Much like our local economy, the Lethbridge real estate market is usually steady as she goes, year after year. This year, however, one thing changed and that was number of sales. For the first time in a very long time, we saw a reverse in transaction growth. This should make us take pause, if only to better understand the economic challenges facing consumers.
Real estate always and forever moves in cycles. How long can we ride the current one? I don’t know, but my best guess is that we’re in a perfect storm of rising consumer debt (think credit cards and cars), stricter lending rules (thanks Toronto/Vancouver), and shaky consumer confidence (thank you 24/7 news cycle). Interest rates are also set to increase more than once this year and we’ve already seen it begin with a couple of the big banks.
This is the seventh turn of the screw — and it could have a big impact. Some 10 per cent of Canadians who got an uninsured mortgage between mid-2016 and mid-2017 would not have qualified under the new standards, a recent analysis by the Bank of Canada suggested.
New mortgage rules 2018: A practical guide, Erica Alini, Global News, December 2017
On the flip side, prices are holding steady in Lethbridge real estate, but barely, with real estate price increases not even tracking the average inflation rate in Alberta for 2017. Hard numbers below… watch my video to get more meaning from the data!
Year End City of Lethbridge Real Estate Market Stats: 2017
All City Residential:
Average price 2016: $283,561
Average price 2017 $286,384 (increase of 1%)
# Sales 2016: 1675
# Sales 2017: 1601 (decrease of 4.4%)
Cumulative days on market 2016: 84
Cumulative days on market 2017: 76
Average months’ inventory 2016: 5.1
Average months; inventory 2017: 5.4
All City Condos:
Average price 2016: $197,099
Average price 2017 $200,530 (increase of 1.7%)
# Sales 2016: 233
# Sales 2017: 221 (decrease of 5.2%)
Cumulative days on market 2016: 93
Cumulative days on market 2017: 76
Average months’ inventory 2016: 6.6
Average months; inventory 2017: 6.7
Still have questions about your own home’s value? Or want to get a better understanding of the market before you buy a home? No problem! Give us a call or drop us a line. We’re here to help.
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