Reports show significant drop in January home sales – both in Calgary and nationally

The latest statistics from the Canadian Real Estate Association show that national home sales in January were the lowest they have been in more than 10 years for that month.

National home sales fell about 37 per cent from last year. The most recent data is in contrast with what the association called the second-best January ever — which happened in 2022.

Markets continue to face factors like inflation and rising interest rates, and according to analysts, it may take a couple months to see what buyers are planning this year since new listings are trickling out at near-record low levels.

"Early 2023 feels a lot like 2019, where after a year in which it became much harder to qualify for a mortgage, everyone was wondering if the market would pick up in the spring," said Shaun Cathcart, CREA's senior economist. 

"In 2019, the market started off slow, as there wasn't much to buy. It took off once spring listings started to come out."

On par with national declines in January, the real estate market in Calgary is also trending down.

The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) says activity in January declined about 40 per cent year-over-year. 

"What we're seeing is a bit of a struggle in terms of seeing growth in new listings," said Ann-Marie Lurie, chief economist with CREB.

"That's really preventing some of the inventory gains in the market."

Sales through the early part of 2022 were exceptionally strong as activity heated up before lending rate increases. 

Lurie noted that there was also a shift in the type of sales for the market in Calgary.

"We're still seeing sales that are still better than what we were doing prior to the pandemic," she said. "We're seeing a lot less detached activity but a rise in sort of apartment, semis and rows."

Lurie said that CREB is expecting overall sales activity to remain slower than last year's record highs and are expecting some supply improvements.

Last month's overall benchmark price was close to $530,000 — a 5 per cent year-over-year increase. However, there are some signs that the housing prices in Calgary are starting to stabilize.

According to a report from the association, new listings in January fell to their lowest since the late 1990s. The report noted that the pace of decline was higher for lower-priced properties.