Good morning, Calgary.

Here's what's moving the market this week:

Let's get into it. 🚀

What This Means: The market is holding steady on its course, with activity picking up just as we’d expect heading toward the spring season. Sales continue to climb, and with pending listings also up, it’s clear that buyers are actively making deals.

Don’t let the slight dip in the average price this week fool you; this was largely due to fewer sales in the $2M+ range, which tends to skew the average. The more telling metric is the days on market, which has come down again, showing that well-priced homes are moving a little faster each week.

For now, it’s status quo. A gradual, predictable warm-up that we expect to continue as more inventory comes online in the coming weeks.

For anyone trying to get into the Calgary property market, the dream of a detached home is starting to feel like a distant memory, like trying to find a parking spot at Chinook Centre in December.

It wasn’t long ago, back in 2019 and 2020, that a single-family detached house was a realistic first step onto the property ladder, with benchmark prices sitting around $480,000. But in the years since, the market has fundamentally shifted, and so has buyer behaviour.

So why are more and more first-time buyers in Calgary turning to townhomes? The answer lies in the numbers. The benchmark price for a detached home has surged past $725,000, an increase of over 50% in just five years. This has pushed the dream of a detached home out of reach for many, forcing a change in strategy and redefining what a “starter home” in Calgary looks like.

This is where the townhome comes in. With benchmark prices hovering between $420,000 and $440,000, they have become the attainable entry point for a new generation of buyers. The price gap between a detached home and a townhome has widened from under $200,000 in 2019 to over $300,000 today. That growing gap explains why so many are now looking to the townhome market as their first step.

The old-school mentality of buying a “forever home” right out of the gate is fading as a result. Today’s savvy first-time buyers are focused on getting into the market, building equity over five or more years, and securing a foothold on the property ladder. The recent market correction in the townhouse segment, with prices softening nearly 5% last year, has only made this path more accessible, creating what one national real estate report called a “rare chance to buy.”

The takeaway: The shift toward townhomes is a direct response to the affordability challenges in the detached market. It reflects a significant change in how Calgarians are starting their homeownership journey, driven by the new economic reality of the housing market.

Want the full picture? Grab our new YYC Housing Pulse 2026 Forecast, which has compiled 17 reports and forecasts into one forecast of the year ahead.

Perfectly timed for this issue, this 3-bedroom townhome in Airdrie just hit the market this morning for under $370,000.

It’s the ideal starter home, featuring a rare, large fenced-in yard that’s perfect for pets, and an undeveloped basement just waiting for you to add value. With condo fees around the $350 mark and quick access to the highway, shops, and walking paths, this one checks all the boxes for affordable, convenient living.

Curious about what's next for Calgary's housing market? We did the heavy lifting and distilled 17 economic and housing reports into our 2026 YYC Housing Pulse Forecast.

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🤝 Powering affordable housing. Habitat for Humanity Southern Alberta has partnered with ATCO Energy, a deal that includes a $50,000 investment to support the affordable housing lifecycle. The partnership will help power Habitat’s ReStore locations, which netted $1.6 million for housing projects last year while diverting 3,900 tonnes of material from landfills.

😬 Our infrastructure is at "extensive risk." A new city report has given Calgary's capital infrastructure its highest risk rating, noting that 11% of city assets are in poor to very poor condition. The report calls for "urgent, top-level attention" as aging assets, from water mains to roads, feel the strain of deferred maintenance and population growth.

🏦 Bank of Canada holds rates steady. In a widely expected move, the Bank of Canada held its key interest rate at 2.25%. Governor Tiff Macklem noted that while the economy is evolving as expected, uncertainty around the upcoming CUSMA negotiations and U.S. trade policy remains high, making the timing of any future rate changes difficult to predict.

🏗️ East Village continues to transform. The Calgary Municipal Land Corporation (CMLC) announced its 2026 outlook, detailing five new developments for East Village. The projects will bring over 600 new housing units and 130 hotel rooms to the area, marking the most development activity seen in the neighbourhood since before the pandemic.

“Sales, new listings, and pending listings are all slowly ticking up, which is exactly what we expect for this time of year. That gradual rise should continue into mid-February, before we see a sharper increase heading into the March and April spring market.

The main area I’m watching closely is apartments. In parts of the northwest, we’re already seeing multiple units listed in the same condo complexes at once. As inventory continues to build, condos become much harder to stand out.

If you’re buying a condo, I don’t think we’ve seen the bottom yet, especially with more new inventory coming online. If you’re selling, pricing, and preparation matter more than ever. The goal is to lead the market, not chase it.

Overall, most segments look steady and healthy, very much in line with what we expected in the forecast.”

Before you go, just a few public service announcements:

Talk soon,

Nathaniel and Graham | YYC Housing Pulse Team