🍂 What Calgary homeowners should know before September

If selling your home has been somewhere in the back of your mind, you may be wondering:

“Have I already missed the best time to sell?”

Spring and early summer traditionally get all the attention when we talk about real estate season.

But here in Calgary, fall can still be a very good time to sell — provided your home is positioned properly for the market we’re in right now.

And this year, that last part really matters.

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📊 CALGARY MARKET SNAPSHOT

July 2026

🏠 1,904 residential sales
🪧 3,323 new listings
🏘️ 6,626 homes in inventory
⏳ Approximately 3.5 months of supply
💰 $569,200 residential benchmark price

What does that mean for homeowners?

We are moving through a more balanced and much more selective Calgary real estate market.

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🔑 THE CALGARY MARKET HAS CHANGED

We are not in quite the same market we experienced a couple of years ago, when buyers were often competing heavily for homes and sellers could sometimes expect immediate attention after listing.

Today, buyers generally have more choice.

And when buyers have choices, they compare.

They have time to look at the house down the street.

They notice the property that just reduced its price.

They compare renovations, location, lot size, garage space, basement development and overall condition.

Most importantly, they ask themselves:

💭 “Is this the best home I can get for my money?”

That doesn’t mean it’s a bad market for sellers.

Far from it.

It simply means that strategy matters more.

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👀 BUYERS ARE LOOKING FOR VALUE

One of the biggest things I’m seeing right now is that buyers are paying very close attention to value.

They’re no longer only asking:

“Do I like this house?”

They’re also asking:

“How does it compare with everything else I can buy for the same amount of money?”

And that’s an important distinction.

When several homes are competing for the same buyer, little things can become big things.

🏡 Condition
📍 Location
🔨 Updates
🌳 Lot and outdoor space
🚗 Garage and parking
⬇️ Basement development
✨ Presentation
💰 And, of course, price

An overpriced home can lose momentum surprisingly quickly.

That doesn’t necessarily mean there’s anything wrong with the house.

Sometimes the market is simply telling us that buyers are seeing better value somewhere else.

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🌟 KATRINA’S SELLER TIP

Don’t price your home based only on what your neighbour sold for six months ago.

What buyers are choosing — and rejecting — today can be even more important.

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📍 CALGARY ISN’T ONE REAL ESTATE MARKET

This is something I really want homeowners to understand.

You may hear:

📈 “The Calgary market is up!”

or…

📉 “The Calgary market is slowing!”

But neither statement tells us very much about your particular home.

The market for a detached house in Northwest Calgary can look very different from the market for an apartment condo downtown.

A townhouse can behave differently from a detached home.

Even two communities located fairly close together can experience different levels of inventory and buyer demand.

Your real estate market is much more specific.

It’s your:

Neighbourhood + Property Type + Price Range + Competition

That’s why I don’t believe homeowners should make a selling decision based solely on a Calgary-wide average.

I want to know what is happening right around your home.

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🍁 HAVE YOU MISSED THE BEST TIME TO SELL?

Not necessarily!

Fall buyers can actually be very motivated.

Life doesn’t suddenly stop because summer is over.

👨‍👩‍👧 Families outgrow their homes.
💼 People relocate for work.
🏡 Homeowners decide to downsize.
🔑 First-time buyers enter the market.
💍 Relationships and family situations change.
📦 People simply decide they’re ready for something different.

There can also be an interesting advantage to listing in the fall.

🍂 LESS COMPETITION

Some homeowners decide they’ll wait until spring.

Others take listings off the market.

That can mean fewer properties competing for the attention of serious buyers.

A well-presented, correctly priced home can absolutely stand out.

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💰 PRICING MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISIONS YOU MAKE

When I meet with a homeowner, I don’t just pull up homes that sold several months ago, calculate an average and put a price on the property.

I want to know what buyers are seeing right now.

🔎 I look at questions like:

✅ What has sold recently?

✅ What is currently competing with your home?

✅ Which listings have reduced their prices?

✅ Which homes aren’t selling?

✅ How long are similar properties taking to sell?

✅ Are buyers actually booking showings?

✅ Which price ranges are getting attention?

