Alberta Housing Market Report

Alberta Housing Market Overview

View Home Listings in Alberta

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View Home Listings in Alberta

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Alberta’s housing market is heating up as tight inventory levels coupled with strong demand and sales activity are helping to push up Alberta home prices. For February 2023, Alberta’s benchmark home price of $496,000 was the highest that it has ever been, and it’s also up 9.1% year-over-year.

Meanwhile, Alberta’s average home price rose 12.7% year-over-year to $482,194. That’s up 1.3% on a monthly basis.

Home sales activity is also seeing strong growth, up 28% year-over-year to 5,835 homes sold during the month of February 2024. A boom in sales across all property types drove this growth. Apartment sales in Alberta numbered 1,125, up 33% year-over-year. 533 semi-detached home sales are up 15% year-over-year, while row houses have seen 812 sales increasing by 37% year-over-year. Detached home sales are seeing a 31% year-over-year increase to reach 3,365.

Meanwhile, the province experienced a decrease in overall housing inventory, with 12,277 units available, which is down 21% year-over-year and reduced the months of supply to 2.10, down 40%

Alberta: Seller’s or Buyer’s Markets?

The provincial sales-to-new listings ratio (SNLR) was at 72%, which is in the seller’s market territory. This means that for every 100 new listings, the market absorbed 72 listings this month. This clearly indicates that demand continues to outpace supply in Alberta's housing sector.

The sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) measures the level of demand vs. the level of supply in the market and can be used as an indicator of whether it is a buyer's or seller's market. A high SNLR above 60% indicates a seller's market, where there are comparatively more buyers than homes available for sale, leading to higher prices and less negotiating power for buyers. On the other hand, a low SNLR below 40% suggests a buyer's market with more homes available than interested buyers, giving buyers more negotiating power and potentially lower prices. Most of Alberta’s major cities are currently in a seller’s market, which can help push up Alberta home prices. The exception to this is Fort McMurray, which is in a balanced market.

Calgary's housing market is the largest and the most expensive in Alberta, with an average home price of $583,160, up 15% annually. In other areas of the province, for the month of February 2024, Edmonton's housing market saw prices up 10% annually at $407,458.

No urban markets in Alberta are seeing a negative year-over-year change in prices. Red Deer home prices are up 9% year-over-year to $340,114, Lethbridge home prices are up 7% year-over-year to $376,833, and Medicine Hat home prices are up 14% year-over-year to $341,232. The volatile Fort McMurray housing market is now seeing prices up 2% year-over-year to $346,274. Grande Prairie home prices are up 4% year-over-year, at $321,826.

The housing supply in the province of Alberta is tightening. There were 1.10 months of supply in the City of Calgary during the month of February 2024, down 30% YOY, while Edmonton had 1.84 months of supply, down by 59% YOY. Looking at housing inventory across the province, Alberta's months of supply is down 40% year-over-year to 2.10 months. Sales are up 31% year-over-year, new listings are up 8% year-over-year, and inventory is down 21% year-over-year.