Condo appraisal gaps test Calgary broker deals
The district spread is wide. Declines exceeded 14% in the North East and East districts, while the North West posted the smallest drop at 7.5%. Prices fell in every district measured.
Falling values collide with fixed contracts
Lenders advance funds against a property’s appraised value rather than the contract price, according to real estate closing service Deeded. When the appraisal falls below the agreed price, the buyer must fund the difference or the deal can fail at closing.
Brokers report the gap is already appearing locally. “I’ve been seeing a noticeable uptick in appraisals coming in below purchase price,” wrote Marko Gelo, a mortgage broker working across the Calgary and Vancouver markets. He described the affected properties as ones that no longer line up with recent comparable sales, adding that lenders do not negotiate over appraisals.
Independent figures confirm the direction. WOWA data placed the May apartment benchmark down 9.1% year over year to $300,400, while nesto reported the condo benchmark at the same level, with sales down 30%. Provincial data echoes the strain: CREB reported that Airdrie’s benchmark fell nearly 4% to $516,900 as higher-density homes led the declines.
Thin comparable data compounds the problem
Appraisal accuracy depends on recent comparable sales, and condo transactions have thinned. Year-to-date apartment sales are down 26%, leaving appraisers fewer recent deals to reference. Sparse comparable data raises the likelihood of valuations that diverge from contract prices, according to industry commentary on 2026 appraisal conditions.
