Why Calgary Condos Are Getting Cheaper While Houses Aren't

Two people can both tell me "the Calgary market is crazy right now" and mean completely opposite things, depending on whether they're talking about a house or a condo. That gap has gotten wide enough this year that treating Calgary as a single market number stops being useful.

The condo side first, because it's the more dramatic story. Apartment-style condo prices in Calgary were down roughly 9% as of this summer, and the driver isn't mysterious — it's supply. A lot of high-density projects that broke ground during the boom years are completing now, all landing in the market around the same time, and that wave of new inventory is outpacing how quickly buyers are absorbing it. When supply outgrows demand in a specific segment, prices in that segment soften, even while the city's overall housing story is still one of a shortage.

Detached homes have mostly sat that out. Earlier this year, some pockets in the west and south quadrants were running under three months of supply — genuinely tight, seller-favourable conditions — while condo buildings a few kilometres away were sitting with growing inventory and softening prices. Same city, same month, two very different negotiating positions depending on the product type.

If you're a buyer, this split actually works in your favour if you're flexible about property type. A softer condo market means more room to negotiate, more inspection conditions accepted, and less pressure to waive things you shouldn't waive. If your heart's set on a detached home in one of the tighter pockets, though, don't expect that same leverage — you're still competing in a market with real supply constraints, and the numbers back that up.

If you own a condo and you're thinking about selling, I'd rather have this conversation with you honestly than let you list at 2023 pricing and watch it sit. It's not that condos won't sell — they will, and plenty of buyers still make a lot of sense in one, especially first-time buyers priced out of detached options. But pricing, positioning, and how you market against a building full of brand-new competing units all matter more in a softer segment than they did three years ago, when almost anything sold quickly regardless of how it was presented.

The honest summary: Calgary isn't "hot" or "cool" right now, it's split, and which side of the split matters to you depends entirely on what you own or what you're shopping for. I'd treat any blanket statement about "the Calgary market" — from a headline, a friend, or an agent who hasn't looked at your specific property type — with a healthy amount of skepticism until someone shows you the actual comparables for what you're dealing with.