While housing sales are heating up across the region, St. Albert is lagging behind.
According to the latest Realtors Association of Edmonton report, housing sales across the Edmonton metro region increased year over year by 1.9 per cent last month. In St. Albert, sales dropped by 8.1 per cent.
Michael Brodrick, chair of the association, said the drop is most likely connected to the price range many homes in St. Albert fall in. Many homes priced between $500,000 and $800,000 are the slowest to sell.
“That represents a big chunk of St. Albert’s inventory,” he said. “That's the price point you have out there. And it happens to be a price point where we have less movement.”
In April, the average price for a single family home was $517,372, jumping 7.3 per cent from the average price April 2018.
Sales for single family homes, on the other hand, slumped by 11.7 per cent, with 68 homes selling this year compared to 77 homes last April.
Looking at sales from January to April this year, sales for single family homes dropped by 14 per cent compared to the first five months last year.
While prices for single family homes rose, the average price for a condo dropped. The average price of a condo this April was $261,436, falling 7.6 per cent from last year.
Condos are typically more difficult to sell, but this past month the market saw an increase in condo sales by 4.8 per cent compared to last year. Year to date, however, tells a different story. From January to April this year, condo sales dropped by 18.4 per cent compared to the first five months last year.
Shandrie Lewis, real estate agent and broker for RE/MAX Professionals, said condos are usually harder to sell because of the fees attached to them.
“A lot of people, they're concerned about paying their mortgage, but then they also have condo fees on top of it. It can be a stretch,” she expressed.
Lewis said she was surprised that condo sales had increased from last April.
Even though overall sales have been sluggish, she said her realty office has been busy compared to last year. She said both buyers and sellers are starting to make a move after waiting to see if housing prices would sway.
“I think consumer confidence is a little bit up,” she said. “But also, buyers and sellers have both now seen that the market hasn't done any substantial swings in the last few years.”
Going into the year, Lewis said she expects the market to continue to thaw. Brodrick agrees, but said he expects inventory to still remain high in the region.
