Home selling prices have suffered a gentle decline this summer in St. Albert, which may be an indication that sellers are finally giving in to buyers’ demands.
“We experienced the single biggest drop in home prices (in August) since the beginning of the year,” said James Mabey, broker/owner for Sutton Nor-Vista Realty.
Single-family homes were down 3.7 per cent and condos were down 5.1 per cent since July, Mabey said.
Still, the differences are very marginal and may be attributed to how many upper-end homes sold. The average single family dwelling in St. Albert sold for $432,609 in August compared to $435,123 in July. And St. Albert prices are still above the average for metropolitan Edmonton.
The average selling price of a single family dwelling in August in Edmonton was $370,438.
“St. Albert’s houses in neighbourhoods like Forest Lawn or Lacombe Park compare well with comparable properties in Edmonton’s Capilano or Goldbar districts,” Mabey said.
Prices in Edmonton’s condo market slipped seven per cent since 2008 because of an oversupply of apartments that were constructed in the downtown area.
“But in St. Albert we do not have a large supply of condos and their prices remain constant and the inventory of condos is constant with 94 for sale this month and about the same number for sale in July,” Mabey said.
While the market remains stable in St. Albert, Mabey said some sellers withdrew their properties from the multiple listing service or they came down a bit in their price expectations.
“We sold more inventory in August than we did in July. I think some sellers finally gave way to the stalemate in St. Albert and said, ‘If we’re going to sell, we have to lower our price,’” Mabey said.
