If you're buying a home in Calgary, the asking price is starting to look like an opening offer.
About 85 per cent of homes sold across Greater Calgary in August closed below their final asking price, according to real estate brokerage HouseSigma.
The typical discount was 2.29 per cent, or about $11,900.
But that number hides a real split. Buyers of condos and cheaper homes are getting the most negotiating room, while homes over $1 million were far more likely to draw an offer above asking.
The cheapest homes had the biggest discounts
Homes listed under $400,000 sold for a median 3.36 per cent below asking. About 92 per cent of them sold under list, and just 4.5 per cent sold over.
Here's what buyers negotiated off in each price range:
Under $400,000: 3.36% below asking, about $9,900
$400,000 to $600,000: 2.14%, about $10,000
$600,000 to $800,000: 1.85%, about $12,800
$800,000 to $1 million: 2.06%, about $18,700
$1 million to $1.5 million: 1.96%, about $25,000
Over $1.5 million: 2.61%, about $50,000
The $600,000 to $800,000 range, the busiest part of Calgary's market, had the smallest percentage gap. At the top, buyers spending over $1.5 million got a median $50,000 off, five times the dollar discount of buyers under $400,000.
Million-dollar homes are more likely to sell over asking
In a cooling market, you'd expect the expensive end to struggle most. In Calgary, it's the opposite.
About 16 per cent of homes listed between $1 million and $1.5 million sold above asking in August. Under $400,000, it was 4.5 per cent. That makes a million-dollar listing more than three times as likely to see an offer over asking.
Part of that is condos, which make up much of the cheapest segment. But the pattern holds for detached houses too. HouseSigma found 84.6 per cent of detached homes listed under $500,000 sold below asking, compared with 77.2 per cent of those listed above $1.2 million.
The Calgary Real Estate Board's August numbers point the same way. Overall sales were down 16 per cent from a year earlier, but sales of homes above $1 million went up.
Condos are where the market has changed most
Apartment condos sold for a median 3.44 per cent below asking in August, the biggest discount of any property type HouseSigma tracks. Detached and attached homes were both about 2.05 to 2.06 per cent below.
CREB's numbers show why. Calgary had nearly six months of apartment inventory in August, compared with just over three months for detached homes. CREB called the apartment segment a buyer's market, and said more rental supply was pulling some first-time buyers and investors away.
Prices reflect it. CREB's apartment benchmark was $295,400 in August, down 8 per cent from a year earlier and nearly 13 per cent below its August 2024 peak of $341,300.
Detached homes have held up far better. The detached benchmark was $744,300, just 1 per cent below August 2025.
Prices aren't crashing
Selling below asking doesn't mean a home lost value. The asking price is set by the seller, and it isn't the same as what the home is worth.
HouseSigma put the median Greater Calgary sale price at $575,000 in August, up 0.5 per cent from a year earlier. CREB, which covers the City of Calgary using a different method, put its residential benchmark at $569,800, about 1 per cent lower than a year earlier.
What's changed is the balance between buyers and sellers.
Calgary recorded 1,660 sales in August, down 16 per cent from a year earlier, with 6,509 homes on the market. That's nearly four months of supply. Homes took an average of 41 days to sell, up from 38.
The discount has been growing
In April, the typical Calgary home sold 1.82 per cent below asking. By August, it was 2.29 per cent.
CREB's preliminary daily figures suggest September stayed slow. They show 1,650 sales in September, down 3.8 per cent from a year earlier, with new listings down 11.2 per cent. CREB's full September report is still to come.
How Edmonton compares
Edmonton's market cooled too, but from a different place.
The Greater Edmonton Area had 2,143 sales in August, down 9.8 per cent from a year earlier, with inventory 15.1 per cent higher. Edmonton's composite benchmark price was $426,900, down 0.6 per cent, though its average selling price of $469,602 was still up 1.8 per cent from a year earlier.
Calgary's benchmark remains about $143,000 higher than Edmonton's, though the two boards cover different areas, so it isn't a perfect comparison.
Alberta is still building
Supply is a big part of this story.
CMHC's August data showed 45,320 homes under construction in Alberta's larger centres, including more than 25,000 in Calgary and more than 18,500 in Edmonton. Alberta's six-month housing start trend rose 3 per cent from July, even as Canada's trend edged down.
Not every new unit competes with an existing listing. But after years when population growth ran into tight supply, buyers now have more to choose from.
If you're buying
An offer below asking is normal right now, especially on condos and homes under $400,000, where the vast majority of sales closed under list.
But don't assume every listing is negotiable. The million-dollar market is more competitive than the headline numbers suggest, and conditions vary a lot by neighbourhood.
If you're selling
Pricing matters more when buyers have alternatives. A home priced too high can sit longer, compete with more listings, and end up selling below asking anyway.
Sources
Where Calgary home buyers got the biggest discounts off asking price in August, HouseSigma
Calgary's median home price matches a year ago, HouseSigma
Calgary Real Estate Board, August 2026 monthly statistics and September 2026 daily statistics
REALTORS® Association of Edmonton, August 2026 market update
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, August 2026 housing starts
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