House Prices Go Flat In Edmonton And Soar In Ontario

According to a Royal LePage house price survey recently released, economic insecurity has kept Edmonton’s housing market flat.

Tom Shearer, broker and owner of Royal LePage Noralta, said in a news release, “While home prices across Edmonton remain subdued by the recent economic downturn, optimism is returning to the market as commodity prices and employment opportunities continue to stabilize.”

“In the latter half of the quarter, the region experienced an uptick in demand and sales activity, as prospective homebuyers began to see the light at the end of the tunnel and sought to take advantage of currently depressed home values before they rebound.”

The average price of a home in Edmonton in the first quarter of 2017 hovered at $381,733, up 0.3 per cent over the same period last year.

Two-storey home prices increased by 1.3 per cent to $422,848, while condos saw a small decrease, dropping 2.1 per cent to $236,254, compared to the same period last year.

Renewed optimism in Alberta’s economic outlook could continue to sustain housing prices in Edmonton, Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, said in a release.

“The mood in Alberta is brightening, as the region adjusts to a world of $50 a barrel oil,” Soper said.

The residential real estate market across Canada saw dramatic growth in the first quarter of 2017, increasing 12.6 per cent over the same period last year. Most of that growth, however, can be attributed to sky-rocketing real estate prices in Ontario.

Without Ontario, house prices in the rest of Canada would have increased by 6.4 per cent year-over-year.

Prices in the Greater Toronto area saw 20 per cent growth in prices across all housing types, with strong demand spilling into other southwest Ontario markets such as Windsor and London.

While economic recovery nationally may bring stability and growth to Canadian housing markets, Soper warned international political instability from the United States and the European Union could have an unpredictable effect on Canada’s housing prices.

“Our economy, which has recovered nicely from the 2014 oil crisis, is sadly dependent on moves by an unpredictable U.S. federal government and can be swayed by unforeseen global events, such as fallout from Europe’s restructuring,” Soper said. “Still, housing activity is strong and prices are rising at a healthy mid-single-digit rate across the land.”