Just 4 months ago it would have been hard to imagine the Calgary Real Estate market returning to anything that would be called "balanced" by the Spring of 2009, but the numbers don't lie.

(According to the Calgary Real Estate Board stats for Single Family Homes for Sale in Calgary) As of today we're at pace of 1,219 sales per month and there are there are only 4,330 listings on the market. Now the supply is less than half  what it was in December at 3.55 months.

Last April (2008) there were 1,363 sales and 6,881 homes for sale (5.0 months supply).

Generally, absorption rate is used to define whether a market is "balanced" or a "buyer's market" or a "seller's market". Anything between 2.5 - 4.0 months of supply is considered to be a 'balanced market' where prices generally just increase with inflation. Anything below 2.5 is a seller's market where prices increase because of an excess in demand. Anything above 4.0 months is usually called a buyer's market and prices can decline in this range because there is too much supply.

The April point on the chart is a projection based on the activity so far this month.