April 30, 2013 – Market Update
Red Deer sales in April were up slightly from March but down 12% from April 2012. The number of available listings is 8% lower than a year ago and 70 out of 426 active listings in Red Deer have sales pending. The sales to listing ratio in Red Deer in April was 43% – solidly into Seller’s market territory.
The number of active listings in Red Deer is up in almost every price range except $250,000 – $300,000 where more than 90% of the inventory sold last month. Sales were also strong between $300,000 and $400,000 although there are more choices for buyers in that range.
It appears that central Alberta and Red Deer in particular are an attractive option for folks moving here from the rest of Canada and the world. Jobs are obviously the thing that attract people to central Alberta. The $1 billion expansion at Joffre and continued demand for our central Alberta frac crews and equipment are certainly two major contributors to the demand for housing.
Alberta (re)bound? Todd Hirsch, Senior Economist, ATB Financial
Our neighbour Saskatchewan may surpass Alberta this year as the fastest growing provincial economy. And for several quarters in a row, we seemed to be losing people to the good job opportunities there. But this trend may now be reversing, with the flow of migrants once again shifting in favour of wild rose country.
The push-and-pull between these two prairie sisters has seen some dramatic movements of people over the decades. For most of the period of 1985 to 2005, Alberta was the clear winner in drawing labour from Saskatchewan. But in 2007—perhaps due to an overheated housing market in Alberta and good jobs cropping up in Saskatchewan—the flow reversed sharply. In the third quarter of 2007 alone, a net 1,763 people moved from Alberta back home to Saskatchewan.
But in the fourth quarter of 2012, an estimated 2,166 people moved from Saskatchewan to Alberta; at the same time, only 1,532 moved in the other direction. That left Alberta with a net gain of approximately 634 people between the two provinces (see graph).
It’s hard to say if the slight edge in migration to Alberta is permanent or not. Certainly the increase in housing prices in Saskatoon and Regina has lowered the price differential between the two provinces, taking away that advantage for Saskatchewan. And Alberta’s economy continues to churn out jobs (albeit at a slower rate than in 2011).
