Home sales and builds on the decline in Lethbridge
Home sales in Lethbridge were down in June.
According to the Alberta Real Estate Association, last month was the lowest June recorded since 2007.
The association's latest report shows new listings and inventory are also down from a year ago.
"Things are definitely down compared to 2021 and 2022 because those were very active years," said Jennifer Brodoway, a Realtor with Team View Lethbridge.
The report shows home sales are down 15 per cent year over year to 200 units sold.
New listings dropped 27 per cent to 249 and inventory dropped 20 per cent to 459.
Brodoway says this looks concerning on paper but the numbers are returning to what we saw five years ago.
"We find that 2023 is really just similar to what it was in 2018 and 2019," Brodoway told CTV News.
"In 2023, from January to June, we've had about a thousand sales here in Lethbridge."
It's not just home sales that have dropped -- so has the number of new houses being built, according to BILD Lethbridge.
"This has been an unusually slow building cycle for Lethbridge and that's a direct result of seeing the less home sales and, of course, with the inventory already there, you're going to see less new homes being built," said Bridget Mearns, BILD Lethbridge’s executive officer.
As of May, there have been 339 fewer units built year over year, which accounts for the drop in inventory.
Both interest rates and building costs have increased, leading to the decline.
"It's kind of this perfect storm that's happening, where the inflationary pressure on the cost of construction is making things more expensive, and it's also more expensive because of the interest rate in qualifying for a mortgage," said Mearns.
The cost of new homes has increased six per cent from last year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canadian immigration asks medical worker fleeing Gaza if he treated Hamas fighters
Lawyers are questioning Canada’s approach to screening visa applications for people in Gaza with extended family in Canada after one applicant, a medical worker, was asked whether he had treated members of Hamas.
Helicopter carrying Iran's president suffers a 'hard landing,' state TV says without further details
A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a 'hard landing' on Sunday, Iranian state television reported, without immediately elaborating.
Walmart, Costco refusing to sign grocery code of conduct 'untenable': industry minister
Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says it's 'untenable' for 'smaller players' like Walmart and Costco to delay signing on to the government- and industry-led grocery code of conduct, now that industry giant Loblaw has agreed to do so.
The secret Italian lakes that most tourists don't know about
Italy has dozens of secret smaller lakes that boast superb scenery, unknown to mass tourism, where locals get together on day trips and enjoy picnics.
What we've learned so far in the Trump hush money trial and what to watch for as it wraps up
Testimony in the hush money trial of Donald Trump is set to conclude in the coming days, putting the landmark case on track for jury deliberations that will determine whether it ends in a mistrial, an acquittal — or the first-ever felony conviction of a former American president.
Woman killed in Montreal's Saint-Michel district: ex-husband arrested
Less than 24 hours after Montreal's 12th homicide investigation began, Montreal police confirmed that a 55-year-old woman's death in St. Michel is the island's 13th homicide.
Serious boat crash kills 3, injures 5 on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake: OPP
Three people were killed and five others were injured Saturday night following a boat crash on the Buck Bay area of Bobs Lake, north of Kingston, Ont., the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) said.
Ottawa driver who appeared to be racing another vehicle on Highway 416 facing charges
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says an Ottawa driver is facing charges after being caught going 187 km/h on Highway 416.
Signs of Alzheimer’s were everywhere. Then his brain improved
Blood biomarkers of telltale signs of early Alzheimer’s disease in the brain of his patient, 55-year-old entrepreneur Simon Nicholls, had all but disappeared in a mere 14 months.