By Aaron Mahoney

Real Estate

First quarter home sales in Lethbridge up a bit in 2019 compared to 2018

May 2, 2019 | 10:54 AM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – The real estate market in Lethbridge tends to not see significant fluctuations year-over-year, unlike Calgary and Edmonton, and the first quarter results in the bridge city are showing a slight improvement in 2019.

Board President of the Lethbridge And District Association of REALTORS, Justin Myer, says 308 sales hit the multiple listing system that were residential sales in the first quarter.

“The average days on the market was 97 days, and the average sale price was $292,200,” he continued. “So, pretty good numbers that are out there right now.”

Those three metrics are up compared to last year, when there were 279 sales in the same period, average days on the market was 89 days, and the average sale price was $281,112.

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“It’s quite a bit better. We’ve noticed that the market has been fine, there hasn’t been too much crazy stuff, and Lethbridge has already been steady-eddy. The market moves pretty calmly, and there’s no big booms or busts. Year-over-year it seems like we’ve been growing pretty good,” Myer said.

As far as some of the factors behind the numbers, Myer thinks it’s due to people getting over some of the things that may have made them hesitant to buy.

“There was the stress test, and then there was the update to the stress test, and people were waiting and waiting to see if anything would change – but it didn’t affect too many people. Certain people were able to afford a little bit less, so they went ‘OK’ and went out and bought it. We noticed in Lethbridge that was kind of in that $350,000 to $400,000 range.”

Myer added that some people got panicky last year and the year before, waited and waited, then realized it didn’t matter and went on with their lives and bought.

“I’ve noticed a lot of people saying ‘whatever, we’re going to buy and see what happens in the market.'”

So, moving forward, does this mean that the market is going to continue to improve due to people moving past those worries? It’s tough to say, according to Myer.

“I’ve heard a lot of different things. Some people were waiting for the election to be over before buying a house, and now that it’s over I feel like people are going to move forward. One thing that we’ve noticed that’s been really quiet in the last few years has been the condo market.”

Myer says that’s because a lot of people from Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton and Vancouver have moved their kids down to the University of Lethbridge and they haven’t been buying as much.

“This year already we’ve seen a lot of people saying they’re coming down for their kids and will be buying some properties for them to live in. I think that’s where we’ll see the market kind of pick up a little bit is in the condo market for Lethbridge, and that might be over a two-year trend, but it’s certainly better than the last few years,” Myer stated.