Along with the weather, the housing market in St. Albert has frosted over.
In December, sales for both single family houses and condos plummeted by 41.6 per cent compared to that same month in 2017, the latest Realtors Association of Edmonton numbers show.
“We’re looking at decade-high numbers now,” Michael Brodrick, the new chair of the association, said of the amount of homes saturating the market.
While it’s not uncommon for sales to drop during cold winter months, the metro region hasn’t experienced such a slow real estate market since 2009, when the market was correcting itself.
There are currently 6,394 homes waiting to be sold.
Brodrick said federal changes to mortgage rules, such as a new “stress test” for home-buyers, combined with increasing interest rates are to blame.
He expects the market to continue having more inventory than sales throughout 2019.
While sales have almost halved since last year in St. Albert, the city’s housing market has still remained stronger than other municipalities in the region.
For all of 2018, single family sales increased by 2.2 per cent compared to 2017. The average price of a home also jumped by two per cent in 2018 to $478,557.
Condo sales also grew by 10 per cent in 2018 compared to the previous year. The average price of a property, on the other hand, dropped by 3.1 per cent to $268,771.
Brodrick said this is most likely caused by residents moving to another home in St. Albert, as opposed to moving into Edmonton.
“You don’t have a lot of people leaving St. Albert,” he commented.
Additionally, he said St. Albert continues to be a desirable place for people to move to.
Looking at December, single family sales slumped by 40 per cent compared to December 2017. Condo sales decreased by 46 per cent.
The average price of a single family home dropped by 7.4 per cent to $434,178, while the average price for a condo dropped by 22 per cent to 265,438.
In Edmonton, since November inventory has decreased by 10.5 per cent. Compared to last year, house listings have jumped by 10.1 per cent, however.
In terms of single family houses, sales in the capital city slumped by 11 per cent compared to December 2017. Condo sales also dropped by 29 per cent year over year.
Houses are also taking longer to sell. Both single family homes and condos are staying on the market for an average of 71 days, compared to just 59 days in December 2017.
Across the metro region, homes are listed for even longer. Both single family homes and condos will stay on the market for 72 days, compared to 69 days in December 2017.
When it comes to whether the metro region has over-built housing complexes, Brodrick said the answer isn’t so simple.
“It’s easy to say ‘sure, we’ve overbuilt,' but you also have to remember that you don’t get a large condo tower approved today and you break ground tomorrow. These projects were submitted a long time ago, they were approved a long time ago.”
