The Central Alberta real estate market is experiencing mixed housing conditions across multiple jurisdictions across the region. Some regions are witnessing steady sales activity, some are reporting declining home prices.

Indeed, in a rising interest rate climate, it was expected that Alberta real estate would begin to experience some cooling, especially after the province’s top markets had enjoyed impressive growth heading into 2022.

Industry observers point to higher lending rates and broader market uncertainty for the changes occurring in the Central Alberta real estate market. But this could be the catalyst to rebalancing housing conditions, particularly as more supply comes online.

So, how are various cities performing as of late? Here is a look at some Central Alberta towns.

Central Alberta Real Estate Market Update

Grande Prairie

According to the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA), residential property sales slumped at an annualized pace of 8.8 per cent in September, with just 93 sales recorded. But, on a year-to-date basis, there was a 10-per-cent jump in housing transactions, totalling 1,214 units, association data show.

Here is a look at how the four main property categories performed in September on a year-over-year basis in the Grande Prairie real estate market:

  • Detached: -5 per cent to 77 units
  • Semi: -55 per cent to five units
  • Townhome: +150 per cent to five units
  • Apartments: -25 per cent to six units

Prices cooled to finish the third quarter, as the total residential average price slipped 1.3 per cent to $304,372. Moreover, the average selling price for a detached home fell 2.3 per cent to $330,289, while townhomes soared 51 per cent to $138,900. Semi-attached homes edged up one per cent to just above $227,000, and apartment prices slid two per cent to below $174,000.

On the supply front, new residential listings dipped 1.1 per cent from the same time a year ago to 188 units, while current inventory levels plunged 12.4 per cent year-over-year to 467 units. Months of supply, which gauges the number of months it would take to exhaust current inventories at the present rate of sales activity, dropped nearly four per cent to 5.02.

Red Deer

Slow sales but decent price growth were the key trends in the Red Deer real estate market in September, according to AREA data.

Residential property sales tumbled more than 21 per cent, totalling 126 units. The total residential average price in Red Deer climbed at an annualized pace of 1.6 per cent to $342,398.

Here is a look at September year-over-year data in the four main property categories:

Detached

  • Average Price: +8.5 per cent to $410,313
  • Home Sales: -30 per cent to 83 units

Semi

  • Average Price: +6.4 per cent to $278,489
  • Home Sales: Zero per cent to nine units

Townhome

  • Average Price: +4.9 per cent to $216,044
  • Home Sales: +29 per cent to 18 units

Apartment

  • Average Price: -17.6 per cent to $168,181
  • Home Sales: -11 per cent to 16 units

“As the market has shifted toward more balanced conditions the pace of price growth has eased relative to what was seen last year,” AREA stated in its report. “While year-to-date average prices are comparable to last years levels, this can be related to shifts in composition as detached sales represent a smaller share of total sales. In fact, when looking at price movements by property types, the year-to-date detached average price is still nearly five per cent higher than last year.”

Supply conditions have been abysmal as of late, with new residential listings plummeting 16.5 per cent to 202 units and active listings cratering 25 per cent to 484 units. Moreover, months of supply dropped nearly five per cent to 3.84.

Fort McMurray

Despite being one of the top-performing housing sectors in both Alberta and the Prairies, the Fort McMurray real estate market has cooled off considerably, according to AREA numbers. Prices are falling, sales are sliding, and supplies are rising.

Home sales declined at an annualized pace of 12 per cent, with just 66 sales being recorded in September. At the same time, residential average prices plunged more than nine per cent to $355,233 in September.

Here is a quick glance at how the property categories performed in September:

Detached

  • Home Sales: -24 per cent to 34
  • Average Price: -5 per cent to $483,226

Semi

  • Home Sales: 0% at nine units
  • Average Price: Zero per cent at $381,833

Townhome

  • Home Sales: +80 per cent to nine units
  • Average Price: +45.1 per cent to $229,300

Apartments

  • Home Sales: -13 per cent to 14 units
  • Average Price: -9.3 per cent to $108,250

“[A]s the growth in new listings far outpaced sales activity inventories continued to trend up. While September inventories are far higher than levels seen over the past few years, they remain in line with levels achieved prior to the pandemic. Nonetheless, the recent pullback in sales combined with higher inventory levels pushed the months of supply up to nearly nine months, a significant gain relative to levels seen over the past few years,” the association noted in a report.

In September, new residential listings surged 31.5 per cent year-over-year to 192 units, while active listings advanced close to 34 per cent to 562 units. Months of inventory spiked a little more than 52 per cent to 8.52.

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