Underbidding in Calgary’s Housing Market Reached Highest Level in Q4 of 2024

Only a handful of Calgary neighbourhoods landed in overbidding territory in the final months of the year, a stark contrast from the first half of 2024.

By Josh Sherman | 2 minute read

It was a quiet fourth quarter for Calgary’s housing market.

Calgary’s housing market appears to have cooled in the final months of 2024 following a wave of frenzied bidding activity that peaked in the spring, new analysis from digital real estate platform Wahi suggests.

Just four (2%) of the 176 Calgary neighbourhoods where at least five homes changed hands landed in overbidding territory in the fourth quarter of 2024. In an additional six neighbourhoods (3%), homes were generally selling for the asking price, while the remaining 166 (94%) were in underbidding territory.

“Homebuying competition in Calgary eased beyond the usual seasonal slowdown that’s expected towards the end of the year,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen.

However, Katchen adds that when a home sells for less than the asking price, it doesn’t necessarily mean the homebuyers got a bargain. “The home could have been listed above what it was reasonably valued at,” he explains. “In some cases, when underbidding activity increases, sellers need to adjust their expectations in terms of pricing.”

From October to December, the median price of a Calgary home declined from $575,000 to $555,000, a drop of about 3%.

Homebuying competition began to wane in Calgary in the third quarter, when the share of neighbourhoods in overbidding territory plunged to 10%, down from the 2024 peak of 54% in Q2.

Despite the sudden surge in underbidding the third quarter, sale prices remained roughly in line with list prices. More than two-thirds of neighbourhoods (69%) at the time were overbid or underbid by no more than $5,000, whereas in the fourth quarter, 17% of neighbourhoods had a median overbid or underbid amount of $5,000 or less.

“With so many unknowns, including the upcoming Canadian election as well as the threat of U.S. tariffs, we’ll continue to monitor the Calgary market to see how homebuyers respond,” Katchen adds.

Following the Q4 slowdown, the median price of a Calgary home has begun climbing again. It was $573,000 in January, up about 9% from $525,000 at the same time last year. The median price also increased by approximately 3% compared to December, when it was $555,000.

With the exception of Southview, Calgary’s top underbidding neighbourhoods for the fourth quarter tended to have higher price points.

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 176 neighbourhoods out of Calgary’s approximately 200 met this threshold in Q4, down from 186 in Q3. 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.