Calgary Real Estate Report: Calgary Housing: Inventory Surge Triggers Buyer Leverage Shift

THE DAILY PULSE

• Daily Sales: 17
• New Listings: 42
• Net Inventory Change: Inventory Growing (+25)
• Today's Average Price: $595,188

The Vibe Check: Today's average price ($595,188) is running $33,255 below the February monthly average ($628,443). This isn't just noise—buyers are finding deals in the entry-level and multi-family segments while premium detached properties sit untouched. The action is happening in the $500K-$600K zone, where condos and townhouses are actually moving.

The Move: If you're buying entry-level or multi-family, you have the leverage today. Sellers listed at yesterday's prices are getting ghosted. Make lowball offers on anything that's been sitting more than 10 days—desperation is setting in faster than sellers realize.

MONTHLY TRENDS

• Month-to-Date Sales: 394 (377 + 17)
• Month-to-Date New Listings: 837 (795 + 42)
• Total Active Inventory: 4,677

The Friction: New listings are crushing sales at a 2.1-to-1 ratio this month (837 vs. 394). For every home that sells, two more hit the market. The sales-to-new-listings ratio is running at 47%—textbook balanced market territory, but trending toward buyer advantage. Sellers clinging to 2024 price expectations are now decoration on MLS.

Tactical Advice: Sellers: The competition just doubled. If you're not the sharpest price on your block, you're invisible. The market absorbed 1,610 sales year-to-date, but February's pace is slowing hard. Price aggressively or prepare to chase the market down in March when the spring surge hits and you're competing with 100 identical listings.

THE BIGGER PICTURE (YoY)

The Context: Calgary's market is exiting a three-year seller's paradise and entering transition mode. January 2026 inventory hit 4,391 units—the highest for the month since 2020, up 20.6% year-over-year. Migration is slowing while 28,000 new homes flooded supply in 2025 (double the 10-year average). The Bank of Canada's rate cuts (down to 4.75% as of June 2024, with more expected) are providing affordability oxygen, but not enough to offset the supply tsunami. Year-to-date Benchmark Price trends show apartments projected to drop 3.5% and row homes 1.9% in 2026, while detached properties stabilize rather than appreciate.

The Outlook: The double-digit appreciation party is over—buyers hunting condos and townhouses just got handed the keys to leverage city, while detached sellers better accept that "stable" is the new "winning." February's inventory pile-up is the opening act for a spring market that's going to separate the strategic from the stubborn.

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