Home sales increased in Calgary during the month of August, a new report says, but the numbers mainly came from fewer listings and more sales of homes under a half a million dollars.
The Calgary Real Estate Board's August report, released this week, says sales were up by six per cent over 2018, buoyed by the sales of homes under $500,000.
Officials say those sales were partly driven by what people can afford in the city.
"Employment numbers have been improving, but mostly in industries that are traditionally lower paid," said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB's chief economist, in a release. "This is contributing to the shift that we are seeing in the housing market, with growth being limited to product priced below $500,000."
The unadjusted benchmark price for a home in the City of Calgary is $426,000, 2.6 per cent lower than last year.
Prices aren't much higher outside of the city either.
Airdrie's benchmark price came in at $334,600 (1.8 per cent lower), Cochrane's was $408,000 (nearly four per cent lower) and Okotoks, despite seeing a drastic reduction in oversupply, saw benchmark prices over four per cent lower than 2018.
