After record real estate sales, housing supply in Lethbridge stretched thin

The total dollar value for these sales amounts to $912-million dollars, a substantial increase from $600-million in the same period last year and $521-million in 2019.

In September, transactions were completed on 182 homes in the city. While this is down slightly from 190 in August, the sector is still trending far higher than what we would typically see.

The average price for a house in Lethbridge is $320,000, up around two per cent year-over-year.

The strength of the local real estate market is reflected in the past three quarterly stories LNN has done with Maxwell.

While the city has also seen solid numbers for new home construction this year, it simply has not been able to keep pace with the rate at which houses are being sold.

Maxwell told LNN that there is currently about 2.5 months of inventory. That means, if the no new homes were listed and they kept selling at the current pace, it would take about two-and-a-half months before all currently-listed properties were sold.

“Normally, we’re looking at six, seven, eight months. Back in, say, 2019, that’s what I was recording, so this is some of the lowest we’ve had since, probably, about 2007.”

At the onset of the pandemic, interest rates plummeted to historic lows, causing many to jump on buying houses.

Otherwise, she says Lethbridge’s diverse economy is always a driver of strong sales as the city is not dependent on a singular industry.

Going forward, Maxwell predicts that home sales will slow down a little bit but will remain high.

by David Opinko

After record real estate sales, housing supply in Lethbridge stretched thin

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