Edmonton real estate sales drop 11.4% in June

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With 2,847 residential units sold last month, Edmonton’s real estate market had an 11.4 per cent slowdown from May.

In its monthly report released Thursday, the Realtors Association of Edmonton (RAE) reported a cooling of the Edmonton real estate market from May.

While the market showed a more than 11 per cent slowdown, RAE said in its report that it’s still not all bad news because even with the decrease, it’s still 10 per cent higher than June 2023.

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Although sales declined last month, a local realtor said July has already been busy.

“The market as a whole is at its plateau for the season,” said Melanie Boles, RAE board chair.

The number of new listings also declined, according to the report. At 3,712 in June, new residential listings are down 12.2 per cent from the month before, but year-to-date listings are up 2.3 per cent.

Home prices down, condo prices up

In tandem with sales, the prices of Edmonton single detached homes fell slightly in June. In May, the average price of a detached Edmonton home was $539,000, but the average decreased by one per cent to $495,000 in June.

As the prices for homes came down slightly, apartments and condos increased.

“Apartment condominium average prices hit $211,583, increasing 2.3 per cent over last month and coming in 8.5 per cent higher than the previous year,” the report said.

The report also indicated that rents are on the rise, too. RAE said in May the average price in Edmonton for a one-bedroom rental was $1,357, which rose nine per cent to $1,480. Two-bedroom rents increased by 14 per cent — from an average of $1,480 in May to $1,688 in June.

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Boles expected the sales trend to hold.

“We’re likely going to see the number of sales continue to decline as we approach the end of summer,” Boles said.

It wouldn’t be uncommon for the market to slow down in the summer months. As the summer sets in, the market often cools off. A June 2023 RAE report said the market activity was down 2.1 per cent compared to 2022, and 4.6 per cent from May 2023.

Busy summer ahead

Wendy Theberge, a RE/MAX Elite realtor, said she’s noticed a different trend on the front lines of Edmonton’s market that RAE’s numbers indicate.

“Typically, I would have planned a holiday in August, three weeks, and I am not going anywhere because things are just rocking and rolling yet again,” Theberge said.

The “fits and starts” were fairly common for this time of year, but Theberge said there is no “typical” ever since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the past two weeks, Theberge said she’s noticed a ramp-up in the market, though it’s not to the extent that it was a month ago when she said it was common to have multiple offers. She even had one property sell for more than $20,000 over the listing price.

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“It’s always like you’ve got four great offers. They all look pretty good, and then bam! You’ve got one from Ontario that goes, ‘I’m going to offer you like this much more, I don’t care.’ So, money talks,” she said.

Theberge said buyers have been travelling up the highway from Calgary to Edmonton, looking to jump in on better affordability.

“It looks like we are still in a very intense seller’s market.”

Theberge’s research indicated Edmonton had 1.8 months of inventory for single-family homes.

She explained what the inventory meant: “If we don’t get any more listings tomorrow, it’ll take 1.8 months to clear out the inventory in Edmonton.”

Theberge said a balanced market usually has four to six months of inventory, putting Edmonton in a squeeze.

“At the end of the day, what’s happening right now is I am very busy.”

Thankfully, the market will get more listings, but the decreased stock could push prices higher as the tighter supply competes with higher demand.

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