Homebuyers are still being choosy as a large inventory of pre-owned homes continues to be the norm in the St. Albert real estate market.
Inventories are hovering just below record levels of 2007, which is allowing buyers to look at far more homes before making a purchase decision, said Lindsay Martin, branch manager at Royal LePage ArTeam in St. Albert.
“I wouldn’t say that it’s really, really skewed but obviously buyers are having a lot more to look at,” she said. “They’re not under any kind of pressure to buy.”
Homes that are well priced are still selling but to garner serious interest, a house has to be the best in its price range, Martin said.
“You can’t just toss your house on the market and see what you can get for it,” she said.
There are currently 319 single-family homes listed in St. Albert, down from the 335 listed in May but still nearly 100 more homes than earlier in the spring.
Prices aren’t necessarily coming down but have certainly flattened, Martin said.
At 136 listings, condominium levels have remained steady throughout the past year.
Sales activity continued to lag behind last year, another sign that the busy period came earlier than usual, mainly due to changes in the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) mortgage qualifying rules in April, Martin said.
There were 74 single-family homes sold in July compared to 107 in 2009 and 98 in 2008. The average price was $432,000, compared to $436,000 and $429,000 in the previous two years.
The elevated inventory levels in St. Albert mirrors the situation being noted throughout the greater Edmonton region, where the extra inventory has brought about a cooling of prices for all types of residential properties, said the Realtors Association of Edmonton.
Prices of single-family dwellings slid 3.1 per cent from the previous month while condo prices were down 1.5 per cent and duplex-rowhouse prices dipped slightly less than a per cent. The average price drop across all types was 1.7 per cent.
“The number of homes in the inventory is giving buyers choice,” said association president Larry Westergard. “As a result, many buyers are taking their time and prices are beginning to soften slightly.
Some sellers who have been standing firm have been pushed to discount their initial list price, he said, but less than half of the active listings over 30 days have had a price reduction. However, 93 per cent of July sales sold below list price with about 40 per cent having already taken a price reduction.
“A well-presented property with the right price might still attract multiple offers,” Westergard said.
St. Albert, July stats
2010 2009 2008
Single Family
Units 74 107 98
Average price 431,696 436,496 428,758
Condo
Units 23 38 17
Average price 284,815 246,695 277,529
JULY STATS, ST. ALBERT
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