Sales down nearly 18% and inventory up 50% — alarming headlines that described a market normalising, not collapsing.
In September 2024, Calgary’s benchmark home price was $595,400 — down 0.8% from August but 5.3% above September 2023. Sales fell 17.7% year-over-year to 2,000, while inventory rose 12.8% on the month to 5,064 homes, 49.7% above last September. Supply reached 2.5 months and a typical home took 28 days to sell. Apartment condos, at 3.2 months of supply and $339,900, had eased furthest.
September 2024 at a glance
A 17.7% drop in sales and a 49.7% jump in inventory made for alarming headlines in the autumn of 2024. The reality behind them was less dramatic. Calgary was coming off the tightest market in its recorded history — 0.9 months of supply in April — and normalising. September’s 2.5 months of supply was still below the four-to-six range considered balanced. The benchmark eased 0.8% to $595,400, leaving prices 5.3% higher than a year earlier.
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 September) | $595,400 | ▲ +5.3% |
Sales, listings and inventory
| Month | Sales | New listings | Inventory | Days on market | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| February 2024 | 2,132 | 2,711 | 2,357 | 24 | $579,800 |
| March 2024 | 2,658 | 3,173 | 2,542 | 20 | $589,500 |
| April 2024 | 2,875 | 3,489 | 2,716 | 20 | $596,800 |
| May 2024 | 3,090 | 4,333 | 3,404 | 19 | $602,800 |
| June 2024 | 2,737 | 3,796 | 3,784 | 20 | $605,300 |
| July 2024 | 2,374 | 3,603 | 4,159 | 24 | $604,400 |
| August 2024 | 2,182 | 3,536 | 4,490 | 27 | $600,100 |
| September 2024 | 2,000 | 3,687 | 5,064 | 28 | $595,400 |
The headline numbers
| Metric | September 2024 | vs prev month | vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark price | $595,400 | ▼ -0.8% | ▲ +5.3% |
| Sales | 2,000 | ▼ -8.3% | ▼ -17.7% |
| New listings | 3,687 | ▲ +4.3% | ▲ +15.5% |
| Inventory | 5,064 | ▲ +12.8% | ▲ +49.7% |
| Days on market | 28 | ▲ +1 day | ▲ +3 days |
A look by property type
| Property type | Benchmark | vs last year | Sales | Days on mkt | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | $756,000 | ▲ +8.6% | 942 | 27 | 2.5 |
| Semi-detached | $678,600 | ▲ +9.6% | 181 | 25 | 2.1 |
| Row / townhouse | $458,000 | ▲ +9.9% | 376 | 25 | 2.0 |
| Apartment condo | $339,900 | ▲ +12.2% | 501 | 33 | 3.2 |
What the 17% actually measures
September 2023 saw 2,430 sales, which was itself up 28.3% on the year before. Comparing against an exceptional month produces a dramatic-looking decline.
Set September 2024’s 2,000 sales against a longer run and it looks ordinary: 1,894 in September 2022, 2,156 in September 2021. Calgary wasn’t selling an unusually small number of homes. It had simply stopped selling an unusually large one.
The inventory jump was the real story, and it was good news
5,064 homes on the market against 3,383 a year earlier. For buyers who had spent two years finding nothing suitable, that was the most meaningful improvement in years.
Supply at 2.5 months meant competing offers had become the exception rather than the rule. Buyers could keep an inspection condition. Sellers who overpriced sat rather than being rescued by a bidding war. That is a healthier market by almost any measure, even though the price line looked worse.
Condos led the softening
Apartment condos had 3.2 months of supply and took 33 days to sell — by far the loosest segment. Prices were $339,900, down from $341,400 in August.
The condo market had run up more than 38% from January 2021, largely because affordability pressure had pushed buyers into it. As rates began to ease and that pressure relaxed, the segment that had absorbed the overflow was the first to give it back.
What this meant if you were buying
September 2024 was a good month to buy and it did not feel like one, because the coverage was uniformly negative. That gap between sentiment and conditions is often where the opportunity sits.
Practically: with 28 days on market and 2.5 months of supply, buyers could negotiate on price, ask for repairs after an inspection, and request a possession date that suited them. None of those had been available eighteen months earlier. Prices were easing slowly while choice expanded quickly, which is a favourable combination if you can qualify.
Frequently asked questions
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Source: CREB, September 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.
