The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton has released their monthly report on the real estate market saying:

“Average monthly prices across all categories have increased,” says James Mabey, REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair. “Despite slightly slower April sales, the spring buying season is off to a solid start.”

I had a different interpretation of the numbers when I first published the numbers on Monday:
"Whatever improvements we were seeing in the market for the past few months seem to have come to a screeching halt in April. After a few months of year over year increases in sales, sales of both condos and single family homes dropped in April."
I'll let you decide which opinion you think is more realistic. Here's our snapshot on the real estate market in the Greater Edmonton Area:

Greater Edmonton Area Stats:

Edmonton Stats:

Single family home sales are usually on the rise at this time of year, but were flat on a month over month basis in April, dropping 6.8% from last year: Condo sales dropped 7.6% from last April, the lowest level we've seen in April in a long time. Word on the street is financing is becoming more difficult. With so many new condos under construction in Edmonton, especially downtown, I suspect they're affecting demand for resale condos. The average sale price of single-family homes was up 1.2% from last April to $436,681 and the median price was down 1.2% to $392,250. The average sale price for condos was up 1% to $252,800 and the median price was up 1.5% to $235,000. The average price per square foot for single family homes was up $3 to $282 and for condos was up $10 to $245: Posted by Liv Real Estate on
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I'm guessing that's normal for an April with three times the usual snowfall?

Posted by Michael on Monday, May 1st, 2017 at 3:51am

Hi Sara,

Why do you think financing is an issue, are banks being more stringent or a the majority people overshooting their borrowing power- exceeding expectations so to speak?

Posted by Garry on Thursday, May 4th, 2017 at 3:58am

Banks are being more stringent, especially when it comes to condos.

Posted by Sara MacLennan on Thursday, May 4th, 2017 at 4:06am

What's causing the prequalified deals to fall apart? Appraisals under offer? Just trying to understand...I know financing changes in October meant people suddenly qualified for less than they did previous, and it caught some by surprise as a result. But the prequals??

Posted by Trev on Thursday, May 4th, 2017 at 4:07am

Every case is different, common examples are low appraisals and condo docs unacceptable to the lender.

Posted by Sara MacLennan on Thursday, May 4th, 2017 at 4:10am

Good to see the banks taking an active interest in the condo docs. I know they never did with any condo offer I ever offered on, always thought it strange. I read them through line by line, challenged sellers for more info, and paid my lawyer to look them over as well and compare notes with me. It's actually very good for the buyer to have the banks looking over reserve fund studies; it's one more layer of oversight to help them identify the full potential ownership costs and keep people out of risk they can't afford to take on.

Posted by Trev on Thursday, May 4th, 2017 at 4:26am

I don't think the snow had much of an impact on things... Financing has been a challenge for sure, we're seeing lots of deals fall apart on financing, even when the buyer is pre-qualified. If anything the Oilers had a bigger impact than the weather, there are plenty of people more interested in the playoffs after an 11-year drought than they are in looking at houses.

Posted by Sara MacLennan on Thursday, May 4th, 2017 at 6:38am

Hi Sarah,
i am a client of liv and a beginner of real estate investor, thanks for the info.
Can you please clarify what "Single Family Home" and what "condo" refer to? I see inconsistency in use of these terminology by different people. The clarify of this would help people understand more accurately about the stats.

Another question:
What was the criteria for ranking the top 10 neighborhoods? Was it ranked by the number of sold properties or something else?
Thank you very much!

Posted by Jeff on Monday, May 8th, 2017 at 4:04am

Hey Jeff,

Thanks for commenting :) In simplest terms, single family means it has no condo fees, and condo means it does. Single family could include a half-duplex with no condo fees, and condo would include a half-duplex that is condominiumized.

The top 10 neighbourhoods is just based on traffic to those pages on edmontonrealestate.pro.

Posted by Sara MacLennan on Monday, May 8th, 2017 at 7:31am

Thanks Sarah for the clarification, this does help with understanding the stats.
But to me this does not make that much sense, cause there is not that much difference between a duplex with condo fees or without condo fees, they should be in the same category.

Posted by Jeff on Thursday, May 11th, 2017 at 5:52am

I hear you, but there is a distinct difference between condos and single-family homes, and I think it makes sense to differentiate between the two.

Posted by Sara MacLennan on Thursday, May 11th, 2017 at 6:16am

Hey Sara .

Quick question for you if you may. I own a single family home in the summer side area, was wondering would it be a appropriate time to sale it at this moment?
Anyone interested ? Lol.

Posted by Rooney on Wednesday, May 17th, 2017 at 9:45pm

Every home and every situation is different. The only way to know for certain is to get an evaluation and make a decision based on the information you get back. Summerside is a popular area, and in general, this would be a good time to list since buyers could see the lake and amenities at their most beautiful (assuming you have access to the lake - some areas in Summerside do not get lake priveledges). We'd be happy to prepare an evaluation for you if that's of interest.

Posted by Sara MacLennan on Thursday, May 18th, 2017 at 7:05am

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