By Troy Gillard

Pandemic measures effect

Home sales tumble in April

May 13, 2020 | 2:58 PM

With April being the first full month of having social distancing measures in place for the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s little surprise that the local real estate market took a hit.

According to new numbers from the Central Alberta Realtors Association, 60 housing units were sold last month in Red Deer, less than half the 138 units that were sold in April 2019.

Year-to-date numbers show that 308 housing units have sold in Red Deer through the first four months of 2020, down nearly 25% from 401 in January to April 2019.

Sales prices are also down with the average housing unit in Red Deer going for $276,144 compared to $316,142 the previous April.

Regionally, housing sales in Central Alberta last month were down 47 per cent from April 2019, from 352 to 179. The average number of homes sold locally in April from 2016 to 2019 was 357.

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Year-to-date, 812 housing units have sold in Central Alberta so far in 2020, compared to 984 through the same period a year ago.

The average sale price in Central Alberta last month was $261,652, down more than 13 per cent from $301,822 in April 2019.

Rocky Mountain House is the lone local market to have sold more homes so far this year than last, albeit by a single unit.

Sylvan Lake — 69 units sold this year (compared to 82 last year)
Lacombe — 49 (61)
Blackfalds — 45 (66)
Innisfail — 21 (23)
Rocky Mountain House — 19 (18)
Stettler — 19 (22)
Ponoka — 18 (28)
Stettler — 19 (22)

Provincially, sales declined by 57 per cent in April compared to last year. With sales totalling 2,247 units, it was the slowest April since 1986, according to the Alberta Real Estate Association.

“Social distancing measures combined with record low Canadian oil prices has impacted confidence and sales activity throughout the province,” says Ann-Marie Lurie, AREA Chief Economist. “While supply levels have also eased, it was not enough to prevent downward price pressure this month.”