House sales down 12% in Calgary

The latest statistics show Calgary's housing market remains sluggish, with sales down 12 per cent while the number of properties for sale spiked by 14 per cent.

• Up, up, up goes Calgary's downtown office vacancy rate amid economic downturn

The Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) reports that 1,923 homes changed hands last month, compared with 2,186 during the same month in 2015.

"While recent oil price gains may have some feeling optimistic, weakness in the labour market continues to impact housing demand," said CREB's chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie in a release.

"Job losses are spreading into other sectors, wages are declining and unemployment levels remain high. At the same time, we're seeing housing supply levels rise in the rental, new home and resale markets."

• MORE ECONOMIC NEWS|Benefits of Energy East pipeline shrinking, internal government memo says

The number of actively listed properties was up to 6,148 last month from 5,393 a year earlier, with apartments and attached houses accounting for half of all resale propoertiesin the city, CREB says.

The average price for a house in Calgary went up about three per cent, from $478,850 to $494,078, CREB says.

Houses are sitting on the market for an average of 42 days.

• MORE CALGARY NEWS|Kings, animals and goddesses: The many faces of money
• MORE CALGARY NEWS|Traffic congestion targeted in new Deerfoot Trail study