05-06-2025
Calgary luxury homes market holds attention of buyers across Canada
Little house on the prairie, it's not. A recently listed single-family detached home in Calgary's southwest — among its most sought-after resale real estate markets — is indeed a picture of luxury.
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Only buyers in Calgary's $1-million-plus market are likely to recognize it as a deal for their dollars when compared with larger markets in Canada, says a local realtor specializing in upscale resales.
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'With people moving from B.C. and Ontario, these homes are highly affordable to them,' says Vivienne Huisman, senior vice-president of sales at Sotheby's International Realty in Calgary.
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'Our luxury market starts at $1 million where luxury in those markets starts at $4 million.'
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Still, the luxury market here has seen growth moderate, though demand has not shrunk like larger markets, a new report from Sotheby's suggests. Its Top-Tier Real Estate: Spring 2025 State of Luxury Report found that Canada's two largest markets for luxury sales — Vancouver and Toronto — saw declines in activity in the first quarter of 2025 (ending March 31). In Vancouver, for instance, sales of home $4 million or more declined 48 per cent year over year. In the Greater Toronto Area, luxury activity declined 15 per cent.
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'Economic uncertainty, particularly related to U.S. trade tensions, has dampened consumer confidence,' says Effi Barak, president of Sotheby's in Canada.
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Conditions have not just had a negative effect on buyers in non-luxury segments whose budgets are more restricted by economic malaise.
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Luxury buyers may be less sensitive to the economy, but they have become more discerning amid uncertainty, Barak says. 'These buyers are taking more time to evaluate opportunities and are negotiating more aggressively, resulting in a slowdown in overall luxury market activity, even though the underlying demand and capital remain strong.'
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In Calgary, luxury buyers likely are seeing opportunities at hand. Its luxury market and Montreal's saw sales growth in the first quarter. Sales for homes $1 million or more increased two per cent year over year here. In Montreal, activity was up 11 per cent.
