Most Calgary Neighbourhoods Are Now in Overbidding Territory

Between the first and second quarter of the year, the share of Calgary neighbourhoods in overbidding territory increased to 54% from 41%.

By Josh Sherman | 2 minute read

Already more competitive than other Canadian housing markets, Calgary’s level of bidding activity ramped up further in Q2.

Homebuyers in the Calgary real estate market haven’t been waiting around for rate cuts.

Competition between Calgary homebuyers was intensifying even before the Bank of Canada began trimming interest rates in early June, new analysis from Wahi suggests.

In the second quarter, 54% of Calgary’s neighbourhoods were in overbidding territory, up from 41% in the first quarter, according to Wahi’s Q2 2024 Calgary Market Pulse Report. The share of neighbourhoods selling at-asking also increased on a quarter-over-quarter basis to 18%, compared to 17% in Q1. Overall, 102 neighbourhoods were overbid and 34 were selling at-asking in the second quarter, up from 76 and 31, respectively.

“Whether it’s buyers from other provinces attracted by Calgary’s relative affordability or locals benefitting from Alberta’s resilient economy, demand remains strong for Calgary real estate,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen.

The top five overbidding neighbourhoods tended to have lower prices than the top underbidding neighbourhoods. They had median overbid amounts between $26,000 and $50,050.

Three were located in the Northwest quadrant. Deer Ridge was the only neighbourhood to crack the top five for overbidding in each of the first two quarters of the year.

Upper Mount Royal was the only Calgary neighbourhood to make the top five underbidding neighbourhoods in back-to-back quarters this year.

How Wahi Ranks Overbidding and Underbidding Neighbourhoods

Wahi compares the differences between median list and sold prices to determine whether neighbourhoods are in overbidding or underbidding territory. 

 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.

Wahi analyzed 204 neighbourhoods, excluding 15 with fewer than five sales over the study period.