May brought the kind of inventory build Calgary typically sees heading into summer. But with 2,162 sales running 16% below last May and the overall benchmark price still sitting 3% behind last year, the dominant theme of 2026 remains unchanged: this city is not operating as one housing market. It is operating as several, and the gap between them keeps widening.
No matter which metric you look at, the condo segment keeps landing at the bottom of the list. Sales are down nearly 28% year-to-date. The sales-to-new-listings ratio has fallen to 42%, the lowest of any property type. Months of supply have pushed above five, firmly into buyer's market territory. And prices continue to slide, with the May benchmark sitting at $300,400, down 9% from last May, with double-digit year-over-year declines recorded in the North East, North and East districts. If you are selling a condo in those districts right now, you are operating in a completely different market than someone selling a detached home two neighbourhoods over.
While much of the city softens, Calgary's West district has moved into full seller's market territory for detached homes and is the only district to have held prices level with last year. The North East district, by contrast, is reporting the steepest detached price decline in the city at 7% year-over-year. Two districts, two completely different real estate realities, all within the same city limits.
New listings in May slowed by 13% compared to last year. In a more balanced environment, that kind of supply pullback would typically help stabilize conditions. Instead, it was not enough to offset the scale of the demand slowdown, and inventory continued to build. That tells you something important about how much buyer activity has actually cooled, not just relative to the frenzied years, but in absolute terms.
The total residential benchmark of $570,500 sounds relatively stable, and in one sense it is. But that figure is carrying a significant internal contradiction. Detached benchmark prices climbed from $724,000 in January to $747,800 in May, a meaningful seasonal recovery. Apartment benchmark prices moved in the opposite direction, continuing to decline from January levels and sitting 9% below last year. The headline number is doing a lot of heavy lifting for a market that is deeply divided underneath it.
CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie pointed directly to slowing migration and rising cost-of-living concerns as factors weighing on consumer confidence. This matters because it signals the market shift is not purely a supply correction. Buyer sentiment itself has changed. The urgency that defined Calgary's market during the peak migration years appears to have eased considerably, and the broader economic environment suggests it may not return quickly.
The Apartment Condo Market Is in a Category of Its Own
No matter which metric you look at, the condo segment keeps landing at the bottom of the list. Sales are down nearly 28% year-to-date. The sales-to-new-listings ratio has fallen to 42%, the lowest of any property type. Months of supply have pushed above five, firmly into buyer's market territory. And prices continue to slide, with the May benchmark sitting at $300,400, down 9% from last May, with double-digit year-over-year declines recorded in the North East, North and East districts. If you are selling a condo in those districts right now, you are operating in a completely different market than someone selling a detached home two neighbourhoods over.
The West District Is Playing an Entirely Different Game
While much of the city softens, Calgary's West district has moved into full seller's market territory for detached homes and is the only district to have held prices level with last year. The North East district, by contrast, is reporting the steepest detached price decline in the city at 7% year-over-year. Two districts, two completely different real estate realities, all within the same city limits.
New Listings Pulled Back Too, and It Still Was Not Enough
New listings in May slowed by 13% compared to last year. In a more balanced environment, that kind of supply pullback would typically help stabilize conditions. Instead, it was not enough to offset the scale of the demand slowdown, and inventory continued to build. That tells you something important about how much buyer activity has actually cooled, not just relative to the frenzied years, but in absolute terms.
Detached Prices Are Rising Seasonally While Condos Continue to Fall
The total residential benchmark of $570,500 sounds relatively stable, and in one sense it is. But that figure is carrying a significant internal contradiction. Detached benchmark prices climbed from $724,000 in January to $747,800 in May, a meaningful seasonal recovery. Apartment benchmark prices moved in the opposite direction, continuing to decline from January levels and sitting 9% below last year. The headline number is doing a lot of heavy lifting for a market that is deeply divided underneath it.
Migration and Cost of Living Are Now Part of the Story
CREB Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie pointed directly to slowing migration and rising cost-of-living concerns as factors weighing on consumer confidence. This matters because it signals the market shift is not purely a supply correction. Buyer sentiment itself has changed. The urgency that defined Calgary's market during the peak migration years appears to have eased considerably, and the broader economic environment suggests it may not return quickly.
