October 5, 2014 – Market Update
Sales in Red Deer in September were off only slightly from August. The number of active listings dropped keeping the ratio of sales to listings firmly in seller’s market territory. Sales at the low to midpoint of the price spectrum remained strong, while the higher price ranges lost some of the momentum picked over the spring and summer.
When pondering the future of central Alberta, the story remains pretty much the same – strong in-migration from other provinces driven by a strong job market, high wages and low taxes. In April, May and June of this year, Alberta gained a net 13,204 new people from other parts of the country (the difference between the number of in-migrants less the number of out-migrants). That is the equivalent of Alberta adding another city the size of Camrose to its population in a matter of 3 months.
Part of the reason for our strong economy is that our oil is making its way to market by train. New markets mean higher prices for producers and more royalties for the government who will be spreading the money around before another provincial election in 2016.
