Record Single-Family Home Sales in Edmonton in January

A record number of single-family homes were reported sold in January in Edmonton. 713 sales were reported, up 33% from last January and 10% from the previous record in 2007. Based on our weekly reports, I was expecting sales to be up compared to last year, but I wasn't expecting an increase of over 30%. Condo sales were up to the highest level seen since 2008; 267 condos were reported sold in Edmonton in January, up 45% from last year! If you missed it, be sure to check out our 2022 forecast to learn what is driving demand in Edmonton.

In the Greater Edmonton area,New listings and inventory were both down 10%, and sales were up 14%, leaving the absorption rate at 3.5 months which is significantly lower than we've seen in January for the past five years. Meanwhile, in Calgary things are moving even more quickly, where the absorption rate sits at 1.2 months (a severe seller's market) and prices are up 12% over last year.

Kaelyn Kowalchuk, a real estate agent with Liv Real Estate says there isn't one market segment driving demand: "I'm working with buyers who have been looking for years, and buyers who need to buy right away. I have seller clients with growing families, investors offloading rentals, and clients downsizing to live without debt. There seem to be a lot of buyers out there who have been waiting for the market to slow down over the last two years, and it hasn't, so now they are rushing to buy before prices increase more."

The benchmark price for single-family homes was up 6% from last January to $416,000 but apartment prices are still down 1% from last year and 16% from 5 years ago. Sales are a leading indicator for prices, if condo sales remain strong we could see price gains in the apartment sector soon. It will be interesting to see how many months of supply we have in the Edmonton area; I will update this post when the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton releases their monthly report on the market later this week. 

City of Edmonton Stats