Top Real Estate Agents in Edmonton.

Edmonton Real Estate News

Slowing sales is giving a brief respite for Edmonton’s feverish housing market this August, as sales and average prices drop from July. Detached homes and townhouses maintained their positive year-over-year price gain, while condo apartments fell into negative territory year-over-year with a sharp decrease in average condo prices.

Detached homes accounted for 67% of sales in Edmonton with an average sold price of $460,963, a 4.9% YoY increase and 1.1% month-over-month decrease from July 2021. Townhouses made up 14% of all sales with an average sold price of $355,326, an 7% YoY increase and a 0.6% month-over-month decrease. Condo apartments lost market share to detached homes, with condos accounting for 20% of Edmonton home sales, with an average sold price of $227,559. This is down by 2% year-over-year and down a significant 5% month-over-month from July.

As a new regulatory tailwind to Edmonton's housing market, the CMHC has recently decreased their standards for insured mortgages. This reverses the increase from last year and drops required credit scores from 680 to 600 and increases GDS and TDS ratio limits to 39% and 44% from 35% and 42%, respectively. This increases potential leverage for home buyers across Canada, especially in cities like Edmonton where average home prices remain under $1 million.

However, the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) and the Ministry of Finance have recently raised the benchmark mortgage stress test rate for both insured and uninsured borrowers from 4.79% to 5.25%, limiting affordability for marginal buyers.

Mortgage rates have also risen from their 2020 lows but have remained stable for the past few months. However, the prospect of tighter monetary policy from the Bank of Canada as early as mid-2022 could lead to increased rates and limit home affordability in Edmonton.

Calgary Commission Structure

Real estate commissions are the fees that home sellers pay to the seller and buyer real estate agents for their services. In Calgary, the total commission rate is structured as 7% for the first $100,000 of a home’s sale price and 3% on the remaining balance. Seller agents usually get half or 50% of this total commission with buyer agents getting the other half. To calculate your real estate commission for Calgary, see our calculator below. For other cities in Alberta, please visit our Alberta real estate commission calculator page for more information.

Calgary Real Estate Tools for Buyers and Sellers