✅ What have buyers been willing to pay?

All of those things give us clues.

And once your home is listed, I continue watching them.

Because real estate isn’t something you simply set and forget.

The market can change while your home is listed, and sometimes our strategy needs to change along with it.

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❤️ MY PHILOSOPHY

The market will always give us information.

Our job is to pay attention to what it’s telling us — and respond accordingly.

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🔨 SHOULD YOU RENOVATE BEFORE SELLING?

This is another question I hear all the time.

And my answer is usually:

✋ Please talk to me before you start spending money!

You may think you need a $25,000 kitchen renovation when your house really needs:

🎨 Fresh paint
💡 Better lighting
🪴 A little staging
🧹 Decluttering
🌳 Landscaping cleaned up
🛋️ Furniture rearranged
✨ A really good deep clean

Sometimes relatively inexpensive changes can completely change the way buyers experience a home.

And sometimes?

The smartest thing to do is leave something alone and price the home accordingly.

I’d much rather see you keep money in your pocket than spend thousands of dollars on improvements that buyers won’t necessarily pay you back for.

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🌷 THINKING ABOUT SELLING NEXT SPRING?

Start planning now.

You do not need to be ready to put a FOR SALE sign on your lawn before calling a Realtor.

In fact, some of my favourite conversations with homeowners happen months before they’re ready to sell.

It gives us time.

We can walk through your home together and talk about:

🏠 What your home may be worth today
🔨 What I would change
💰 What I wouldn’t spend money on
📅 When might be the best time to sell
📊 What’s happening in your neighbourhood
📝 What we can do now to make selling easier later

And there is absolutely no obligation to list your home simply because you ask me for advice.

Sometimes having good information is all you need right now.

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🍂 SO… IS FALL 2026 A GOOD TIME TO SELL?

For the right home, with the right pricing and the right strategy — YES, it certainly can be.

But I would never answer that question for a homeowner without first looking at their individual property.

Because the better question isn’t:

“Is Calgary a good market for sellers?”

It’s:

🏡 “What is happening in the market for MY home?”

And that’s something we can figure out together.

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💌 CURIOUS WHAT YOUR HOME WOULD SELL FOR?

If selling has been on your mind — whether you’re thinking about:

🍂 This fall
❄️ This winter
🌷 Next spring
🤔 Or you’re simply curious

Reach out.

I’ll take a look at what’s happening around your home, what you’re competing against and what similar properties are actually selling for.

No pressure. No obligation.

Just good information so you can make the right decision when the time comes.

❤️

Katrina Holmes, REALTOR®
Real Estate Professionals

Your Favourite Calgary Realtor

📞 403-620-0164
📧 holmessellshomes21@gmail.com
🌐 www.katrinaholmes.com

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🏡 Thinking of Buying or Selling in Calgary?

Let’s talk about your next move.

Calgary • Northwest Calgary • Surrounding Communities

One of the first things homeowners say to me when they’re thinking about selling is:

“Katrina, my house is dated.”

My answer is usually the same.

Dated doesn’t necessarily mean bad.

After more than 23 years in Calgary real estate, I’ve walked through a lot of homes where the owners see old cabinets, dated flooring, worn paint colours and a bathroom that hasn’t changed in 30 years.

What I often see is something different.

I see a solid home. A good location. A functional floor plan. And potential.

Before you spend $50,000 renovating a house you’re about to sell, we need to talk.

Should You Renovate Your Calgary Home Before Selling?

The answer is: sometimes — but not always.

One of the biggest mistakes I see homeowners make is assuming they need to completely renovate their home before they can put it on the market.

They look online at beautifully staged homes with new kitchens, modern bathrooms and perfect flooring and immediately think their own home can’t compete.

But here’s the thing.

Not every buyer is looking for someone else’s renovation.

Some buyers would rather purchase a solid home at a price that leaves room in their budget to make changes themselves. They want to choose their own flooring, their own paint colours and eventually create the kitchen they actually want.

Your job as a seller isn’t always to turn your home into the prettiest house on Instagram.

Sometimes, it’s simply to help buyers see the potential.

