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Home sales in Lethbridge down slightly this year

Jul 18, 2017 | 11:32 AM

LETHBRIDGE — The CEO of the Lethbridge and District Association of Realtors is confident the year will come out ahead.

But in the first half of 2017 the number of homes sold is down 3.58 per cent, from 1,398 to 1,348, a decrease Cathy Maxwell considers marginal. The total value of homes sold was $373 million, down 4.1 per cent from $389 million in 2016.

Maxwell said the economy is part of the reason, but another factor is new mortgage rules that took effect last October, which she feels are doing what they were intended to do.

“The overall delinquency rates, according to CMHC, have (been) reduced,” she said. “But what we see, then, is it’s a little bit trickier for vendors and the Realtors to do the sales, because the people who are approved to buy, at a certain level, they now have to decide, do we wait and save more money so we can be approved higher, or do we lower our wants and our needs and buy lower?”

Maxwell added Lethbridge is largely insulated from the buy-and-sell cycles seen elsewhere, thanks to its diversified economy, so she’s optimistic.

“I think we’ll end up with a little bit of an increase this year, if I’m a betting woman. We’ve got a strong market,” she said.

She also pointed to positive indicators like the average time to sell, 58 days, when it’s typically around 90 days, and a level of inventory she described as “balanced” — around 4.7 months worth.

She doesn’t expect much impact from rising interest rates, although she added it might affect certain potential homebuyers.