Central Alberta’s residential real estate market remained hot in April, with Multiple Listing Service sales up 56 per cent in Red Deer and 34 per cent in the surrounding area, as compared with the same month in 2011. Statistics provided by the Central Alberta Realtors Association indicate that 197 homes were sold in the city and 247 elsewhere in the region last month. By comparison, the April 2011 numbers were 126 in Red Deer and 185 outside the city. In March, residential MLS sales numbered 154 in Red Deer and 207 elsewhere.

So far this year, 571 homes have been sold in the city and 748 outside. Those figures are 21 and 24 per cent higher respectively than the four-month totals for the same period last year.

Average prices also rose in April. In Red Deer, the figure was $312,094, up 11 per cent from $282,140 a year earlier. The average for the remainder of the region was $249,998, also an 11 per cent improvement over the $225,749 average for April 2011. Because average prices include homes of all types, they may not be representative of market trends because the mix of houses sold can vary from month to month. The Central Alberta Realtors Association processed 901 residential listings in April, with 298 of these in Red Deer and 603 outside. That was up five per cent from the 856 new listings last April, when there were 284 added in Red Deer and 572 for the surrounding region.