A Dated Home and a Neglected Home Are Not the Same Thing

This is an important distinction.

A home can have an older kitchen, original hardwood floors and a bathroom from another decade and still be a very good home.

Buyers can often look past dated finishes.

What becomes harder to overlook is dirt, clutter, deferred maintenance or a home that feels like it hasn’t been cared for.

That’s why I often recommend focusing first on the basics:

• Deep cleaning

• Decluttering

• Fresh paint where it will make the biggest difference

• Repairing obvious maintenance issues

• Improving lighting

• Cleaning up the yard and entrance

• Making each room feel purposeful

These improvements don’t necessarily require a massive renovation budget.

Sometimes a little elbow grease and a few smart changes can completely change the way buyers experience a home.

Don’t Let the Whole House Overwhelm You

I see this with buyers too.

They walk into an original home and immediately start mentally adding up everything they would change.

Kitchen.

Bathrooms.

Flooring.

Paint.

Lighting.

Suddenly, they’ve mentally spent $150,000 before we’ve even made it through the living room.

My advice is often to break a home into bite-sized projects.

Paint first.

Change the lighting.

Live with the kitchen for a while.

Replace flooring when the budget allows.

Decide what actually bothers you once you’ve lived in the home.

You don’t always have to do everything at once.

As a seller, understanding how buyers think can help us decide which improvements will actually make your home easier to sell — and which renovations may simply cost you money you won’t get back.

Should You Renovate the Kitchen Before Selling?

This is probably one of the questions I’m asked most often.

My answer depends on the house, the neighbourhood, the price range and the current Calgary real estate market.

A $60,000 kitchen renovation does not automatically add $60,000 to the value of your home.

In some situations, a kitchen renovation makes sense.

In others, cleaning the cabinets, updating the hardware, changing a light fixture and painting may be enough to make the room feel brighter and more appealing.

Before making a major investment, I always want to look at what buyers are currently choosing in your particular area and price range.

Real estate is local.

What makes sense for a home in one Calgary neighbourhood may make absolutely no sense in another.

Sometimes Buyers Need Help Seeing the Possibilities

This is one of my favourite parts of real estate.

I love walking into a home and looking beyond what’s there today.

Could removing a wall improve the flow?

Would a different paint colour completely change the room?

Could the original hardwood be refinished?

Is that awkward space actually a great home office?

Sometimes a home doesn’t need to be reinvented.

It just needs someone to help buyers see what it could become.

When I’m marketing a home with potential, I believe the story matters.

We’re not trying to pretend the home is newly renovated when it isn’t.

We’re helping the right buyer understand what they’re buying and what might be possible.

A Real Calgary Example

I recently marketed a Calgary bungalow that had many of its original finishes. Instead of trying to hide the fact that the home was dated, I wanted buyers to see the possibilities.

Using the home’s actual rooms as a starting point, I created renovation inspiration images to help demonstrate how paint, flooring, lighting and thoughtful updates could completely change the feeling of the space.

The images weren’t intended to suggest the renovations had already been completed. They were simply a way to help buyers look beyond today’s finishes and imagine what the home could become.

Sometimes buyers don’t lack imagination. They just need a little help getting started.

Before You Renovate, Invite Me Over

If you’re thinking about selling your Calgary home and you’re worried that it’s too dated, please don’t start tearing out the kitchen just yet.

Invite me over first.

I’ll walk through the home with you and give you my perspective on where I believe your time and money will make the biggest difference.

Sometimes I’ll recommend making a few changes.

Sometimes I’ll tell you to clean, declutter and paint.

And sometimes I may tell you not to spend the money at all.

After more than 23 years as a Calgary Realtor, my goal isn’t to give every homeowner the same checklist.

It’s to look at your home, your neighbourhood, your budget and your plans and help you make a decision that makes sense for you.

Because dated doesn’t necessarily mean bad.

Sometimes, it simply means there’s still a story waiting for the right buyer to see.

Katrina Holmes
Calgary Realtor® | Real Estate Professionals
Serving Calgary and surrounding communities with experienced, patient and hands-on real estate guidance.

📞 403-620-0164
🌐 www.katrinaholmes.com

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