Honest answer: it depends on what you are buying. Condo and townhouse buyers in Calgary have more choice and more room to negotiate than they have had in years, while the inner-city detached market is still competitive, especially above $1 million (CREB, as of August 2026).
We get this question more than any other, and the one-size-fits-all version of the answer is almost useless. Broad strokes only work in horseshoes and hand grenades. So here is the granular answer, with the numbers behind it.
The quick version
- Two markets in one city: inner-city detached homes sold in a median of 22 days at 95.8 per cent of original list price in August. Condos took 44 days and closed at 93.3 per cent (MLS sales data via Pillar 9, August 2026).
- Prices are levelling, not falling: the citywide benchmark held at $569,800 in August, down just 1.08 per cent from a year ago, the smallest gap since prices started easing (CREB, as of August 2026).
- Condos are effectively on sale: depending on the area, condo prices are down roughly 6 to 10 per cent over the last twelve months, and condos make up 56 per cent of what is still for sale in the inner city.
- Detached is quietly strengthening: inner-city detached prices rose 2.24 per cent year over year to $995,700, and the median inner-city detached sale crossed the million mark at $1,010,000 (CREB, as of August 2026; Pillar 9).
- Our supply rule of thumb: around 3.5 months is balanced, under 3 favours sellers, over 4 favours buyers. Calgary sits at 3.92 months right now.
- Waiting has a price too: six months of rent to maybe save $10,000 on a purchase is usually a wash at best.
That covers the numbers. The rest of this post is how we actually walk clients through the decision.
Why we answer this question with a question
When someone asks us if now is a good time to buy, the first thing we ask back is: what are you looking to buy? A detached home or an apartment? What part of the city, and what price range?
The more granular we get, the better the answer. A first-time buyer looking at a Kensington apartment and a family shopping for a detached infill in Marda Loop are in two completely different markets right now, even though both are “buying in Calgary.” One has dozens of options and real leverage. The other should walk into their first showing ready to move quickly.
And honestly, the market is only half the question. Where you are at in your life matters just as much. Markets go up and down, but that does not put the rest of your life on hold. Growing family, new job, aging parents, a relationship starting or ending. You do what is right for your family, your situation, and your circumstances, and then we figure out how to make the market work for that.
What is the Calgary market actually doing right now?
August was quiet on both sides of the table. Citywide sales were down 16 per cent from last August, but new listings fell too, because sellers who did not need to move stayed put. Through all of that, the benchmark price held at $569,800 (CREB, as of August 2026). Prices are not falling. They are levelling.
The inner city kept its two speeds. Detached homes sold in a median of 22 days at 95.8 per cent of original list. Semi-detached was close behind at 25 days. Condos took 44 days and closed at 93.3 per cent of original list, and while they were 39 per cent of inner-city sales, they were 56 per cent of what is still for sale (MLS sales data via Pillar 9, August 2026).
One shift worth naming: inner-city detached prices rose 2.24 per cent year over year, and west Calgary detached turned positive too, at 2.78 per cent (CREB, as of August 2026). The strength is spreading, not shrinking.
Here is what we are seeing on the ground this fall, by property type:
- Detached: tight, especially inner city. Anything over $1 million is competitive, and the $1.5 million to $3 million range is very competitive.
- Semi-detached: pretty stable, particularly in the $800,000 to $1.1 million range.
- Row townhouses: not as soft as apartments, but slowing, with inventory building.
- Apartments: a tonne of supply. Buyers are choosy, and even well-priced units that look like great deals can sit.
We publish a detailed version of this every month for each inner-city community, with our honest take on every one. You can find it on our Calgary real estate market update page.
How do you read months of supply?
Months of supply is the most useful single number for the timing question. Our rule of thumb: around three and a half months is balanced. Under three months, sellers generally have the upper hand. Over four, buyers do. Calgary as a whole sits at 3.92 months right now, which means buyers have more room than they did in spring (CREB, as of August 2026).
But we never stop at the citywide number. We look at the community: are listings selling in the first few days with multiple offers over asking, or are we seeing longer days on market and price cuts before the final sale? Then we look at the listing itself. A hot community does not save an overpriced house, and a balanced market does not mean every well-priced home has room to negotiate.
Should I wait for prices to drop more?
In our experience, you cannot time the market, and waiting usually costs more than acting.
Here is the math we walk renters through. Say you wait six months hoping prices come down another $10,000. If your rent is $1,700 a month, you will spend about $10,000 in rent over those same six months, money that could have been going toward your own principal. Best case, you broke even. And that assumes prices actually dropped, which the August data suggests is no longer the trend for most property types.
Rates work the same way. Waiting for the perfect rate usually means watching a string of great houses go to someone else. If rates feel high, talk to your broker about a shorter one or two year term, buy the right house now, and revisit the rate at renewal. Our mortgage calculator is a quick way to see what different rates and terms do to a monthly payment.
Mostly, though, we come back to the same thing: do what is best for your family, your finances, and your timing. The market will do what it does either way.
Is now a good time to buy a condo in Calgary?
The headlines about condo oversupply scare a lot of people off. We read it the other way. Condos are a huge part of this market, and right now they are essentially on sale, at prices we have not seen in years.
Just this past weekend we worked with clients downsizing from a bungalow into their first condo. Condo prices in the areas they were shopping are down 6 to 10 per cent over the last twelve months, while the bungalow they are selling sits in a much more stable market. They sell into strength and buy into softness. For them, the timing was about as good as it gets.
