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“Every single month of this past year has been well below what has been a normal level of activity for this city relative to the 10-year average,” she said.

The number of homes sold in Calgary was down 14.5 per cent over the course of 2018 when compared with 2017, and down 20 per cent compared to the 10-year average.

Photo by Jonathan Hayward/The Canadian Press files

“For many people out there, I feel for them,” Lurie said. “We’re in a situation where sales have been weak, we have too much inventory in our market and prices have been falling.”

The average price of a detached house in Calgary peaked at $521,600 in October 2014 just as global oil prices were collapsing, but before local oil and gas companies began slashing budgets and laying off staff.

Prices have since tumbled seven per cent to an average of $481,400 in December, according to CREB data released this week.

The decline is even more noticeable for apartments/condominiums. Unit prices also peaked in October 2014 at $300,500, but have since fallen 16 per cent to $251,500 last month.

Lurie said a combination of higher interest rates, stricter lending rules issued by the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions, a sluggish economic recovery and unemployment have caused Calgary prices to tumble.

The CREB will release its forecast for 2019 later this month, but Lurie said unemployment data is adding downside “risks” for the outlook.

Until Corinne Lyall, broker and owner of Royal LePage Benchmark

Homebuilders have also contributed to the oversupply in the local market. City data show new housing starts were up 6.3 per cent through September 2018 compared with the same period a year earlier.