All housing types in the Edmonton market are seeing a faster pace for sales.
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Edmonton’s real estate market is booming with prices forecast to achieve new highs, driven by a strong economy — and a curious lack of inventory on the resale market.
“In the under $400,000 single-family detached home price range, which was the typical starter home in Edmonton, we’re now at one-third of where it was last year for listings,” says Nathan Mol, associate realtor with Liv Real Estate in the city, pointing to recent market data.
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At the same time, demand is surging — not quite to the same levels as the pandemic market — but strong enough that when paired with low inventory, prices could reach all-time highs by year’s end, according to a recent report. The Royal LePage forecast suggests the average price of a home in the city could grow 6.5 per cent by the end of this year to reach about $458,300, surpassing the previous high in April 2022 when the average price was nearly $435,000, according to Realtors Association of Edmonton data. In March, RAE statistics show the average price was about $421,000 for all housing types.
Mol notes high migration is bolstering demand “due to the city’s resurgent economy,” but a lack of inventory is equally driving up prices as many potential sellers remain on the sidelines.
Among their reasons are a desire for mortgage interest rates to ease, he adds.
Yet even at record pricing, Edmonton’s prices will remain well below those of the national average. Royal LePage predicts the average price in Canada will grow nine per cent by the end of 2024 to about $861,000.
Driving growth is the Greater Toronto Area where the average price is expected to rise 10 per cent.
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“I can’t believe Toronto is rebounding as well as it has,” says Edmonton realtor Tom Shearer, broker/owner of Royal LePage Noralta Real estate.
“Their market is exceeding expectations,” given higher interest rates have weighed the most on Canada’s largest and second-most pricey real estate market, next to Vancouver.
Edmonton could exceed expectations, too, Shearer adds. “The city is really in a positive trend right now.”
Sales and price could really take off if the Bank of Canada cuts interest rates as expected in the second half of the year, reducing borrowing costs.
“Already, anything that’s under $600,000 for a single-family home is being absorbed immediately,” Shearer says. RAE statistics for March show a single-family detached home listed on the market took an average of 40 days to sell. That’s down from 46 in 2023.
Still, March still does not match demand in March 2022 when buyers scrambled to find a home before interest rates moved higher.
At the time, a single-family home for sale was on the market an average of 28 days.
Yet this time, all housing types are seeing a faster pace for sales — most notably, apartment condominiums. In March 2022, an apartment for sale’s average time on the market was 59 days. In March, the average time on the market was 47 days — the lowest in the last five years.
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Royal LePage’s report shows modest price growth for condominiums, up less than one per cent at the end of the first quarter to $196,500, compared with the same time last year.
“It remains the most affordable option by far,” Shearer says.
Townhomes, too, remain affordable with RAE numbers showing the average price was about $283,000 in March, up about 14 per cent year over year. Yet supply is falling. Row home listings at their lowest since 2020 (when the pandemic started), according to RAE.
Mol notes the segment is following the same trend as single-family homes. The most affordable listings sell quickly, and supply cannot keep pace with buyer demand.
“It’s an extreme seller’s market for affordable homes.”
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