As builders work to boost supply via new homes, the resale housing market in Alberta remains drum tight and year-over-year (y/y) benchmark prices are on the rise in both Edmonton and Calgary.

Although down from the first half of the year, the sales-to-new listings ratio in Alberta was sitting at 70% in October compared to 58% nationally (a higher ratio indicates a tighter market).

Edmonton’s ratio has barely budged this year. It was 76% in October compared to a year-to-date (YTD) average of 74%.

The Calgary market, while still tighter than the national average, has loosened somewhat at 63% in October versus a YTD average of 73%.

Months of inventory*—another measure of market tightness—was at just 2.3 in Alberta in October versus 3.7 nationally.

The benchmark** resale home price in Calgary grew by 5.1% in October—the 50th y/y increase in a row!

In Edmonton, the benchmark rose by 7.6%—the 13th y/y rise in a row.

Falling interest rates should pull more buyers into the market and will, combined with ongoing population growth, help support prices going forward.

*The number of months of inventory is the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. A reading below 3.6 months is considered a seller’s market; whereas a reading above 6.5 months is a buyer’s market.

**The Canadian Real Estate Association calculates the average price of benchmark homes in various markets (Calgary and Edmonton are the only Alberta markets on the list) using the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI). The HPI is based on the value home buyers assign to various housing attributes, which tend to evolve gradually over time. It therefore provides an “apples to apples” comparison of home prices across the entire country. Each month, the HPI uses more than 15 years of MLS® System data and sophisticated statistical models to define a “typical” home based on the features of homes that have been bought and sold. These benchmark homes are tracked across Canadian neighbourhoods and different types of houses.

Answer to the previous trivia question: Headquartered in Germany, Schwarz Group is Europe’s largest retailer by revenue.

Today’s trivia question: What term applies to a store that sells products other people own?