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A record-high number of homes for sale made Edmonton’s real estate market challenging for buyers and sellers in 2018 and the Realtors Association of Edmonton predicts further drops in sales and average prices in 2019.

Association chair Michael Brodrick said 2018 was the worst he’s seen the market in his 18 years in the business as a result of rising interest rates, a struggling Alberta economy, and new federal mortgage stress test rules that tighten how much buyers can borrow.

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“The market is tough, period,” Brodrick said to media Wednesday morning during the association’s forecast seminar. “Sellers have to be patient. Buyers have to be patient. It’s a great time to buy because of the inventory level but it’s also a challenging time to buy because of the difficulty in being able to qualify.”

The city saw a record 10,000 homes on the market at the end of June 2018 with properties taking longer to sell. Average time on the market in 2018 rose to 62 days from 59.