November was another active month for real estate in Central Alberta, but things are starting to slow down as we approach the end of the year, which is normal and fully expected.  December and January are typically the two slowest months of the year for home sales for a number of reasons, but the two primary ones are the holidays and cold winter weather.  If people are buying homes in December, they are likely motivated buyers with a short timeline to purchase.

Inventory levels are extremely low, with only 179 active listings in Red Deer, 45 of which are currently marked with conditional offers. This has led to multiple offers for in-demand price points and some record sale prices. While it’s unusual to see multiple offers in November, this is not entirely surprising given how active the market has been over the past two years. Red Deer posted 110 sales in November, a slight drop from November 2023 with 122 sales, and an 18% reduction from October 2024, with 134 sales. For comparison, inventory is also down 13.4% from last month and 25% from November 2023.

All markets under $600,000 are still in strong sellers’ markets, whereas the market for homes over $600,000 is very slow, with only 8 total sales in Red Deer last month. I believe there’s a good chance we’ll see the higher-end market bounce back in the spring as people start taking advantage of reduced interest rates and equity in their existing homes to upgrade to larger properties.