House sales up in March, but still down from 2017

Although house sales in the Edmonton region rose sharply last month, they’re still down by more than 10 per cent compared to this time last year, new figures show.

While the number of singlefamily homes sold in March was 24 per cent higher than in February, sales were off 11 per cent from March 2017, according to statistics released Tuesday by the Realtors Association of Edmonton.

Year-to-year sales results were also off for condominiums (down 15 per cent) and duplexes and row houses (down three per cent), with 1,655 March sales through the Multiple Listing Service and 7,963 properties available.

However, the average price for all residential property was up 0.77 per cent from March 2017, led by a one per cent rise in the value of an average single-family house to $444,091.

The average condo sold for $234,212, down 3.5 per cent from March 2017.

“We generally see housing market activity increase at this time of year,” Darcy Torhjelm, chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton, said in a news release.

“Despite the year-over-year decreases, the market is still growing relative to February 2018 in preparation for the spring buying season. Market growth should continue in the coming months.”

The most expensive location available in the region is the $12.8-million Whitemud Drive estate owned by retired heart surgeon Dennis Modry, who put it on the market last December after working to develop condos on the 2.8-hectare property.

The highest price for a house sold last month was $2.6 million.