The real estate market in Red Deer and Central Alberta continues to hold steady.  The graphs show that the market remains largely unchanged over the last couple of months, a positive sign as we enter the last quarter of 2021.

Inventory has dropped off significantly from two months ago, with active listings in Red Deer currently sitting at 591 units, down from over 700 in August.  It’s common for sellers to take their properties off the market over the winter, with the intention to re-list in the spring.  There’s a few reasons behind that, the primary ones being:

• Not wanting to move in winter or around Christmas
• Less inventory available to buy, so they may not find a home they want to move into
• Wanting to wait for a hotter, more active market in spring

December and January are historically always the two slowest months for real estate when looking at the market graphs, however that doesn’t mean properties don’t sell in those months.  Buyer’s who are relocating are often on tight timelines, and sometimes are forced to make buying decisions from the limited inventory available at that time of year.  Having less competition when trying to sell your home can be a big advantage for a seller.

Single family homes under $600,000 remain hot, however sales over $600,000 have fallen off.  The acreage market was very active last month as well, and the warm fall and lack of snow has likely extended the acreage buying season for many consumers.  When purchasing an acreage, the land is often a large part of the equation, so selling it when it’s buried under a few inches of snow can be difficult.  Condos, townhouses, and duplexes are still sitting in buyer’s markets, as primary demand is still mainly for detached housing.

While the bank of Canada is still holding steady on prime rate, we’ve seen fixed rates increase in the last 2 weeks by nearly half a percent for some lenders.  There are still lenders offering fixed rates as low as 2.09%, however everybody is anticipating that the price of borrowing will increase in the next year.  Higher rates could be a factor in cooling off markets across Canada in 2022, as reduced affordability will likely put some downwards pressure on the price of homes.

Surrounding community snapshot:

Blackfalds:

Current Active Listings – 94

Sales in October – 21

Likelihood to Sell – 22% (balanced market)

Sylvan Lake:

Current Active Listings – 146

Sales in October – 38

Likelihood to Sell – 26% (balanced market)

Penhold:

Current Active Listings – 32

Sales in October – 9

Likelihood to Sell – 28% (balanced market)