Red Deer’s residential resale market slowed in July, but still exceeded sales activity from a year ago.
Multiple Listing Service statistics issued by the Central Alberta Realtors Association showed that there were 158 home sales in the city last month, down from 188 in June and 198 in May. However, the July tally was up from 150 in the same month in 2011.
Home sales in the surrounding region numbered 311 in July, which was up 49 per cent from the 209 deals recorded a year earlier. In June there were 257 sales in the rural area covered by the Central Alberta Realtors Association, and in May the figure was 262.
The average selling price of homes in Red Deer last month was $307,628. That compares with $298,942 in June and $320,442 in May, while the average in July 2011 was $291,229.
Outside the city, the average price last month was $288,668. That’s up from $256,685 in June and $252,817 in May, and also higher than the July 2011 average of $244,101.
Because average prices include homes of all types and sizes, they may not provide a good indication of general market trends.
So far this year, the association has processed 1,115 MLS sales in Red Deer and 1,578 in the surrounding area. Those totals are up 15 per cent and 20 per cent respectively over the seven-month tallies from 2011, when there were 969 residential sales in the city and 1,310 outside.
The association processed 230 new residential listing in Red Deer in July, down 19 per cent from 2011; and 469 outside the city, down six per cent. For the year to date, home listings are down five per cent in Red Deer and two per cent outside the city.