July home sales in Red Deer soared 23 per cent compared to the same month last year, while most cities in Alberta saw a decline, according to Alberta Real Estate Association.
Fort McMurray had the biggest drop in sales falling 26 per cent, followed by a 25 per cent drop in Lethbridge, a 10 per cent drop in Edmonton, and a three per cent decrease in Calgary. The only other cities that saw homes sales increase was Grande Prairie at 10 per cent, and Medicine Hat at four per cent.
As a province, sales dropped seven per cent.
The association says sales in Red Deer have improved for every property type so far this year with stronger growth occurring in the more affordable, higher density properties.
Year-to-date sales reached 1,363 units, nearly 14 percent higher than last year’s levels.
The average residential sale price in the city was $343,101, down two per cent from July 2021. The average price for detached homes was up six per cent to $416,991, the average semi-detached price fell 19 per cent to $247,800, row housing increased 11 per cent to $229,250, and apartments dropped 12 per cent to $170,445.
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Larrissa Kalyn, chair of the Central Alberta Realtors Association, said central Alberta has a strong sales market.
“We’re holding our own. The market continues to be active. We’re definitely not seeing the decline like the bigger cities, or out east, where the prices are a lot higher,” Kalyn said.
The Canadian Real Estate Association found sales across the country fell for the fifth consecutive month in July and dropped 29 per cent compared to July 2021. Much of the cooldown has been attributed to the Bank of Canada increasing its key interest rate by one percentage point to 2.5 per cent in July in the largest hike the country has seen in 24 years.
The average residential price nationally was $629,971, down five per cent from $662,924 last July.
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Kalyn said the market typically picks up in September because people want to move before the snow flies, but many may have already relocated when interest rates were still low.
“Historically we’ve had very busy falls, but the first eight months of this year have surpassed numbers for the last five years for sales month over month so it’s hard to say whether or not we’ll see a busy fall.”
Fingers crossed there continues to be a lot of job opportunities to draw people back to the province, she said.
— with files from The Canadian Press
szielinski@reddeeradvocate.com
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