Overbidding Competition on Calgary Homes Plunges but Prices Remain Stable

While Wahi observed a pullback in bidding activity among Calgary homebuyers this summer, most neighbourhoods weren’t seeing homes sell at massive discounts.

By Josh Sherman | 2 minute read

Calgary’s real estate market was calmer during the summer, but sellers generally weren’t accepting offers far below list prices, a new report from Wahi suggests.

The share of Calgary neighbourhoods in overbidding territory boomeranged back to 10% in the third quarter, down from 54% in Q2, according to new analysis from digital real estate platform Wahi.

However, the sharp decline in overbidding activity doesn’t reflect a broad collapse in home prices — or sellers taking huge losses. Instead, Wahi observed prices were largely stable, with most of Calgary’s approximately 200 neighbourhoods seeing homes just below or above asking. More than two-thirds of neighbourhoods (69%) were overbid or underbid by no more than $5,000.

In the third quarter, the median price of a Calgary home was $561,000, edging 2% lower than the previous quarter but remaining up 13% from the same period last year. When looking at all home sales across Calgary in Q3, the city was in underbidding territory, though barely. The Calgary-wide median underbid amount was $4,925. 

“The Calgary market has been holding steady despite an apparent rise in underbidding activity,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “Summer is short, and people tend to make the most of it by going away on vacation,” he adds, noting one possible factor behind the calmer third quarter.

While prices generally held their ground, the Calgary market did experience a sharp drop in home sales. Some 6,585 homes changed hands in Q3, representing a 25% quarter-over-quarter drop and down 16% from a year ago. 

The Top 5 Calgary Underbidding Neighbourhoods in Q3 2024

A total of 149 Calgary neighbourhoods were in underbidding territory in the third quarter. 

The five neighbourhoods with the largest underbid amount in dollars were found in upscale communities, with prices ranging from $1 million to north of $2 million (Cambrian Heights was the outlier).

The Top 5 Calgary Overbidding Neighbourhoods in Q3 2024

While prices weren’t getting sharply bid down in general, neither were any neighbourhoods seeing big price run ups. Of the 19 neighbourhoods that remained in overbidding territory in the third quarter, Red Carpet stood above the rest with a median overbid amount of $10,200. 

How Wahi Ranks Calgary’s Overbidding and Underbidding Neighbourhoods

Each quarter, Wahi compares the differences between median list and sold prices to determine whether neighbourhoods are in overbidding or underbidding territory, excluding those neighbourhoods with fewer than five transactions over the study period. A total of 186 neighbourhoods out of Calgary’s approximately 200 met this threshold in Q3, down from 189 in Q2. Data is sourced from the Calgary Real Estate Board.

The top overbidding and underbidding neighbourhoods are ranked by the median overbid or underbid amount. The median overbid and underbid amounts are calculated by subtracting the list price from the sold price of each individual listing in a given neighbourhood. These are then ranked by the median of all subtractions and presented as the median overbid or underbid amount.