Buying a home this year? Here’s what you can expect from Calgary’s housing market

A stock photo of a home. (Unsplash/Dillon Kydd)

The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) is cautioning that Calgary’s housing market could be impacted by tariffs imposed by Donald Trump.

CREB released its 2025 regional housing market forecast for Calgary on Tuesday.

The report serves as an in-depth analysis of the housing market, highlighting key trends and economic factors expected to shape 2025.

Chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says while the market is expected to be more balanced than in recent years, significant economic risks—such as potential tariffs—could impact activity.

“These risks will be crucial to watch as we navigate through 2025.”

The 2025 report highlights how easing lending rates, improved supply and continued population and employment gains are shaping Calgary’s housing market.

It suggests factors like slowing migration, increased competition from new home construction, and heightened economic uncertainty are expected to moderate growth in resale activity.

According to Lurie, housing sales are forecasted to exceed 26,000 units this year.

“While we anticipate stable sales levels overall, market dynamics will shift as rental rate adjustments and supply improvements influence different segments of the housing market.”

The report also predicts that Calgary’s housing market will transition toward balanced conditions, with price growth moderating to an expected annual gain of three per cent.

Variations in price growth are anticipated across market segments, as competition from new homes is expected to impact some sectors of the resale market.

“So having more balanced conditions means people have more time to make choices, they have supply options and in various types of segments of the market,” Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist, said.

But the possibility of tariffs on all Canadian goods going into the United States could have a big impact.

“You know, broad-based tariffs, the expectation is we might move into a recession,” Lurie said.

“On the opposite side, let’s say we’re mostly untouched; well, we could actually have much stronger economic growth and you could actually see stronger price gains.”

For now, lower lending rates, Calgary’s easing population growth and more homes on the market are helping even out the situation for home buyers and providing some relief for renters.

“That’s going to benefit a lot of higher-income renters; a lot of lower-income renters are still seeing rent increases,” said William Gillies, with ACORN’s Calgary northwest chapter, an organization that advocates for tenant rights.

And it comes after several difficult years.

“Since 2022 there’s been a 30 per cent rent increase in Calgary across the board on average,” Gillies said.

“So, we’d love to see things like rent control.”

To read the complete CREB 2025 Forecast Calgary and Region Yearly Outlook Report, you can visit CREB’s website.