Edmonton to be among leaders in home price growth this year
By Wayne Karl
January 15, 2015
January 15, 2015
Edmonton will be among the leading markets in terms of home price growth this year, according to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast.Across the country, average home prices showed modest to healthy year-over-year gains in most markets in the fourth quarter of 2014. During the quarter, the average price of a home in Canada increased between 4.5 per cent and 6.7 per cent year-over-year. Nationally, the average price of detached bungalows rose 6.7 per cent $406,218, while standard two-storey homes increased 6.0 per cent to $443,379, and standard condominiums saw a 4.5 per cent increase to $257,624. Against the backdrop of a decidedly mixed macroeconomic environment at home and abroad, Royal LePage expects home prices to increase moderately in 2015, forecasting a 2.9 per cent national increase for the year ahead.In Edmonton, a competitive landscape and short supply of inventory resulted in continued appreciation of Edmonton housing prices. Strong economic growth in the city saw detached bungalows increase 8.3 per cent year-over-year to an average price of $373,244 and standard two-storey homes surge 9.4 per cent to $397,045. Standard condominiums also saw a sizable increase, rising 12.2 per cent year-over-year to $250,953.For 2015, Royal LePage forecasts average home price growth of 2.5 per cent to $371,000, up from $362,000 in 2014. This compares to a 4.9-per-cent increase from $344,977 for 2013. 
"While some markets have continued to defy gravity, notably the economically robust, supply constrained cities of Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, by and large, house prices across the country are now strolling versus bounding forward," Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage, told New Home & Condo Guide. "We believe this moderating trend will characterize the 2015 market, and that in normal course, even our hottest markets will see eroding affordability ease overheated demand, bringing balance and more rational price increases."The recent freefall in the value of oil is impacting the national and some provincial economies, he adds, and will act as a drag in some regions of the country."Specifically, the natural slowing of home price appreciation should be accelerated in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland, and delayed in Central Canada – particularly in Ontario."And what should homeowners and prospective buyers make of recent statements by Deutsche Bank, and even the Bank of Canada, that Canada's house prices are seriously inflated?"Will prices collapse, as a few foreign investment banks have prophesized? That seems highly unlikely in a future characterized by low interest rates and a healthy economy, which is what we see," says Soper.
"While some markets have continued to defy gravity, notably the economically robust, supply constrained cities of Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto, by and large, house prices across the country are now strolling versus bounding forward," Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage, told New Home & Condo Guide. "We believe this moderating trend will characterize the 2015 market, and that in normal course, even our hottest markets will see eroding affordability ease overheated demand, bringing balance and more rational price increases."The recent freefall in the value of oil is impacting the national and some provincial economies, he adds, and will act as a drag in some regions of the country."Specifically, the natural slowing of home price appreciation should be accelerated in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland, and delayed in Central Canada – particularly in Ontario."And what should homeowners and prospective buyers make of recent statements by Deutsche Bank, and even the Bank of Canada, that Canada's house prices are seriously inflated?"Will prices collapse, as a few foreign investment banks have prophesized? That seems highly unlikely in a future characterized by low interest rates and a healthy economy, which is what we see," says Soper. | Average House Price % Change | |||||
| Market | Province | 2014/15 % Change | 2015 Forecast | 2014 | 2013 |
| Halifax | NS | 0.5% | 277,000 | 275,500 | 274,880 |
| Montreal | QC | 0.6% | 331,000 | 329,000 | 320,490 |
| Ottawa | ON | 1.8% | 370,000 | 363,600 | 358,876 |
| Toronto | ON | 4.5% | 592,000 | 566,500 | 524,089 |
| Winnipeg | MB | 0.4% | 275,000 | 274,000 | 268,382 |
| Regina | SK | -1.3% | 311,000 | 315,000 | 312,355 |
| Calgary | AB | 2.4% | 472,000 | 461,000 | 437,036 |
| Edmonton | AB | 2.5% | 371,000 | 362,000 | 344,977 |
| Vancouver | BC | 2.8% | 835,000 | 812,000 | 767,765 |
| National | 2.9% | 419,318 | 407,500 | 382,466 | |
About Wayne Karl
Wayne Karl is an award-winning writer and editor with experience in real estate and business. Wayne explores the basics – such as economic fundamentals – you need to examine when buying property. wayne.karl@nexthome.ca