The Alberta Real Estate Association’s (AREA) chief economist, Ann-Marie Lurie, has compiled April’s resale housing statistics and released them in reports covering seven designated areas in Alberta. The bottom line is real estate in Alberta’s municipalities is stabilizing, however, all markets favour sellers, as new listings, even as they increase, are snapped up by buyers who have been on the sidelines up until this year. Here are Lurie’s overviews of Edmonton, Red Deer, the Fort McMurray area and the Grande Prairie area. A separate article highlighting Calgary, Lethbridge and Medicine Hat will follow. Edmonton Edmonton continued to see a surge of sales in April, contributing to a year-over-year increase of 50%, covering all home types, which puts the city just shy of the record-breaking numbers set in 2022. Lurie notes new listings were on the increase in April, however, the increase in sales was larger, therefore inventory levels declined. “The drop in supply relative to the sales growth has caused the months of supply to trend down for the fourth consecutive month,” writes Lurie. “In April the months of supply dropped to just over one month, reflecting the tightest market conditions reported since April 2007.” “As the market has shifted to favour the seller we have seen persistent upward pressure on home prices. As of April, the unadjusted benchmark price reached $388,500, more than one percent higher than March and more than five percent higher than last year. Prices rose across all property types, with the largest gains occurring in the relatively affordable row and apartment style homes.” Total April sales in Edmonton were 2,109 homes (a 54% increase year-over-year) including 1,134 single-family homes, up 49% at an average price of $526,578; 217 semi-detached homes up 64% at an average price of $409,503; 316 row homes up 36% at an average price of $290,774 and 442 apartments up 78% at an average price of $199,765. Red Deer Red Deer also saw year-over-year growth in listings and sales, 233 and 203 respectively, however the sales-to-new-listings ratio remained high at 87%, keeping inventory levels low. “The 266 available units were over 20% lower than last April and half the levels typically seen in April,” writes Lurie. “The combination of increased sales and lower inventory caused the months of supply to drop to just over one month.” “These tight market conditions, which occurred across all property types, contributed to the rise in home prices. So far this year, average prices have risen by nearly nine percent, with detached and semi-detached homes seeing stronger price growth.” Total April sales in Red Deer were 203 homes (a 13% increase year-over-year) including 130 single-family homes, up four percent at an average price of $453,887; 21 semi-detached homes up 40% at an average price of $346,333; 27 row homes up 23% at an average price of $229,340 and 25 apartments up 39% at an average price of $176,836. Fort McMurray Sales increased close to 19%, year-over-year, largely driven by gains in single-family and row-style units, primarily in homes priced below $700,000. “Although April saw a rise in new listings, it was not substantial enough to significantly alter inventory levels,” writes Lurie. “With 465 units in inventory and 127 sales, the supply for the month of April dropped to less than four months.” “Despite minor monthly variations, year-to-date average prices have remained relatively stable compared to the previous year. This stability is mainly observed in detached and apartment-style properties, while prices have slightly decreased for semi-detached and row style homes.” Total April sales in Fort McMurray were 127 homes (a 40% increase year-over-year) including 73 single-family homes, up 49% at an average price of $470,341; 10 semi-detached homes up 25% at an average price of $292,420; 20 row homes up 300% at an average price of $205,725 and 24 apartments up nine percent at an average price of $122,287. Grande Prairie “April sales contributed to the year-to-date sales growth of nearly 16%,” writes Lurie. “The 156 sales were against 184 new listings, causing the sales-to-new-listings ratio to rise to nearly 85%.” The sales and listings numbers prevented any significant shift in inventory levels and the months of supply dropped to less than two months. “Tighter market conditions this year have been driving some of the recent price growth,” writes Lurie. “Year-to-date the average price has risen by four percent. Price growth has primarily been driven by gains in detached homes, which reported a year-to-date average price growth of over seven percent.” Total April sales in Grande Prairie were 156 homes (a 21% increase year-over-year) including 114 single-family homes, up nine percent at an average price of $379,262; 17 semi-detached homes up 240% at an average price of $282,841; five row homes down 17% at an average price of $206,700 and 20 apartments up 54% at an average price of $154,363.
