Edmonton Real Estate: Sales Up, Inventory Down in Busy October

The Greater Edmonton real estate market continued its hot streak in October, with sales up significantly and inventory dropping compared to last year. According to data from the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton, home sales in the Greater Edmonton area increased 23% year-over-year, with 1812 properties sold last month. This high sales volume comes even as the number of active listings fell 12% to 6254 properties on the market in October.

The combination of strong demand and shrinking supply has kept conditions in favour of sellers in Edmonton. Homes are still often selling with multiple offers, albeit not necessarily the frenzied bidding wars seen in the past. Our agents reported many properties received two offers and sold near the asking price in October.

The total active inventory in the greater Edmonton area was 6,254 listings in October, representing a 12% decrease compared to the same month last year. Inventory is well below typical levels, but is not dropping as quickly as we would normally see at this time of year. Now as we head into the slower fall and winter season, the months of inventory metric continues to slowly creep upwards. If the trend continues, buyers could start to see more selections and fewer multiple-offer scenarios.

The number of new listings in October increased to 2753, up 4% compared to October 2021. This increase is a positive sign for buyers who have faced low inventory levels, however, the number of new listings is still within the normal range for October, so inventory isn't increasing drastically.

The Bank of Canada held the benchmark rate at 5% in October, and it is expected to remain there until Spring 2023. This is welcome news for variable rate mortgage holders, as it indicates the BoC has likely finished raising rates for this cycle. Five-year fixed mortgage rates have actually started to decline recently. It will be interesting to see if this mortgage rate trend continues, and what effect it has on Greater Edmonton's shifting real estate market over the coming months.

Key real estate stats and trends to recap:

- Sales are up 23% year-over-year, with 1812 properties sold
- Active listings down 12% to 6254
- New listings up 4% to 2753
- Many homes sold close to list price after receiving two offers
- Months of inventory rose to 3.45
- Fixed mortgage rates started declining while variable rates held steady

City of Edmonton Stats