There is another side to it, of course. If you bought a condo in the last few years and need to sell, it can be a tough conversation. If you have owned yours for a decade or more, you have probably still done quite well. We covered how this supply wave built up in our earlier post on Calgary’s record condo supply, and most of that opportunity is still on the table.
We are watching this play out on our own listings. Some have sat for months, and not because they show poorly or because the price is wrong. Buyers simply have that much choice, and in a few pockets it has turned into a race to the bottom. Our rule of thumb for sellers has become: offer a little more for a little less. The condo or townhouse has to give a buyer something the recent sales did not, and it has to come in under them on price. Turn that around and it is the whole case for buying a condo this fall, because the seller is the one who has to bend.
One caveat, and we give it to every client whether they are buying a condo or a house. Plan to hold it for at least five years. Condos in particular can run up in price and give it all back inside a short window, and Calgary has lived through both halves of that cycle in the last five years. Before you write on any condo, know what the document review and the closing costs on a Calgary condo actually involve.
What softer rents change
Rent has come down, and that shifts the math for anyone weighing renting against buying.
Average asking rents in Calgary were down about 4.5 per cent year over year in July 2026, a steeper drop than the national average of 4.0 per cent (Rentals.ca National Rent Report, August 2026). CMHC put Calgary’s apartment vacancy rate at 5.0 per cent for 2025 against a national rate of 3.1 per cent, after purpose-built rental supply grew 11 per cent in a single year. That was the fastest pace in decades.
Most of that is supply. Calgary set a record for new home construction in 2025 and a large share of it was rental, so a wave of new units is hitting the market at once. Demand has shifted as well, though not in the way most people assume. Alberta still leads the country in net interprovincial migration and has for fifteen straight quarters. What has fallen is international migration, driven by net outflows of non-permanent residents, and that group rents far more often than it buys.
Cheaper rent is not a reason to give up on owning. It is a reason to be honest about your timeline. If renting costs less than owning today and you are not confident you will stay five years, renting is the better financial answer for now.
When we tell people not to buy
A friend of Josh’s reached out this year wanting to buy his first place. Good savings, stable job, everything lined up on paper. But he was not sure he wanted to stay in Canada long term, he had travel plans, and he was in an inexpensive rental he loved. The advice: keep the rental, save your money, go travel, and buy when you are back. There is no point being locked into a property you are not here to live in, and managing a tenant from another continent is nobody’s idea of fun.
We have the same honest conversations with sellers. This year we have told more than one owner that the price they need is simply not where the market is, shown them the recent sale data, and suggested they place a tenant instead of listing. We would rather lose a listing than market an overpriced one.
How we actually decide with clients
By the time a client of ours writes an offer, the timing question has usually answered itself. The process looks like this:
- Discovery first: we get clear on motivation, budget, timeline, and what the home needs to do for you.
- Learn from every no: when a property is not the right one, we dig into why, so we stop showing you homes with the same dealbreaker.
- Evaluate before offering: recent comparables, how the home is priced against them, days on market, and a direct conversation with the listing agent about disclosures and anything we could not see at the showing.
- Structure the whole offer: price matters, but so do possession timing, deposit, conditions, terms, and inclusions. A good offer is its own strategy, built for that listing and that level of competition.
Buy now or wait, by situation
| Your situation | Lean toward buying now | Lean toward waiting |
|---|---|---|
| Detached or semi in the inner city, northwest or west | The home fits and the payments work at today’s rate | You are not pre-approved, or you still have a home to sell |
| Apartment condo | You will hold it five years or more and the building checks out | You may need to sell inside two years, or the documents are messy |
| Row home or townhouse | You want inner-city access and detached is out of reach | You can stretch to a semi and would rather have the land |
| First-time buyer still renting | Your five-year plan is stable and the payment is comfortable | Your work or household situation is still moving |
So, is now a good time to buy in Calgary?
If you are shopping for a condo or townhouse in Calgary’s inner city, you have not had this many options or this much negotiating room in years. If you are buying detached between $1.5 million and $3.5 million in the inner city, be prepared to compete, and be prepared to play to win.
Everything in between depends on the property, the community, and where you are at in life. If you have a home to sell first, start with a free home evaluation so you know your real budget before you fall for a listing. If you are buying your first place, our first-time home buyer guide for Calgary walks through the path. If you want the granular answer for your situation, reach out and we will walk through the numbers with you.
Frequently asked questions about buying in Calgary right now
For buyers, yes. Condo prices are down roughly 6 to 10 per cent over the last twelve months depending on the area, and condos make up 56 per cent of what is for sale in the inner city, so buyers have unusual choice and negotiating room (CREB, as of August 2026).
Calgary sits at 3.92 months of supply overall (CREB, as of August 2026). Around 3.5 months is balanced, under 3 favours sellers, and over 4 favours buyers. Detached is tighter than that citywide number and apartments are softer.
The data suggests prices are levelling, not falling. The citywide benchmark held at $569,800 in August, just 1.08 per cent below last year, the smallest gap since prices started easing (CREB, as of August 2026). For renters, six months of waiting often costs as much in rent as any price drop saves.
They sit between detached and apartments. CREB had row homes at 3.85 months of supply in August 2026 with a benchmark of $415,200, down about five per cent over the year. More selection than detached, less negotiating room than an apartment. If a detached home in the community you want is out of reach, this is usually where we look next.