Swift Current real estate: ‘banner year’
Though 2020 will go down in history as a challenging year in general, in the Swift Current real estate market, it will be called a banner year.
Housing sales in the city leapt by 30% over last year according to statistics released by Trenlii Analytics. Long-time agent Kelsey Adam with Century 21 Accord Realty was excited to explain the sales numbers.
“We had 290 sales in 2020, which is up from last year’s 221,” said Adam. “To look over the past 2 decades, there were only 3 years when we sold more than 300 houses, so considering what the world was going through, this is fantastic.”
The main thrust of the market came from two consecutive record-setting quarters of activity. “I’ve been tracking numbers since 2000, and this was the busiest third and forth quarters and hence the busiest last half of the year by far,” Adam cited. Indeed the 179 sales that occurred in the last half of 2020 blew past the previous high of 154 sales of 2007 Adam attributed the rise in sales to a few different factors. For one, interest rates were at an all-time low, which was encouraging for all buyers. “I also think that people were looking for a more comfortable place to isolate in,” he added. “After spending a few months cooped up, I think people were re-evaluating their surroundings. And along with that, people were starting to work more from home, so were having new needs to accommodate.”
Along with the higher sales, new listings were consistent, meaning that the number of homes on the market at the end of the year was 21% lower. The report lists 177 properties on the Swift Current MLS® system at the end of 2020, compared to 226 in 2019.
The average sale price was consistent with last year, inching up 1% from $255,000 to $259,000. Adam said this was reassuring as he has had several people telling him that they think housing prices are dropping. “Yes, you always get some people who assume the worst,” he said, “But to have the statistics back up what real estate agents have been saying is reassuring.”