Edmonton October housing stats show heat into the late fall

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While the weather has cooled, October’s housing statistics from the Realtors Association of Edmonton (RAE) showed a fiery resilience with nearly 40 per cent more sales than at the same time last year in the Greater Edmonton Area.

A recent report from the RAE shows the city’s real estate sales and prices are up while inventory is down from September. In a release about October’s real estate stats, RAE’s 2024 board chairwoman Melanie Boles said the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cut has extended the buying season.

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“The impact of lowering interest rates is keeping us busy with buyers taking advantage of their increased buying power,” said Boles.

Last month saw a more than 13 per cent increase in sales from September despite expectations that the market would begin to slow down heading into the late fall and winter. With roughly 17,000 to date, the city’s housing sales are up by more than 35 per cent, according to RAE.

Through all categories, homes spent less time on the market in October, indicating a bolstered consumer demand. The demand was especially evident in the condominium/apartment category, where days on the market dropped from 63 last October to 45 days this October.

The numbers by housing type:

• Single detached homes had an average price of $549,000, which is up two per cent from September and 15.3 per cent from last year
• Semi-detached homes averaged $410,000, which was down 1.3 per cent from September but up 2.6 per cent from last year
• Row/townhouses averaged $298,000, which was an increase of five per cent from September and 15.2 per cent from last year
• Apartment condominiums were an average of $188,000, which was 3.7 per cent lower than September and 6.9 per cent lower than last year

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The housing stock in Edmonton was 3,765 last month — down from September, which sat at 4,191. Despite the decrease in stock, the prices from month to month didn’t shift much, falling less than one per cent in the benchmark MLS Home Price Index (HPI), which was $392,000 in October compared to September’s $395,000.

“The number of units sold has spiked shortly after recent interest rate announcements, and while month-to-month prices are less volatile overall, they’re still showing a marked increase from last year,” said Boles.

While the HPI improved from September to October, the year-over-year numbers paint a different picture. The HPI for the city last month showed a 6.9 per cent increase from 2023, which is up from the same year-over-year comparison in September, which showed a 6.6 per cent increase.

October also marked the third straight month of decline in new listings, which, coupled with lowered interest rates, could be putting upward pressure on the market’s prices as more buyers compete with access to larger mortgages for a shrinking stock.

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