Advertisement

Lethbridge remains a seller’s market as interest rates climb

Click to play video: 'Lethbridge housing market remains stable as interest rates climb'
Lethbridge housing market remains stable as interest rates climb
WATCH: With interest rates on the rise, many are predicting the red-hot real estate market of the past two years will cool off. But as Danica Ferris explains, local experts believe the Lethbridge area is well positioned to weather a potential slow down. – Jul 18, 2022

The latest interest rate hike from the Bank of Canada has many predicting that the red-hot real estate market of the last couple of years is due to cool off, but those in the Lethbridge market don’t anticipate a crazy shift.

“Yes there’s going to be pauses, but in Lethbridge, I think with the balance that we have and the healthy market that we have, we’re in a good position,” said Stephen Amonson, general manager of Ashcroft Homes. “Nobody should panic.”

Licensed real estate agent Bryce Evans of RE/MAX Real Estate of Lethbridge agrees that the city remains a stable, affordable market that doesn’t see the volatile ups and downs of larger cities; an attractive trait when people consider relocating to the city.

Story continues below advertisement

“We are $250,000 less than the average price in Calgary, so we are still seeing quite a few people coming here,” Evans said. “People coming from way bigger centres that have seen a way bigger increase in prices, they’ve been looking around southern Alberta.”

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Evans says Lethbridge remains a good place to sell a home, but sellers must price their homes properly.

“It’s still a seller’s market, but at the same time these interest rates will have a little bit of an impact at taking some of the buyers out of the pool,” he said.

“There have been a lot more listings that have come up here this year, so it is a lot more competitive out there. So making sure that your place is priced right — or making sure that a seller’s property is priced right — is very crucial.”

The market has seen a slight slowdown versus 2021. According to the Lethbridge and District Association of Realtors (LDAR), June was the third straight month that saw year-over-year sales drop in the city. There were 236 units sold, down nearly 11 per cent from June of 2021, at an average residential price of $346,155 — up 6.4 per cent compared to last June.

Story continues below advertisement

While new listings were up more than 17 per cent this June versus last, total residential inventory is down nearly three per cent year-over-year in Lethbridge.

Amonson says homebuilders are always trying to fill holes in the market, but they have faced significant hurdles since the onset of COVID-19.

“The dilemma we’re having right now is it takes a lot longer to build a home because of the supply chain issues,” he said. “So those wait times can be exacerbated, and it takes a lot longer to respond to those holes in the marketplace.”

Despite those challenges, Amonson says Lethbridge remains one of the most affordable cities in the country, and he’s seeing a trend towards more balanced inventory in the city.

“Up until a couple months ago we had a real short supply of inventory, and now we’re seeing more homes coming on the market and a little bit more balance to the marketplace,” Amonson said.

“We don’t have an oversupply — either in used inventory or brand new inventory — in fact, in certain segments we’re still quite short, so we’re going to see pricing remain, in my opinion, fairly strong for quite some time.”

Advertisement

Sponsored content

AdChoices