Lethbridge home prices on the rise, according to Alberta Real Estate Association

A stock photo of a realtor celebrating the sale of a home. (Pexels/Rondae Productions)

Lethbridge home prices have seen a significant increase over the last year, according to the Alberta Real Estate Association.

The association's September report indicates the average price for a residential property last month was $366,628, a 12.5 per cent increase from September 2022.

Jennifer Brodoway, a realtor with Team View Lethbridge, says the steep increase has made it more difficult for some buyers to get into the market.

"We see some buyers who waited," she said. "They were thinking, 'Oh, maybe I’ll wait until prices go down or interest rates have gone down,' and they've been disappointed by that.

"Obviously, the interest rates have gone up slightly, and surprisingly still the home prices have gone up."

The report indicates the average price for a detached home in September was up 16.1 per cent year-over-year, with a price of $421,674.

Row houses, meanwhile, rose 18.3 percent year-over-year to an average price of $275,723.

Chief economist with the Alberta Real Estate Association Ann-Marie Lurie says a lack of affordable homes is driving up prices for the properties that are left.

"Some of it is because there's just not a lot of supply left for the lower-price detached homes, so there just isn't very many options there," she said. 

"People are generally purchasing higher-priced properties, and I think that's in part what's driving some of those gains."

While average residential prices increased in Lethbridge in September, the report shows home inventory fell dramatically to 403, a year-over-year decrease of more than 20 per cent.

The decrease in properties is concerning for Heleen Jacobsen, chair of the Lethbridge and District Association of Realtors, who worries it will force prices to keep going up             

"It increases the upwards pressure on home prices," Jacobson explained.

Jacobson says inter-provincial migration is a contributing factor in the lack of inventory.

Meanwhile, Bridget Mearns, executive officer for Building Industry & Land Development Association Lethbridge Region, says rising inflation and interest rates have slowed down home building.

"We're absolutely seeing a decrease in the home starts this year. About 570-ish houses less than last year, and not surprisingly, it's the interest rates that's partly to blame for that." 

In the municipalities tracked by the Alberta Real Estate Association, Lethbridge saw the second-highest price increase year over year.

Only Fort McMurray was higher at 15.5 per cent.