Good morning Calgary,

Welcome back to the Pulse. In today's edition:

Let's get into it!👇

What This Means: Sales are up 15.6%, which is typical for the spring market, but context matters. Homes are sitting 4 days longer on average, 508 sellers have already had to cut their price (up 9.2%), and active listings keep climbing.

The market is moving, but buyers are in no rush. Well-priced, well-presented homes are still selling. Everything else is negotiating with reality.

If you just glance at the headline numbers this week, you might think everything is business as usual. Sales are up, which is typical for the spring market. But when you look under the hood, a very different story is playing out.

Right now, there are 4,670 active listings in Calgary. Of those, 2,304 are either new builds or entirely vacant properties. That means nearly half the inventory on the market right now is sitting empty.

Why does that matter? Because an unoccupied property is a property that is losing money every single day.

Of those 2,304 empty homes, 842 are new builds (and remember, that number does not even include the shadow inventory builders are holding off the MLS). The other 1,462 are resale vacant properties, which are highly likely to be investor-owned. Most people simply cannot afford to carry two mortgages at once.

As inventory continues to climb into April, the pressure on these sellers is going to mount. We are already seeing the symptoms. This week alone, 508 properties saw price reductions, a 9.2% jump. Sellers who priced too aggressively out of the gate are now having to chase the market down just to stay competitive.

The market is quietly tipping toward buyers. That does not mean homes are not selling. If a property is well cared for, in a good location, and presented and priced accurately, it will still move quickly. But the days of taking a few iPhone photos, throwing a number at the wall, and selling for over asking are long over.

Some sellers are being stubborn, holding out for a higher price because they are anchored to a tax assessment, or a number in their head, but a tax assessment is not your 2026 market value. A home is only worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it today.

Preparation and a strategic marketing plan are now imperative to a successful sale. If you are thinking about listing, you need to know exactly where you stand before you go to market.

Solid brick construction, exposed original walls, preserved chandeliers, original heat registers and mouldings, and a kitchen with billiard slate and barn wood countertops. This 1912 Hamilton Apartments townhome in Inglewood is the kind of place that has a story before you even walk in the door.

Three bedrooms upstairs, a partially finished basement with a den and home office space, two rear parking stalls, a wood deck, and a wrought iron front courtyard. No condo fees. Steps from Atlantic Avenue, the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, and the aquatic centre.

🌊 Roxboro Riverfront Is Back. Thirteen years after the 2013 flood, the province has listed six vacant lots along the Elbow River in Roxboro for the first time since the buyout. Prices range from $1.75M to $3M. The province paid roughly $16M for these properties after the disaster; they have sat empty ever since. With the Springbank Reservoir complete and the Glenmore Dam upgraded, the area has been re-designated out of the Floodway. A two-week advertising period is in place before offers are reviewed, but agents are already warning of a bidding war. Waterfront land in Calgary is genuinely scarce.

💸 1 in 3 Albertans Are Struggling With Their Mortgage. A new True North Mortgage survey found that 33% of Albertans found it challenging to keep up with mortgage payments over the past year. To stay afloat: 35% delayed vacations, 35% skipped home repairs, 33% paused retirement savings. Over one million Canadian mortgages renew in 2026, likely at higher rates. 43% of Albertans say interest rate uncertainty is their top concern right now.

🏗️ Calgary's Suburban Expansion Is Getting a Hard Look. Four applications for new communities on Calgary's outskirts went before council's infrastructure committee this month, with five more on the way. The largest, Providence in the southwest, would add 9,600 homes but cost the city $582M in infrastructure. City admin has flagged that catching up on existing infrastructure needs will cost $49B over the next decade. Councillors are pushing back. Where Calgary grows next will determine where value builds and who pays the bill.

Before you go, just a few public service announcements:

Talk soon,

Nathaniel and Graham | YYC Housing Pulse Team