The condominium in Calgary has become the new starter home for many first-time buyers, amid higher interest rates and rising prices for single-family detached homes increasingly out of reach. “Traditionally, Calgary has been a single-family home kind of place,” says Tarek Hageahmad, real estate agent with eXp Realty in Calgary. “Back before 2021, that was usually first on the radar when you could get a house in the $300,000s.
” Today, single-family detached homes are often unaffordable for many first-time buyers with the average price at more than $834,000 in late June, according to . High demand and low supply for affordable single-family homes have been forcing first-time buyers to look at other housing types for the past two years, especially with higher interest rates on mortgages. Yet row homes and semi-detached homes — often first-time buyers’ second and third choices — also have become increasingly expensive with average prices at nearly $485,000 and more than $648,000, respectively.
In turn, apartment condominiums — with an average price of about $352,000 — are increasingly the “starter home” in Calgary, Hageahmad says. Then again, many clients are even taken aback at how much prices have climbed for condominiums. “Parents, helping their kids, are the most shocked — especially if they haven’t been buying or selling for the last few years.
” For the benchmark price, first-time buyers would be looking at a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, 800-squar.