It's smooth sailing for Innisfail's real estate sector in 2013 while sales in Penhold will continue to outpace peer markets, according to a rosy outlook released by the Central Alberta Realtors Association Jan. 31. Though experts have warned Canada's housing market may be a balloon on the verge of bursting, Central Alberta is on course for moderate gains in the coming year, according to Ken Deboe, president of the Central Alberta Realtors Association.
“People want that small-town feel,” he said, adding the radius from Red Deer is also seen as a plus to home buyers. “Pricing is a little bit lower than Calgary, Edmonton and Red Deer. People want an affordable house and they can get it in the small towns like Innisfail.”
In 2012 there were 92 single family dwelling sales in Innisfail, compared with 77 in 2011. In Penhold 81 single family dwellings sold in 2012, compared with 67 in 2011.
The average selling price of an Innisfail home jumped eight per cent year over year (from $265,000 in 2011 to $286,000 in 2012) – landing the town the top of the heap of area communities – and considering a 19 per cent increase in units sold, it's important not to forget about the bigger picture, according to Deboe.
“I always look at a five-year average,” he said. “It's always a little bit up or a little bit down, but overall the line is going a little bit up.”
In 2008 there were 111 single family dwellings sold. That increased to 115 in 2009, before dropping down to 77 in 2010.
In 2008 Penhold had 70 single family dwellings sales, before that dropped to 46 in 2009, which sunk further to 37 in 2010.
Angela Alvarez and Trevor Bayne, both 23, carted boxes of stuff into an empty Hawridge Estates house Jan. 31, embarking on the next stage of their lives. The two are getting married in April and say the house was a perfect starter home since mortgage payments will be cheaper than rent would have been in Red Deer.
“We ended up buying right in the middle of everything,” said Bayne, noting Central Alberta is home. “Even if we went anywhere I think we'd come right back here when we were done.”
Alvarez says she likes the peaceful small-town nature of Penhold real estate.
“It's still a country feel,” she said.
Recent media attention has focused on the precarious nature of Vancouver and Toronto housing markets and risks distorting the picture of the Central Albertan real estate reality, Deboe said.
“We're a lot more balanced,” he said. “We don't see the boomerangs a lot.”
While stability tends to be a Central Albertan calling card, there are unique factors that do tend to control the pendulum swings in the real estate market here.
“Oil and gas always has an effect,” he said. “As oilfield guys go back and forth to work that's always affecting us. If it's a slow economic year in the oilfield that affects us.”
Sellers began lowering their asking prices, spurring a small increase in sales in 2012.
“Most sellers realized the boom was over,” he said. “I know a lot of the Innisfail realtors, and they had a good year last year.”
"People want an affordable house and they can get it in the small towns like Innisfail."Ken Deboe, CARA president
