Inventory down another 19% on the month, detached supply at 1.2 months, and a market heading into winter with almost nothing on the shelf.
In November 2021, Calgary’s benchmark home price was $461,000 — up 0.2% from October and 8.9% from a year earlier. Sales were 2,108, up 46.7% on the year, while inventory fell 19.3% on the month to 3,932 homes, 21.7% below last November. Supply tightened to 1.9 months, the lowest since April. Detached homes were down to 1.2 months of supply at a $542,600 benchmark, up 10.6% year-over-year.
November 2021 at a glance
Calgary went into the winter of 2021 with less to buy than at any point since the spring. Inventory fell 19.3% in November to 3,932 homes — down 21.7% from last November — while sales stayed strong at 2,108, 46.7% above the same month in 2020. That combination took supply to 1.9 months, and detached houses to 1.2. Prices rose only 0.2% to $461,000, but with that little stock, the pressure building underneath was considerable.
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 (to November) | $461,000 | ▲ +9.4% |
Sales, listings and inventory
| Month | Sales | New listings | Inventory | Days on market | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 2020 | 1,199 | 1,172 | 3,672 | 59 | $421,300 |
| January 2021 | 1,207 | 2,250 | 4,038 | 57 | $422,900 |
| February 2021 | 1,831 | 2,850 | 4,521 | 45 | $430,100 |
| March 2021 | 2,903 | 4,440 | 5,422 | 35 | $440,900 |
| April 2021 | 3,205 | 4,675 | 6,077 | 33 | $450,400 |
| 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 |
The headline numbers
| Metric | November 2021 | vs prev month | vs last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark price | $461,000 | ▲ +0.2% | ▲ +8.9% |
| Sales | 2,108 | ▼ -3.5% | ▲ +46.7% |
| New listings | 1,999 | ▼ -20.1% | ▲ +15.7% |
| Inventory | 3,932 | ▼ -19.3% | ▼ -21.7% |
| Days on market | 47 | ▲ +4 days | ▼ -8 days |
A look by property type
| Property type | Benchmark | vs last year | Sales | Days on mkt | Months of supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | $542,600 | ▲ +10.6% | 1,245 | 40 | 1.2 |
| Semi-detached | $429,800 | ▲ +8.7% | 211 | 49 | 1.5 |
| Row / townhouse | $299,100 | ▲ +6.4% | 320 | 46 | 2.1 |
| Apartment condo | $251,600 | ▲ +1.4% | 332 | 69 | 4.3 |
1.2 months of supply for a detached home
Months of supply measures how long the current inventory would last at the current sales pace. Four to six months is balanced. Detached Calgary in November 2021 was at 1.2 — meaning that if no new houses were listed, the entire detached market would have sold out in about five weeks.
Numbers that low don’t stay quiet. They are the condition that produces the competing offers and rapid price gains that Calgary would see in the first months of 2022.
Why sellers weren’t listing
New listings fell 20.1% to 1,999, the lowest of the year. Some of that is ordinary seasonality — few people choose to list in late November. But the drop was steeper than usual, and it came with an unusual wrinkle: anyone who sold needed somewhere to go, and the same shortage that made their home easy to sell made their next purchase difficult.
That feedback loop is a real mechanism, and it is self-reinforcing. Every homeowner who decided not to list because there was nothing to buy made the shortage slightly worse for everyone else.
Prices hadn’t caught up to the shortage
The benchmark rose just 0.2% in November. Against 1.9 months of supply, that looks far too calm — and it was. Price is a lagging indicator; it reflects deals negotiated weeks earlier, and the smoothing in a benchmark index delays it further.
The forward-looking numbers were the ones flashing. Supply at 1.9 months and falling, sales 47% above last year, and detached inventory at levels that leave buyers with no alternatives.
What this meant if you were buying
The instinct heading into winter is to pause and restart in spring. In November 2021 that was the expensive choice: buyers who waited faced a spring market with less inventory and higher prices than the one they had stepped away from.
If you were serious about buying, the useful work in November was preparation — a complete pre-approval with documents already reviewed, a clear qualifying number, and a lender lined up. Rate holds typically run 90 to 120 days, which from November covered exactly the period that turned out to matter most.
Frequently asked questions
Planning to buy in the new year?
A rate hold taken now can cover you through the spring market. Let’s get your approval in place while things are quiet.
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Source: CREB, November 2021 (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.
