Page 14 - 03_April-2025

CITY
REAL ESTATE
GETS REAL
New and renewed developments are popping up in and
around our city. For an overview of what’s happening
in Edmonton’s real estate market, we spoke with Realtors
Association of Edmonton Board Chair Darlene Reid about
what 2025’s first quarter means for Edmonton buyers
and sellers.
A SHRINKING GAP
» “‘Challenging’ would be the word,” Darlene Reid
says bluntly. “It’s a very challenging market for
buyers, but it’s a great market for sellers who want
to pull equity out.”
Inventory is low and prices have gone up, Reid
says, so while sales keep increasing (there was a
14.3 per cent increase from January to February
2025), the number of listings keeps decreasing
(including year-over-year), shrinking the gap
between supply and demand. “That gap is getting
smaller and smaller,” Reid says, “and our inventory
is dropping drastically.”
The biggest swing is happening in the semi-
detached market — builds like duplexes with
backyards that meet many families’ first-home
needs. “The prices in that category are up 8.9 per
cent, and our number of listings dropped 8.3 per
cent from last year. So, sales are up, prices are up,
but the inventory keeps dropping.”
SEMI-DETACHED
MARKETS
8.9%
LISTINGS
8.3%
PRICES
IT AIN’T EASY BEING POPULAR
(OR SUCK IT, CALGARY)
» “We’ve seen a ton of interprovincial
migration, and even migration
within Alberta. We’re seeing a lot
of people moving from Calgary to
Edmonton because of the affordability
factor,” Reid says, adding that the
same house in Edmonton can go for
$200,000 less than in Calgary. And
since COVID, many employers allow
people to work from home, “So if
people can choose between Calgary
or Edmonton, a lot of people are
choosing Edmonton because that
$200,000 goes a lot further here than
it does in Calgary.”
But while eager buyers are the only
people seeking our affordable homes,
they aren’t the only entities bidding
on the properties. Reid says corporate
investment firms have taken notice
of Edmonton’s action, and that’s not
ideal for citizens.
“The rents are up and vacancies
are down, so investors are like, ‘Hey,
this is a hot market — let’s start
buying up properties.’ These young
families bid on these houses and
they’re competing against an investor
doing a cash offer. It can be really
discouraging for some of these buyers
who are desperately trying to just
get into the market.”
14 EDify. APRIL.25
A PREFAB
SOLUTION
» The Toronto, Vancouver and
Calgary markets have priced out
too many people, Reid says, and
Edmonton is dangerously close to
following suit. But the Realtors
Association doesn’t just track market
events. By attending town halls,
meeting council members and con-
ducting letter-writing campaigns, it
advocates on behalf of Edmonto-
nians’ economic interests by urging
city council to adopt new zoning
bylaws that allow for higher density
housing in older neighbourhoods,
which allows for more homes. It also
pushed for the derelict tax, which
doubles the property tax on owners
holding onto empty houses, and
decreases it once they remediate
with the intention to sell.
“We’ve also been advocating
for prefabricated or off-site
manufactured homes to be placed
in cities, because some cities have
bylaws that don’t actually allow that
— but Edmonton does, depending
on the specific area,” Reid says.
Prefab houses look just like
traditional homes but produce
less waste to create and come with
pre-approved permits and designs.
That speeds up the building
process and can help widen the
supply-demand gap. They also don’t
hold as much interest for corporate
investment firms, which typically
prefer apartment-style condos in
high-rental areas.
Reid has seen an uptick in the
number of pre-fab home manu-
facturers. “The market for them
has increased and in some rural
surrounding communities, people are
putting them up on their proper-
ties — it’s way more affordable, it’s
quicker, and it’s getting more houses
out there.”