Calgary Real Estate Board says expectation 'gap' persists between buyers and sellers

April marked another month of "market imbalance" for home sales, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board, with more houses listed but fewer actually selling.

There were 1,764 totalsales in the city, down 10.1 per cent from April 2015, according to CREB's month-end data.

At the same time, 3,216 new listings came on the market, marking a 5.0 per cent increase from the same month last year.

• GO PUBLIC |Calgary homeowner says realtor 'misrepresented' square footage on MLS
• Q&A |Calgary's real estate future: questions and answers

That pushed the total inventory to 6,242 homes, creating 3.54 months worth of supply on the market,up 23.2 per cent from the supply level a year ago.

Average sale price actually edged up 1.5 per cent, butCREB said its "benchmark price" what it calculates to be theprice for a typical homein the city was down for the seventh straight month.

April's benchmark pricedeclined by 3.4 per cent from last year, to $441,000.

Expectation 'gap' persists

CREBpresident Cliff Stevenson said the seven-month downward trend in prices has some sellers modifying their expectations, but often not to the level that many buyers are looking for.

"From reconsidering the listing of their home to lowering expectations on price, sellers are beginning to adjust to the current market reality," hesaid in a release.

"However, some buyers in the market are still not willing to pull the trigger because they expect even bigger discounts. And so that gap between buyers' and sellers' expectations still persists across many product types and locations."

Detached homes fare better

Sales of detached homes are downfour per cent so far in 2016 compared to the year before, but CREB noted the ratio ofsales to new listings ratio improved in April.

"This prevented sharper inventory gains and caused months of supply to move toward more balanced levels," the board said in a release.

Sales of attached homes, meanwhile, are down 13 per centyear-to-date,while apartment/condo sales are down 19 per cent.

The "weak economic climate" is driving down demand, but the condo and attached-home markets are particularly impacted because of an increased supply in new homes and in the rental market,according toCREBchief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

The benchmark apartment/condo price fell the most of the three main housing typesin April,tumbling4.4 per cent to $280,400.