | 34 | $565,300 |
The headline numbers
| Metric | January 2024 | vs prev month | vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark price | $565,300 | — 0% | ▲ +9.5% |
| Sales | 1,649 | ▲ +21.1% | ▲ +37.6% |
| New listings | 2,137 | ▲ +71.2% | ▲ +15.4% |
| Inventory | 2,155 | ▼ -0.7% | ▼ -12.1% |
| Days on market | 34 | ▲ +1 day | ▼ -8 days |
A look by property type
| Property type | Benchmark | vs last year | Sales | Days on mkt | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | $700,100 | ▲ +12.2% | 733 | 34 | 1.4 |
| Semi-detached | $622,000 | ▲ +11.1% | 131 | 35 | 1.7 |
| Row / townhouse | $422,800 | ▲ +19.5% | 297 | 30 | 0.9 |
| Apartment condo | $309,400 | ▲ +17.2% | 488 | 35 | 1.4 |
The inventory recovery reversed
Through the autumn of 2023 it looked as though Calgary’s shortage was ending — new listings had risen 38% year-over-year in November and the inventory gap had nearly closed. January undid much of that. Inventory fell back to 12.1% below the prior year.
The reason was demand rather than supply. New listings were actually up 15.4% year-over-year at 2,137. But sales rose 37.6%, so the additional listings were absorbed immediately and then some. Buyers had returned faster than sellers.
Condos and townhouses were the story
Row homes at $422,800 were up 19.5% year-over-year, with 0.9 months of supply — under four weeks of stock. Apartment condos at $309,400 were up 17.2%, at 1.4 months.
Compare that to where those segments sat three years earlier. In January 2021 apartment condos had 7.1 months of supply and were down 0.4% year-over-year. The transformation was complete: what had been Calgary’s problem segment was now its hottest.
Why the bottom of the market got squeezed
Three groups converged on the same homes. First-time buyers whose qualifying amounts had been cut by two years of rate increases. Newcomers arriving from more expensive provinces, who needed somewhere affordable to start. And investors, for whom townhouses and condos were among the few Calgary properties where the rent could cover the carrying cost.
All three were shopping in a segment with under one month of supply. That is the recipe for 19% annual price growth in what is supposed to be the affordable part of a market.
What this meant if you were buying
For first-time buyers this was a hard market, and the honest framing is that the entry point had moved. A row home at $422,800 in January 2024 cost $122,700 more than the same home two years earlier.
The practical work was understanding precisely what you qualified for and which levers could move it. For many first-time buyers the binding constraint was the down payment rather than income, and it’s worth knowing what’s available — the Home Buyers’ Plan, the First Home Savings Account, and a gifted down payment from family are all legitimate routes that change the arithmetic.
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Source: CREB, January 2024 (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.
