Housing supply constrained in Lethbridge due to high sales

Apr 7, 2022 | 12:22 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – It’s a great time to list your home, but maybe not so great if you’re looking to buy one.

Cathy Maxwell, CEO of the Lethbridge and District Association of Realtors, says it was yet another record-setting month for the local real estate sector.

260 homes were sold in March 2022 with 554 so far this year, marking increases of 17% and 13% respectively over the same periods last year.

There is just 1.37 months of inventory, meaning that if homes continued to sell at their current rate and no new properties were listed, it would take 1.37 months before everything was gone. Maxwell says this is an all-time low for the city.

“The demand seems to be strong, and I mean, we are seeing new listings coming on, but the sales-to-listing ratio is about 91%, meaning everything that comes on is being sold.”

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This is having a direct impact on home prices.

Between all types of residential properties in Lethbridge, the average price is $341,435, going up by five percent over the last 12 months.

For detached homes, the typical price of $382,783 is up by 8.8% year-over-year.

“Traditionally with Lethbridge, we are a strong, stable market – slow and steady, although we’ve seen some pretty good increases in our average house price. I’m going to stick my neck out and say I think Lethbridge will continue to be strong and stable, but some markets out there, it may be a bubble.”

Nationally, the Canadian Real Estate Association continues to advocate for measures that would increase the supply of housing.

by David Opinko