Home sales down 3% in Calgary as of July as interest rates rise: real estate board

The Calgary Real Estate Board says last month’s home sales slipped by three per cent year-over-year as the market continued to experience a slowdown.

The region’s sales for the month totalled 2,254, down from 2,314 last July.

The Alberta board says the figures mark the second month in a row that the pace of sales slowed, but noted that the numbers are still among the strongest the market has ever seen.

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Last month’s new listings amounted to 3,174, down almost four per cent from 3,298 in July 2021.

The average price of a home in the region hit $491,392, a nearly one per cent climb from $488,484 a year ago.

The benchmark home price of $540,000 is lower than earlier in the year, though still up 12 per cent from July 2021.

Ann-Marie Lurie, the board’s chief economist, says the figures are the product of rising interest rates and significant slowdowns in the detached and semi-detached market that were nearly offset by sales growth in the apartment and row house sectors.

“Rising lending rates are causing shifts within the market and, as a result, new listings for higher-priced product are on the rise relative to sales activity,” she said, in a statement.

“Meanwhile, there continues to be a lack of supply for lower-priced detached and semi-detached product. This is driving consumers who are looking for affordable homes to purchase apartment- and row-style properties.”