Where Calgary Built, Prices Fell
The headline numbers barely moved. Underneath them the market split along one line — density. Detached and semi-detached homes sold more than a year ago; row and apartment sold far fewer, and gave up the most price. CREB’s own economist traces it straight back to where the last three years of construction went.
The city, at a glance
Sales came in at 1,650 — essentially level with August and -3.8% against September 2025. The citywide benchmark eased to $566,700, -0.8% year-over-year. New listings rose 6.8% from August, which kept inventory broadly flat and left months of supply at 3.93, almost exactly where it sat the month before.
That is a quiet month on the surface. The interesting part is underneath it.
The lower-density half went one way, the denser half went the other
Detached sales rose 4.4% and semi-detached 5.2% against September 2025 — to 896 and 163. Those are the only two property types in the city that sold more homes this September than last. Semi-detached is also the only type whose benchmark price is not down over the year, at +0.1%.
Row sales fell 18.2% and apartment sales fell 14.2% against September 2025. Row prices are down 5.5% and apartment prices 8.3% over the same twelve months — by far the steepest declines in the market.
— Ann-Marie Lurie, Chief Economist, CREB®
That is the whole story in one sentence. The homes that got built in volume are the homes competing hardest for buyers now. Detached and semi-detached supply never grew the same way, so prices at that end have barely moved — detached is off less than one per cent on the year and semi-detached is flat — while the denser end absorbs what was added.
Every property type, both ways
| Property type | Benchmark price | Sales | Months of supply | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 26 | vs Aug | vs Sep 25 | Sep 26 | vs Aug | vs Sep 25 | ||
| Detached | $739,400 | ↓ -0.7% | ↓ -1.0% | 896 | ↑ +2.4% | ↑ +4.4% | 3.31 |
| Semi-detached | $685,200 | ↓ -0.8% | → flat | 163 | ↓ -3.0% | ↑ +5.2% | 3.67 |
| Row | $412,400 | ↓ -0.7% | ↓ -5.5% | 248 | ↓ -12.7% | ↓ -18.2% | 4.45 |
| Apartment | $291,400 | ↓ -1.4% | ↓ -8.3% | 343 | ↑ +3.0% | ↓ -14.2% | 5.29 |
Months of supply is how long the homes currently for sale would last at the pace of the last 90 days. In Calgary, under two months is generally described as a seller’s market, two to four as balanced, and over four as a buyer’s market.
Row homes crossed the line this month. At 4.45 months of supply, row is now in buyer’s-market territory alongside apartments at 5.29. Detached, at 3.31, remains balanced.
Around the city
| Market | Benchmark | vs Aug | vs Sep 25 | Months of supply | Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airdrie | $505,800 | ↓ -0.6% | ↓ -3.8% | 4.17 | Buyer’s market |
| Cochrane | $575,400 | ↑ +0.9% | ↓ -0.4% | 5.19 | Buyer’s market |
| Okotoks | $606,800 | ↓ -0.3% | → flat | 2.18 | Balanced |
| Chestermere | $690,200 | ↓ -1.0% | → flat | 5.73 | Buyer’s market |
Okotoks is the tightest market in the region at 2.18 months of supply and the only one of the four with a benchmark higher than a year ago. Chestermere and Cochrane are both sitting above five months — more choice for buyers than anywhere inside the city.
What this means if you are moving
Selling a detached or semi-detached home. This is the end of the market where supply never grew the way demand did. Detached supply is balanced at 3.31 months, detached homes are taking an average 38 days, and sellers are getting 97.9% of asking. Price it to the comparable sales on your street rather than to the citywide benchmark — the spread between communities is far wider than the 0.95% the detached benchmark moved over the whole year.
Selling an apartment or a townhouse. This is the hard end of the market and pretending otherwise costs money. Over five months of supply means buyers have real alternatives, and they are using them: apartments are taking an average 55 days and selling at 96.1% of list. The listings that move are the ones priced against what actually sold nearby in the last ninety days, not against what the unit was worth in 2024.
Buying. The denser the home, the more leverage you have. If a townhouse or apartment suits you, this is the best negotiating position buyers have had in years. If it has to be detached, expect competition — and expect it to be local, because the citywide average is hiding enormous variation between communities.
What a Calgary home is actually worth
Citywide figures are a starting point, not an answer — the spread between communities is far wider than anything the city number moved. Send me an address, whether it is yours or one you are thinking of buying, and I will send back the homes most like it that actually sold: what they went for, how long they sat, and what that means for your number.
Market figures: CREB® Monthly Statistics Package, September 2026. Not intended to solicit properties already listed for sale.