Calgary housing market to see increased inventory in 2024: broker

The dream of buying that first home may soon be a reality for some Calgarians in 2024.

A local real estate expert expects sidelined buyers to resume their home searches this year amid likely rate cuts by the Bank of Canada.

Homebuyers continue to be challenged by high borrowing costs, leading to reduced activity in the second half of last year.

Corinne Lyall is the owner/broker of Royal LePage Benchmark in Calgary.

She says she’s hopeful for a little more inventory entering into the spring market, but with interest rates where they’re at, she says sellers are reluctant to move.

“So, until they’re forced into taking a higher interest rate, or what we’re anticipating, maybe in the second half of the year where interest rates might come down a lot, might encourage people to move,” she said.

The median price of a single-family detached home in Calgary increased nearly 10 per cent year-over-year to more than $754,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023, and the aggregate home price is expected to rise eight per cent year-over-year in Q4 this year.

Calgary was the only major region to post quarterly price gains, according to Royal LePage.

It says the national aggregate home price increased 4.3 per cent year over year in Q4 last year, but decreased 1.7 per cent quarter over quarter.

“Calgary’s positioned to have probably the most significant — it may be the only place where they’re seeing a significant sales price increase,” she said.

Lyall says the average home prices in Vancouver and Toronto are more than one million dollars, so for big cities, Calgary is still a relatively affordable place to live.

She adds there may be a lowering of interest rates by the end of this year.

“If that happens, then that might encourage buyers to also re-engage some more,” Lyall said. “But also, hoping that sellers might look at that as an opportunity for them to sell and move which would then hopefully put more inventory on the market.”