The Calgary Real Estate Board says August's benchmark price for a home in the city rose by 11 per cent since last year, while the number of sales was almost unchanged in the same period.

The Albertan board says last month's benchmark price across all housing types totalled $531,800 with detached homes averaging $633,000, semi-detached properties coming in at $569,300 and apartments reaching $277,700.

August's sales amounted to 2,136, a 0.5 per cent fall from the same time the year before.

Detached home sales saw the greatest fall, dropping 18 per cent since last year, though semi-detached properties only decreased by three per cent.

Apartment sales rose by 58 per cent.

The board says August sales activity was comparable to last year but well above long-term trends for the month.

It has also detected a shift toward more cost-effective housing as the year-over-year pullback in detached sales was nearly matched by gains for multi-family homes.

"While higher lending rates have slowed activity in the detached market, we are still seeing homebuyers shift to more affordable options which is keeping sales activity relatively strong," said Ann-Marie Lurie, the board's chief economist, in a release.

"This makes Calgary different than some of the larger cities in the country which have recorded significant pullbacks in sales."