A low inventory on resale homes is a contributing factor to dropping sales and rising prices, local real estate officials say as figures for April are released.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
@MedicineHatNews
Sales are dropping, though real estate prices are still rising in Medicine Hat this spring, a situation industry analysts attribute to a lack of inventory on the resale market with relatively few newly built units coming on.
The local figures follow a national trend – the Canadian Real Estate Association stated Thursday that sales across Canada were off by 10 per cent compared to last year.
Figures from the Medicine Hat Real Estate Board show single-family home sales were actually slightly higher in April at 95, though the average closing price was 17 per cent higher for the month.
The increase was 14 per cent higher in the year to date analysis at $431,300.
For the first four months of the year, detached homes sales were actually one per cent lower, though steeper declines were registered in semi-detached properties (down 10 per cent), row housing (down 23 per cent) and apartment-style units and condos (down 29 per cent).
Condo prices remained at par, averaging $204,900, though semi-detached and row units were 24 and 9 per cent higher, respectively, averaging $396,200 and $249,000.
Across Alberta, the average residential price was up 5.2 per cent to $525,100 in April with overall sales down 15 per cent.
Nationally, prices were down 3.9 per cent last month compared to April 2024, with listings falling by about the same percentage.
That could be the result of doubts about the national economy withstanding trade disruptions, said the Canadian Real Estate Association analysis, as well as the threat of interest rate changes.
In Medicine Hat new listings were 4 per cent lower in April, but already in tight supply as inventory for available residential units was one-quarter lower.
