Even though 2018 was a tough year for the housing market, some St. Albert realtors had their strongest sales to date.
Shandrie Lewis, broker and owner of Re/Max Professionals in St. Albert, said the firm saw more homeowners selling their homes this past year than in 2017.
“Inventory has been up, but there are still a lot of sales that are happening,” she said.
Last year, the metro region had record-breaking numbers of houses on the market. At one point, more than 10,000 homes were listed for sale, which hadn’t been experienced since 2009 when the market was correcting itself.
But waiting for house prices to drop, economic uncertainty and new mortgage rules created barriers for people looking to buy a new house.
By the end of the year, homes stayed listed for an average of 72 days, and in the month of December, the Realtors Association of Edmonton reported sales for single family homes and condos were down 41.6 per cent compared to that month in 2017.
Kristin Boser, realtor with Sarasota Realty, said homeowners struggling to sell their properties relied more heavily on realtors to help them seal the deal.
“You can’t just have a ‘for sale by owner’ sign, like back in 2007, when you could just put up a sign and it’s gone,” explained Boser.
But a slow housing market isn’t always a good thing for realtors.
Even in a good market when homes are selling quickly, the competitive nature of the real estate industry means many new agents won’t make it past the first two years.
Realtors not only compete against other agencies, but also fight for listings against their fellow contracted real estate agents at the firm they work at.
Although it’s been a slow housing market, Lewis said this past year both new and seasoned realtors at Re/Max thrived.
“I suppose I’m a bit of an optimist, but I’ve seen people in our office that have had their best year yet,” Lewis said.
Likewise, Boser said Sarasota Realty had some of its strongest sales last year. But for the St. Albert-focused business, it didn’t come easy.
“Our team is a strong team,” she expressed. “We’re giving it our all, you ask any one of us and it’s not easy. We’re giving blood, sweat and tears going to every deal.”
Even though the region fought through a tough housing market, St. Albert’s sales remained fairly strong. By end of year, there were four per cent more sales than in 2017.
James Mabey, broker and owner of Century 21 Masters in St. Albert, said even though the city has had a stronger market, realtors often aren’t confined to a geographical location.
That means when the market is slow, realtors have to get innovative.
“No matter how hard you market a property, you can’t create the market,” he explained. “So you’re dealing with something you can’t influence.”
At Century 21 Masters, realtors have been focusing on maintaining a positive outlook by celebrating the sales they’ve made this year.
In helping homeowners make a sale, Mabey said it’s been important to let them know how difficult the market is and how to price their homes.
In a previous interview with the Gazette, Michael Brodrick, chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, said he expects this year’s housing market to look fairly similar to 2018. That means realtors will need to keep working diligently to make the sale.
