Lethbridge and District Association of Realtors. (Lethbridge News Now)

By David Opinko

Real estate activity in Lethbridge rebounds to above-normal levels

Jul 23, 2020 | 11:01 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It’s been a turbulent year so far, but at least in terms of home sales, it seems that we are seeing some resemblance of normalcy.

LNN spoke to Cathy Maxwell, the CEO of the Lethbridge and District Association of Realtors, to learn about how things have been over the last quarter.

She says it has been interesting to see how the stats have changed. The beginning of 2020 was strong but we saw a downturn once COVID-19 hit in the early spring.

In the month of June, sales were up approximately 14 per cent with 301 units sold.

The average price for these residential properties was $294,000, which is slightly above regular levels.

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Overall, total real estate transactions totalled $88-million compared to $72-million last year.

“Lethbridge, as always, fairs well. We have a good, solid economy here and diversification has always helped us. It’s a unique situation, but right now, we’re sitting pretty good and I’d almost say we’re trending upward,” says Maxwell.

Going forward, things are a little less certain.

Assuming home sales continue on their current trajectory, Maxwell believes it will be a great year, but 2020 has been anything but predictable.

There is currently about three months of inventory, meaning it would take three months to sell every home that is already listed, assuming normal sales volumes.

“That could mean you might see an adjustment in the prices again because supply in the city of Lethbridge in the month of June has gone down, so when supply is lower, prices might go higher. I’m not predicting that, but that’s what you could see.”

The other factor is post-secondary education.

Both Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge are planning to offer the majority of courses online this year. This will likely mean thousands of fewer students will be moving to the city in August and September, thus negatively impacting demand.

As a whole, Maxwell is still remaining optimistic about Lethbridge’s economy and the state of the real estate sector long-term.