Thanks to exceptionally high sales in December 2021 was a record year for home sales. Calgary sales reached 27,686 units this year, nearly 72% higher than last year and over 44% higher than the 10-year average.

We're entering 2022 with some of the tightest conditions seen in over a decade. As of December, inventory levels are nearly 25% lower than long-term averages for the month. This will have an impact on our housing market as we move through 2022.

Detached

With 17,038 sales in 2021, home sales remained slightly lower than the record high set in 2005. While a new record was not set, sales are still over 40% higher than long-term averages. In the detached sector, average inventory levels were over 23% lower than long-term trends. With only 898 units in inventory in December, we are entering 2022 with the lowest detached inventory on record.

Strong sales relative to inventory levels caused the months of supply to dip below one month, which is tighter than levels recorded in the spring market. The detached benchmark price rose by nearly 1% compared with last month and is nearly 12% higher than last year’s levels. Overall, the detached sector has recorded the largest annual price gain at nearly 10%, not only recovering from the 2015 annual high but exceeding it by nearly 3%.

Semi-Detached

In 2021, there were 2,571 semi-detached sales, an annual gain of 55% and over 47% higher than longer-term trends. Relative affordability and less supply choice in the detached sector caused many to consider semi-detached properties. However, like other property types, semi-detached sales growth outpaced new-listings growth, especially at the end of the year, causing significant declines in inventory levels and the months of supply, which has remained below two for the past three months.

Tight conditions have caused further price growth, as December prices were nearly 10% higher than last year. Overall, on an annual basis, semi-detached home prices improved by 8%, reaching a new record high.

Row

Over the past few months, row properties have increased in popularity, reporting strong sales growth that has outpaced the growth in new listings. This has created much tighter conditions and is supporting stronger price growth.

Inventories were not as much of a challenge earlier in the year, so the pace of price growth was not as high as the growth seen among some of the other property types during that time. However, benchmark prices rose by 6% on an annual basis, supporting some price recovery. Despite the gains, prices remain nearly 9% lower than the previous high.

Apartment

Record sales in December were not enough to support annual record-high sales for this property type. Unlike the other property types, the apartment condominium sector has not experienced many supply challenges, as inventories this year generally remained above historical levels. However, the growth in sales was enough to help shift the market from one that favoured the buyer to one that was relatively balanced.

The balanced conditions did support modest annual price growth of just over 2%. Despite these price gains, prices are still recovering across all districts and citywide prices remain 14% lower than previous highs recorded in 2014.