Calgary's January housing inventory was down 35% from last year: real estate board

The exterior of a home in Calgary. (Getty Images)

The Calgary Real Estate Board says housing inventory sank to its lowest level since 2006 last month as tight market conditions continued.

The Alberta board says the number of homes for sale in the region for the month fell more than 35 per cent to 2,620 homes compared with 4,038 a year earlier.

Sales for the month totalled 2,009, a 66 per cent increase from 1,207 during January 2021.

New listings climbed by about 10 per cent to increase to 2,476 last month from 2,250 the January before.

The average price was $510,701 last month, up about eight per cent from $472,020 at the same time last year.

CREB's chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie attributed the increased prices and sales to people rushing to purchase homes now before interest and lending rates rise in the coming months.

"We did see more listings this month, but it did little to change the market balance or take any pressure off prices," Lurie said, in a release.

"This was expected, as these conditions should persist for several more months."