March brought the usual signs of spring activity to Calgary's housing market, with sales, listings, and prices all ticking up from February. But underneath the seasonal momentum, the gap between property types continues to widen in ways that are hard to ignore.
This is the number that should stop readers in their tracks. Apartment condominium inventory in Calgary reached 1,774 units in March, described by CREB as "just shy of the record high for the month reported during the financial crisis in 2008." To be approaching that threshold during an otherwise functioning economy underscores just how dramatically the condo market has shifted. With a sales-to-new-listings ratio hovering around 40 per cent and nearly five months of supply, buyers in this segment hold nearly all the cards.
It is not just a year-over-year story anymore. After the first quarter of 2025, apartment benchmark prices fell nearly three per cent compared to the fourth quarter of last year. The March benchmark landed at $300,300, still more than nine per cent below where it was a year ago. The steepest quarterly losses hit the South and North districts, both exceeding four per cent in just three months.
The detached market tells a completely different story. Despite sitting three per cent below last year's peak price of $766,600, the detached benchmark reached $741,300 in March and tight supply in most districts is pushing prices higher. Five city districts are sitting at less than two months of supply, meaning buyers chasing detached homes in the North West, West, South, South East and East are operating in a fast-moving market with very little inventory to choose from.
The row home segment is quietly posting one of the more significant pullbacks in the market. First-quarter sales fell 19 per cent compared to last year, with inventory now running 25 per cent above long-term trends. Benchmark prices are sitting more than six per cent below last March, with the North East and East districts bearing the worst of the declines. The West and City Centre are the only areas holding any real ground.
CREB's chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie put it plainly: the headline numbers suggest balance, but the reality is a market running simultaneously hot and cold depending on what you are buying. Detached conditions are tight, prices are rising in most districts, and supply remains historically low. Apartments are drowning in inventory, with prices falling across every single district in the city. The overall benchmark of $565,600 is a mathematical average of two very different markets, not a reflection of conditions any single buyer or seller is actually experiencing.
Apartment Inventory Is Approaching 2008 Financial Crisis Levels
This is the number that should stop readers in their tracks. Apartment condominium inventory in Calgary reached 1,774 units in March, described by CREB as "just shy of the record high for the month reported during the financial crisis in 2008." To be approaching that threshold during an otherwise functioning economy underscores just how dramatically the condo market has shifted. With a sales-to-new-listings ratio hovering around 40 per cent and nearly five months of supply, buyers in this segment hold nearly all the cards.
Apartment Prices Have Now Dropped Three Per Cent in a Single Quarter
It is not just a year-over-year story anymore. After the first quarter of 2025, apartment benchmark prices fell nearly three per cent compared to the fourth quarter of last year. The March benchmark landed at $300,300, still more than nine per cent below where it was a year ago. The steepest quarterly losses hit the South and North districts, both exceeding four per cent in just three months.
Detached Homes Are Down Three Per Cent From Last Year's Peak, But Still Climbing
The detached market tells a completely different story. Despite sitting three per cent below last year's peak price of $766,600, the detached benchmark reached $741,300 in March and tight supply in most districts is pushing prices higher. Five city districts are sitting at less than two months of supply, meaning buyers chasing detached homes in the North West, West, South, South East and East are operating in a fast-moving market with very little inventory to choose from.
Row Home Sales Are Down 19 Per Cent for the Quarter
The row home segment is quietly posting one of the more significant pullbacks in the market. First-quarter sales fell 19 per cent compared to last year, with inventory now running 25 per cent above long-term trends. Benchmark prices are sitting more than six per cent below last March, with the North East and East districts bearing the worst of the declines. The West and City Centre are the only areas holding any real ground.
The Market Looks Balanced on the Surface, But Only Because the Extremes Cancel Out
CREB's chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie put it plainly: the headline numbers suggest balance, but the reality is a market running simultaneously hot and cold depending on what you are buying. Detached conditions are tight, prices are rising in most districts, and supply remains historically low. Apartments are drowning in inventory, with prices falling across every single district in the city. The overall benchmark of $565,600 is a mathematical average of two very different markets, not a reflection of conditions any single buyer or seller is actually experiencing.
