August saw 3 additional sales over July for a total of 158, and active inventory levels currently sit at 702, just 1 higher than a month ago.  Detached homes are in a balanced market up to $600,000, however sales drop off and the market favours buyers once you surpass that price point, posting only 3 sales over $700,000 for the entire month.  Looking at the luxury market, Red Deer has only posted 2 sales over the 1 million dollar mark so far in 2021, however this is a normal pace when looking back at the last 3 years.

The acreage market remains active up to $700,000, and despite relaxed covid restrictions (for now anyways), I believe people are still looking for more space and distance from neighbours in the covid era.  While under $600,000 doesn’t buy much in the acreage world anymore, prices get better the further you get from major centres.  Properties closer to town or on pavement will command much higher premiums, especially in today’s environment.  Inventory levels for acreages is down, so if you’ve been thinking about downsizing or moving back to town, now is still a great time to do so.

Apartment condo sales remain slow, with zero sales in August from $200k to $500k.  We are finally starting to see some activity in the market over $400,000 after nearly a year and half with no sales, likely a result of people seeing light at the end of the tunnel for winter travel, or just generally being less concerned about shared spaces than a year ago.  The apartment market is the only segment currently favoring buyers, while all other types of properties are sitting in balanced markets.

One stat I haven’t mentioned in quite a while is the vacancy rate in Red Deer.  Currently, 232 of 682 active listings are vacant (as of Sept 7), or 34%, and only 3% of those are either brand new homes or builder show homes.  This tells me that there is still a portion of the market currently leaving the city and/or province and relocating, and that builder volume for new homes is down substantially.  We’ve also seen more rental properties come up for sale this year, many of which were rented during the slower market years of 2016-2019 when owners were looking at taking large losses.  With the increased activity and pricing this spring, people saw their opportunity to sell off these properties and cash out their equity.

Surrounding community snapshot:

Blackfalds:

Current Active Listings – 100

Sales in August – 20

Likelihood to Sell – 20.6% (balanced market)

Sylvan Lake:

Current Active Listings – 164

Sales in August – 62

Likelihood to Sell – 40.5% (seller’s market)

Penhold:

Current Active Listings – 40

Sales in July – 7

Likelihood to Sell – 16.7% (buyer’s market