Edmonton spring market shows consumer confidence

The aggregate price of a home in Edmonton remained relatively flat in the first quarter of 2018, decreasing 0.6 per cent year-over-year to $377,986, according to a Royal LePage House Price Survey.

“Home prices have been relatively flat for a few months because of the winter weather, which is a typical early-year trend for Edmonton,” says Tom Shearer, broker and owner, Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate. “As the snow melts, we are starting to see more action in the housing market. The market has been slower than usual for the past two years; however, we are starting to see a return of consumer confidence. The region is anticipating a few big construction projects, so we should see a lot more movement in the local real estate market as a result of an improved economy.”

Nationally, Canada’s real estate market saw slowing year-over-year increases in the first three months of 2018. On a quarter-over-quarter basis for the same period, home prices in many markets across the country remained relatively flat, with approximately half of the markets studied by Royal LePage posting slight declines.

“We are experiencing a broad-based, residential housing correction in Canada, triggered by federal and provincial intervention,” says Phil Soper, president and CEO, Royal LePage. “The combination of declining affordability and government intervention has for the most part neutralized very high home price appreciation levels in the Greater Vancouver and Toronto regions, relative to the extreme heights witnessed in recent periods. However, the demand for housing is so strong that the rate of home price appreciation is expected to pick up again in the second half of 2018.”

The Royal LePage National House Price Composite, compiled from proprietary property data in 63 of the nation’s largest real estate markets, showed the price of a home in Canada increased 6.2 per cent year-over-year to $605,512 in the first quarter of 2018. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a two-storey home rose 5.7 per cent year-over-year to $715,726, and the median price of a bungalow climbed 4.5 per cent to $501,985. Condominiums continued to witness the highest price appreciation rates among housing types studied, rising 10.3 per cent to $418,245.

“While we have recently seen both overshooting and corrections in Canada’s largest markets, on a national basis we believe the Canadian housing market is amidst a long-term expansionary cycle supported by strong economic fundamentals,” says Soper. “Canada’s stature is rising on a global scale. Our cities continue to be ranked among the most desired places to live in the world. Our economy is strong, our unemployment levels are the lowest they’ve been in four decades and we have one of the fastest-growing populations among advanced economies. These factors combined are incredibly supportive of long-term housing demand and valuations.”

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