Calgary still ranks among fastest growing cities in Canada

Calgary has been one of Canada's fastest growing cities by population in recent years, fuelling strong demand for resale real estate.

Yet a new study, analysing population growth's impact on resale market conditions, suggests the city's market is seeing more subdued conditions as its population boom in previous years subsides. The report by Zoocasa, a subsidiary of eXp Realty, shows the city ranked second among all major markets for percentage population growth from 2023 to 2025 at 9.3 per cent. That's an increase from about 1.7 million to 1.8 million people.

Only Moncton, N.B., saw faster percentage growth at 10.1 per cent.

Yet the report also examines demand relative to supply in each market at the halfway point of 2026 to determine the impact of a population surge in Canada's seven fastest growing markets.

Using the sales-to-new-listing ratio, it found Calgary ranked near the bottom of the seven markets with respect to buyer demand. Its ratio was 56.4 per cent.

That percentage typically indicates a market showing a balance between demand and supply whereby neither buyers nor sellers have a strong advantage when it comes to pricing, says Ashliegh Griffiths, realtor with eXp Realty in Calgary.

"We're coming off these high peaks in the real estate market over the last two to three years, and now things are really starting to balance out."

The sales-to-new-listing ratio is a measure of the percentage of sales in a given month relative to homes listing over that period. A ratio between 40 and 60 per cent typically indicates a balanced market. A ratio higher than 60 per cent denotes a seller's market, and when the metric dips below 40 per cent, that often reveals a buyer's market.

To that end, only Oshawa was among the fastest growing municipalities from 2023 to 2025 with a buyer's market with a ratio of 34.2 per cent.

Moncton's sales-to-new-listing ratio was 57.2 per cent, suggesting a balanced market. Other cities in the report the are still arguably seeing stronger resale markets. Those include Lethbridge, Regina, Saskatoon and Edmonton.

Alberta's capital was the third fastest growing city in Canada at 8.4 per cent, rising from 1.6 million people to 1.7 million from 2023 to 2025.

As of June 30, its ratio was 61.4 per cent — a modest seller's market.

"Over the past three years, we have been in a market with lower than normal inventory and now, there are normal levels of inventory with stable demand, creating more balanced market conditions" for many Alberta markets, says Edmonton realtor Nathan Mol with Live Real Estate.

The slowdown in population growth and corresponding reduced demand pressure is particularly good news for first-time buyers, Griffiths adds.

"It actually feels refreshing because prices have decreased throughout the city," she says. "Now, we're seeing a bit of an influx of first-time buyers."

Not all parts of the market are seeing easing demand. "Almost every community and segment is going to have a different conditions." She points to single-family homes below $700,000, often a top choice for first-time buyers, are continually in short supply.

"With condos and townhomes, we have an influx of supply, especially on the new homes side."

In turn, buyers have more negotiating power for these housing types, and many first-time buyers are now recognizing that value proposition, Griffith adds.

"They're still great options at lower price points."