Home prices drop again in Edmonton, benchmark lowest in six years: report

EDMONTON -- Benchmark home prices in Edmonton fell even further last month to their lowest point in more than six years, newly released numbers show.

In its latest report on national home sales, the Canadian Real Estate Association noted that the benchmark price for all property types in Alberta's capital fell to $316,200.

The benchmark price had previously dropped to $316,200 in February, but it hadn't been that low since February 2013 when it was $314,500.

According to CREA's stats, the benchmark home price in Edmonton has fallen 8.29 per cent in the last five years.

The average sale price for a single-family detached home in the Edmonton Census Metropolitan Area dropped to $420,939, a decrease of nearly $8,000 from the October 2018 average ($428,340) and nearly $16,000 less than the average price in 2015 ($436,605).

New listings also fell year over year, from 1,480 in October 2018 to 1,397 in October 2019.

While prices are down, sales are up. CREA reported that there was an 8.1 per cent increase in total residential unit sales in October compared to the year before. Total home sales dropped 5.92 per cent from September 2019, however. Overall inventory fell by 9.26 per cent compared to October 2018.

"Our market has been down over the last number of years and we haven't seen a significant increase in the market, and we're not anticipating a significant increase soon," said Michael Brodrick, chair of the Realtors Association of Edmonton.

He said external factors like the federal mortgage stress test, Alberta's economic downturn and uncertainty over government employment are hampering the market.

"It's making it difficult for buyers to be financed, even though in theory we're in a buyer's market," said Brodrick. "Consumers are just saying, 'I'm happy to go out for dinner, I'm not happy to spend half a million dollars on a new house.'"

Sellers should be patient as homes are taking longer to sell in Edmonton, but Brodrick said it's not all bad news.

"An advantage that some sellers may have as we move into the winter months here is people who tend to be buying in the winter time are serious buyers," he said.

The highest-priced home in the City of Edmonton to sell in October was a single-family unit that sold for $2,650,000. It was listed at $3,798,000.

The price drops are in contrast to a national trend that saw home prices mostly stabilize in British Columbia's Lower Mainland and the Prairies.