Total housing sales in St. Albert have increased by almost 72 per cent compared to this time last year, as the price of single-family homes surges with fewer listings on the market during the pandemic.
Single-family home sales more than doubled compared to this time last year with 67 homes sold in February, according to the Realtors Association of Edmonton's (RAE) latest report. Last month, total sale volumes increased to $38.5 million from $22.4 million in February 2020.
Year-to-date sales are doing significantly better than last year as well – total sale volumes rose from $40.6 million in 2020 to $63.9 million in 2021. For the first two months of 2020, the board recorded 69 single-family home sales in St. Albert. This year, the number rose by 60 per cent to 111 homes.
Shandrie Lewis, real estate agent and broker for RE/MAX Professionals, said her brokerage saw 106 more transactions than this time last year, equalling a 76-per-cent increase compared to the first two months of 2020, pre-pandemic.
"We're slammed right now. Inventory is incredibly low, we're in multiple offer situations every day," Lewis said. Most of those sales are made up of single-family homes, she said.
"We weren't expecting this ... It feels like this year, our spring market started the first week of January."
As to why the housing market is seeing a surge when other areas of the economy are struggling amid COVID-19, Lewis pointed to a few potential reasons. People have more time on their hands to look for opportunities, and investors are buying fixer-upper homes to flip and sell.
Meanwhile, mortgage interest rates remain "incredibly low" at around two per cent for variable rates. Fixed rates are going up right now, Lewis said, but that flexible rate is still on the lower-end.
"People's lives are also changing, too – I do know divorces are going up right now, job losses, people needing to downsize. But then a lot of people have done really well over the last year from not putting kids in recreation activities or travelling, so they're investing in real estate."
Any single-family homes priced under $500,000 are going quickly with fewer listings on the market, she said. In St. Albert, single family homes make up close to 60 per cent of the 272 available listings, with condos taking up 41 per cent of what's for sale. Both housing types sold within 52 days on average.
"That just shows you that there's a complete shortage right now with the single family market," Lewis said. "Even over the last 10 years, typically in March or April, we would be seeing over 400 listings right now in St. Albert. We're nowhere close to that."
With fewer listings, single-family homes are getting more expensive. The median price of a single-family home increased by 14 per cent, from $387,000 this time last year to $443,000 in February. On average, homes sold at $475,759.
"It's just supply and demand right now. Supply is definitely down, and there's a demand for it," she said. "Based on what we're seeing today ... I don't see how prices couldn't go up slightly this year."
Meanwhile, condos saw a slight drop in pricing last month. The median price for a condo fell from $253,900 to $218,950 in February, with an average selling price of $322,471. However, the median price of $250,000 for a condo stayed the same year-to-date as 2020.
"My best guess would be that pricing will not go up on condos. I think the ones that have been on the market for a year or two, this might be their year to sell. I just don't think that pricing will necessarily go up."
Increased activity for St. Albert's housing market comes as housing sales in the Greater Edmonton area doubled compared to this time last year. Tom Shearer, RAE chair, called the level of activity "uncharacteristic" for this time of year.
“The Edmonton market in February saw a significant increase in year-over-year residential unit sales as well as month-to-month sales," Shearer said in a press release. "We are witnessing a very strong market."
