Housing inventory is high, but average price remaining steady

Year-end MLS® statistics released January 1 show that despite a higher than normal inventory level and a 12 per cent reduction in sales, the average price for a home in Swift Current remains unchanged.

There were 246 sales of single-family homes, lots and multi-family units in 2018, which was down from the previous year’s total of 280 but not too far off 2016’s total of 258. Meanwhile, the number of properties that came up for sale in the city crept up slightly from 534 in 2017 to 542 last year.

Kelsey Adam runs his own real estate team within Century 21 Accord Realty and has sold real estate in the area for over 20 years. He said that sales numbers have only dipped below 250 one other time in the past 13 years.

“Since 2006, we have seen less than 250 sales only in 2010,” he commented, “and with inventory increasing every year and sales down this year, we have almost double the number of properties we had on the market this time four years ago.”

Indeed, the end of December saw 184 homes on the market compared to just 94 in 2015, but despite that, the average sale price remained unchanged from the previous two years at $274,000.

“Despite having almost nine months worth of inventory out there, we aren’t seeing a drastic change in prices,” stated Adam. “Where we are seeing a change is in the length of time it takes to sell a home.” The stats, compiled by Trenlii Analytics, peg the average sale time at just over 87 days, as compared to almost 82 days last year and only 55.5 days in 2015.

“It means sellers have to practice some patience and it means they can’t be overly optimistic in their pricing strategy,” said Adam, adding, “It also suggests that buyers have a good selection and perhaps a little more leverage in negotiating, however the average sale price continues to hover around 94 per cent of the current asking price.”