By Troy Gillard

pandemic, energy prices take a toll

Alberta’s housing market takes a hit in March

Apr 6, 2020 | 2:22 PM

The goal of physical distancing is to flatten the curve when it comes to spreading COVID-19, but it also appears to be flattening the province’s real estate market already hurting from falling energy prices.

Home sales in Alberta started out promising in March, according to a release Monday from the Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA), before dropping by nine per cent in the second half of the month.

New listings fell by 15 per cent in the last half of March, the association says.

“This is an unprecedented time with a significant amount of uncertainty,” Ann-Marie Lurie, AREA’s chief economist, said in the release. “It is not a surprise to see these concerns also weigh on the housing market.”

She added that the impact “will likely persist over the next several quarters.”

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AREA noted that the Central Alberta region was the only part of the province to record relatively stable sales in March compared to last year. However, they note that March 2019 was “one of the weakest levels recorded in over 15 years and sales this March remain nearly 17 per cent below the five-year average.”

New listings in Central Alberta dropped by nearly 13 per cent, which the association says is helping reduce inventory levels and bring down the amount of oversupply that has persisted in the market.

Meanwhile, AREA says prices in the Central Alberta region continued to improve as most of the improvements in sales occurred in the higher price ranges in the market.

The hardest hit region in the province last month was Fort McMurray, where sales dropped by almost 30 per cent over March 2019 to the lowest level since 2016 when the city was ravaged by a massive wildfire.

Lurie says measures put in place by government and lending institutions to help support homeowners through income and job losses will prevent more significant impacts in the housing market.

The Alberta Real Estate cancelled open houses due to the pandemic and has created a list of tips for realtors showing homes during this time of physical distancing.