Calgary’s average home sale price in September 2026 was $646,198, up 4.93% from $615,813 a year earlier. The benchmark price for the same month was $566,700, down 0.82% from $571,400. Calgary home prices produced two figures that point in opposite directions, and the distance between them is $79,498, by Alberta Tribune arithmetic.
Both numbers come from the Calgary Real Estate Board’s September 2026 statistics package, and the board’s media release was published on October 1.
Key facts
- The total residential benchmark price in Calgary was $566,700 in September 2026, compared with $571,400 in September 2025, a change of -0.82% (Calgary Real Estate Board, September 2026 statistics package).
- The average sale price was $646,198 in September 2026, up 4.93% from $615,813 a year earlier (Calgary Real Estate Board, September 2026 statistics package).
- The highest benchmark value shown in the board’s series is $590,300 in March 2025, and the September 2026 benchmark sits about 4.0% below it, by Alberta Tribune arithmetic (Calgary Real Estate Board, September 2026 statistics package).
- By property type, the benchmark was $685,200 for semi-detached homes (+0.09%), $412,400 for row homes (-5.54%) and $291,400 for apartments (-8.28%) (Calgary Real Estate Board, October 1, 2026).
- Sales were 1,650 in September 2026, down about 3.8% from a year earlier (Calgary Real Estate Board, October 1, 2026).
The terms of the gap
A year earlier the gap between the average and the benchmark was $44,413. This September it was $79,498. By Alberta Tribune arithmetic, that is a rise of about 79% in the gap, and the average now sits about 14% above the benchmark against about 8% a year ago.
The two figures measure different things. The board’s release and statistics package, as reviewed, do not define either term. In general use, a benchmark price is a modelled figure for a typical home with set features, and an average is the arithmetic mean of the prices that sales actually closed at. That general wording is not the board’s own, and the board’s glossary should be checked before anyone quotes it.
Two ways to read it
The first reading is a mix story. If more expensive homes change hands, the average rises even when the typical home gets cheaper. REW reports that sales above $1 million numbered 176 in September, up from 156 a year earlier, and that supports this reading. The benchmark, which holds the home type constant, fell, and the types that fell most were apartments and row homes, the cheaper ones.
The second reading is that the typical home is simply worth less, and the rise in the average is noise from a small number of high-priced closings. On this reading the next few months of benchmark data matter more than the average. The two readings are not exclusive, and the data reviewed does not settle how much of the gap each explains. That is analysis and not a finding.
The board’s chief economist, Ann-Marie Lurie, tied the differences between property types to where new supply was added. The release did not break the effect down further.
What the buyer and seller each see
A seller reading the average sees $646,198 and may price against it. A buyer reading the benchmark sees $566,700 and may bid against that. Either one can be right for a given home, and neither describes every home.
The housing costs behind these figures run through other files, including the way shelter is weighted in the affordability measure and the split of a Calgary property tax bill between the city and the province.
Where to check
The Calgary Real Estate Board’s September release carries the headline figures by property type, and the September statistics package carries the average, the benchmark history and the year-over-year changes. The Alberta Real Estate Association’s provincial figures were not checked for this column.
The next test is the board’s October release, due in early November. If the average falls back toward the benchmark and the count of $1 million sales drops, the mix reading gains support. If the benchmark keeps falling while the average holds, the gap itself becomes the story.
