Calgary is Canada’s top luxury market for sales growth so far in 2024

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Calgary is Canada’s hot spot for luxury resales.

A new report shows resales for luxury homes in the city led the nation for percentage growth, year over year, for the first half of the year, driven by high migration, a strong economy and exceptional value for buyers’ dollars.

Sotheby’s International Realty Canada’s Top-Tier Real Estate: 2024 Mid-Year State of Luxury Report, released late last month found sales for Calgary homes $1 million or more from Jan. 1 to June 30 grew 46 per cent, year over year.

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One reason for luxury’s strength is the city is benefiting from the strong population, particularly when it comes to drawing people from other large Canadian cities, says Don Kottick, president and chief executive officer of Sotheby’s Canada.

“Overall, all major centres across Canada have experienced a population growth, but Calgary is leading the way.”

He points to a recent Statistics Canada report that found Calgary had the highest percentage increase for population at 5.9 per cent in 2023.

For inter-provincial migration, the city also led the nation, seeing an increase of 26,662 people.

By comparison, Toronto lost more than 93,000 people, and Vancouver more than 18,000 people in 2023.

Many leaving those cities are moving to smaller communities while others are migrating to cities in other provinces like Calgary.

And those buyers that do move to Calgary are often pleasantly surprised that their dollars go much further — often allowing them to purchase in the city’s luxury segment, Kottick adds.

Much of the sales activity in Calgary’s luxury resale market takes place in the $1 million to $2 million price range. Of the 1,130 sales, priced $1 million or more in the city from January to June, 91 per cent were $2 million or less. By comparison, average aggregate home prices in Toronto and Vancouver exceed $1 million.

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Single-family detached homes dominate Calgary’s high-end market, accounting for 81 per cent of luxury sales, the report found.

Other housing types are experiencing sales growth, too. The report notes single-family detached homes accounted for a smaller share of luxury sales from January to June this year compared with the same span in 2023 when 88 per cent of sales $1 million or more involved the housing type.

The Sotheby’s report further shows that attached-home, luxury sales grew 133 per cent year over year with 149 properties sold in the first half of the year.

That said, ultra-luxury condo resales — exceeding $2 million — were down year to date with only four sales in Calgary versus 12 last year by the end of July, says realtor Rachelle Starnes with Coldwell Banker Mountain Central – The Starnes Group.

“The activity for the luxury condo market has shifted to new developments,” she says. “We have many clients … downsizing into new luxury condos.”

While many buyers are local, others are coming from British Columbia and Ontario where average single-family detached home prices easily exceed $1.3 million.

What’s more, luxury markets in Vancouver and Toronto start at $4 million.

Given the price differential, with luxury homes in Calgary priced much more like an average home in Canada’s two largest cities, migrating buyers often are able to purchase higher-end properties that they could only dream of in Vancouver and Toronto, Kottick says.

“The Calgary market is just so much more affordable even for luxury buyers.”

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