MARKET UPDATE FOR CALGARY REAL ESTATE IN NOVEMBER 2025
Looking back, we can now see that 2025 was not a “post-COVID” year, but something new.
Total sales volumes exceeded the pre-COVID, oil bust years, but did not reach the levels seen during and shortly after COVID, a period marked by low interest rates and high levels of net migration into the province.
Broadly, home values have been supported by this level of demand, although this is notably not the case in the apartment sector or in new construction areas.
This relative stability for most sectors occurred despite two years of rapid listing activity. Marginal sellers, faced with the choice between renewing their mortgages at higher interest rates or listing their homes for sale, often chose to attempt a sale. As a result, over 2024 and 2025, the stock of housing inventory rose from very low to normal, or in some parts of the market, slightly elevated.
In the last two months, we have seen a step back from the brink of a buyer’s market, as fall market conditions caused many sellers to remove their homes from the market unsold, likely to try again next year. This reset normally occurs in December and January, but this year it started a month early, possibly triggered by falling rates and instilling new confidence in sellers for the first time in some years.
Apartments vs Everything Else
At this time, the market as a whole remains in balance, but there is a clear delineation between the apartment market, which remains devoid of investors and in a buyer’s market, and the market for freehold properties, which is balanced. When we isolate sales of detached homes, we notice that, in the bigger picture, they continue to run high [+16% in the last 90 days versus the same period in 2019 (nice pre-COVID base year)].
High-End Resilience
The upper end of the market, particularly in the inner city and West End, except for a blip in August and September, continues to move healthily. In some recoveries, this market leads the charge out of a downturn, particularly in a falling rate environment. Note that our list of upcoming clients on the buyer side in this part of the market looks healthy for 2026.
2026
If you read between the lines of the data, our thesis is that the market is improving. That healthy return, not a frothy one, appears to be rooted in buyer confidence, listing clearance, and upper-end activity. The pickup is not across the board, though.
Will sales next year look like this year’s, or will they revert to boom or bust? There are potential global headwinds. Will pent-up demand mop up inventory before the spring listing boom, as buyers come to the market before sellers?
Next month, we will look at the year ahead, so stay tuned. We will make predictions for different sectors (and why), as well as share a watchlist of variables to monitor that will affect outcomes.
Breanna now has her last listing pending and is working to advise sellers for 2026. If you know someone who could benefit from a discussion like that, please let us or them know.
Canadian Real Estate Right Now
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