Calgary home sales down but small price increase expected

Home sales in Calgary were down in August but prices are expected to stay steady or even rise slightly over the next year, according to a report from the Conference Board of Canada.

Volumes of home sales in Alberta remain "weak," according to the Conference Board's Metro Resale Snapshot, with August listings down nearly 19.8 per cent from last year and sales down by 31.2 per cent.

Average sale price wasalso down slightly to $457,420,off 1.3 per cent from August 2014.

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But the same report pegs price expectations forCalgary in flat-to- positive territory over the next 12 months.

The Conference Board expects zero to 2.9 per cent growth in sale prices between now and this time next year.

Overall, the report classifies Calgary's real-estate market as "balanced" in August, with a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 0.595.