Calgary condo sales booming

More Calgarians are choosing to call condos home.

The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) says condominium sales are for 2014 are up 20 per cent over the same time last year.

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The average single family home price in Calgary is $550,000 and Calgary realtor Len Wong says affordability is a big part of the reason for the increase in condo sales.

"The new projects are 400 to 600 square feet, which is very small units," he said.

"So they're catering to more of that first-time buyer mode."

Bill Kirk, ofthe Calgary Real Estate Board,says people are choosing condominiums for lifestyle reasons as well.

"They are becoming a larger and larger part of our business, they're about 30 per cent of sales in any given month," he said.

The CREB report also shows more apartment-style condos are being listed than sold and that is putting downward pressure on prices andmaking condos more affordable.