Residential sales activity in Red Deer rebounded last month, according to the latest Multiple Listing Service statistics issued by the Central Alberta Realtors Association.
The association reports that 140 homes were sold in the city during September, up nine per cent from the 129 deals in August and 19 per cent from the 118 sales processed during the same month in 2011.
So far this year, 1,356 homes have been sold in Red Deer, an 11 per cent improvement over the 1,224 transactions to the same point a year ago.
In the region outside Red Deer, there were 204 homes sales processed through the MLS system in September. That was 21 per cent lower than August, when the tally was 247. But it marked a five per cent increase over September 2011, when 194 homes were sold.
For the year to date, 2,029 homes had been sold in the area around Red Deer.
That compares with the first nine months of 2011, when the count was 16 per cent lower, at 1,744.
The average selling price of Red Deer homes last month was $307,991, down nine per cent from $336,585 in August, but a 1.5 per cent increase from the $303,514 average in September 2011.
Outside the city, the average price last month was $281,614, which marked a two per cent rise from $275,317 in August and a 21 per cent jump from $231,916 for the same month a year ago.
Because average prices include homes of all types and sizes, they may not provide a good indication of general market trends.
The Central Alberta Realtors Association processed 224 new residential listings in Red Deer in September.
That was up from 150 in August but a decline from 249 in September 2011. Outside the city, 331 residential listings were added last month — down from 447 in August and 422 in September 2011.
For the year to date, total new MLS listings are down about five per cent in both the city and the surrounding region.