Real Estate Report: Inventory Stacks Up: Sellers Losing Ground as Buyers Gain Upper Hand

THE DAILY PULSE

• Daily Sales: 17
• New Listings: 26
• Net Inventory Change: Inventory Growing (+9)
• Today's Average Price: $583,929

Today's average price of $583,929 sits $32,000 below the monthly average of $615,936. Translation: The action is happening in the entry-level and mid-range brackets. Luxury sellers are watching from the sidelines while affordable inventory gets picked over before lunch.

The Move: If you're buying under $600K, you've got breathing room for the first time in years. Nine more homes hit the market today than sold—that's leverage shifting into your pocket. Use it. Make conditional offers. Negotiate inspections. Sellers who think this is still 2024 are about to learn a hard lesson about overpricing.

MONTHLY TRENDS

• Month-to-Date Sales: 893 (876 + 17)
• Month-to-Date New Listings: 2,232 (2,206 + 26)
• Total Active Inventory: 4,486 units

Here's the friction: Calgary has added 2,232 new listings this month but only moved 893 units. That's a 2.5:1 ratio of supply flooding in versus demand absorbing it. For context, active inventory jumped from 3,860 units in December to 4,486 today—a 16% surge in one month. Sellers are no longer controlling the chessboard. Apartments and row homes are stacking up faster than detached properties, which CREB confirms will face "downward pressure on prices" in 2026.

Tactical Advice for Sellers: The competition is rising. If you aren't the best price on your block, you're just decoration. That "aspirational" listing price from your cousin's sale last spring? Dead. Price it right on Day 1 or prepare to chase the market down with embarrassing reductions in 30 days.

THE BIGGER PICTURE (YoY)

CREB's 2026 forecast called it: after years of seller dominance, Calgary is transitioning to "more balanced conditions"—code for buyers regaining negotiating power. The culprit? Record 2025 housing starts (26,439 units) and slowing migration are flooding supply into a market that can't absorb it fast enough. The Bank of Canada held rates at 2.25% in December, offering some stability, but variable mortgages ticked up this past week—a reminder that affordability constraints aren't going anywhere. Higher-density segments (apartments, rows) are already softening. Detached and semi-detached homes are holding steadier, but even they aren't immune if inventory keeps climbing.

The Outlook: This isn't a crash—it's a correction. Buyers are finally getting the upper hand, and sellers clinging to 2024 valuations are about to get a reality check. The spring market will show us if this balance holds or if demand comes roaring back. For now? Advantage: Buyers.