Fewer homes sold in St. Albert in 2011 than in either of the two previous years, but at the same time, prices remained stable.
A total of 1,044 St. Albert residential properties listed on the Edmonton Realtors Multiple Listings Service sold. That’s 28 fewer homes than were sold in 2010. But the average price dropped by just $9,752.
As of Friday, in this steady-as-she-goes market, there were 236 listings of all housing types in St. Albert. Sellers had to be patient because through the end of December the average number of days for houses to be listed before they sold was 65.
With several local homes to choose from, buyers could afford to take their time and be picky.
“It’s a good time to buy because there’s a good selection and interest rates are at historic lows,” said Guy Hebert of BerMont Realty.
If the buyers have already sold a property and are searching for a different home, they have a strong advantage, Hebert added.
“If you’ve sold in this buyer’s market then you become a buyer yourself – a qualified buyer with money in your pocket. You have power,” he said.
Buyers had the power throughout 2011, because as the year began with terribly cold weather, only 30 homes sold in the month of January with an average selling price of just over $401,000 for single-family dwellings.
By June the Edmonton Real Estate Board was reporting slight price decreases on a year-to-year basis, with the average single family dwelling listed at $427,000, which wasn’t that far off the previous year’s monthly average of $442,000. The average June selling price for St. Albert condominiums was approximately $296,000 compared to the previous June when it was $277,000.
In October the statistics reflected the normal seasonal drop in sales but the average sale price for a single-family dwelling was $428,000. The average selling price for condos was $263,000.
For the month of December the average selling price for a single family dwelling in St. Albert was $461,452. That made December’s average appear to be the high point over 36 months of averages. But realtors cautioned that with only 29 homes sold during the month, that average could have been skewed by the sale of just one large home.
“Still, this market is showing huge signs of life,” said Re/Max realtor Jill Thomas.
“The market for the last two years has been soft, but lately I have had listings that have been sitting for a few months and all of a sudden they are getting shown and they are being shown steadily,” Thomas said.
Both Hebert and Thomas said that many of their clients lately have been local people wishing to move up to bigger homes.
“The bulk are clients looking to move up, but this is the thing, as they move up, more people are also moving into the area and looking for the smaller houses,” Thomas said, adding,” I think there are definite signs of increased activity.”
