New numbers from the Realtors Association of Edmonton show home sales in St. Albert have rebounded and the average price of a detached home in the city has risen by over $40,000 compared to last year, making St. Albert homes the priciest of Edmonton’s satellite communities.
Local Realtor Matthew Barry said he hasn’t seen prices shoot quite so high, so fast since 2006.
“There's been little spikes and peaks since then, but nothing quite like what we’re seeing right now,” Barry said.
A snapshot of housing prices taken between January and June 2024 shows the average cost of a detached home in St. Albert was $576,188. That’s a jump of more than $25,000 compared to the same period in 2022, before last year when prices dipped. In 2023, the average price for a detached home was $550,742.
Median home prices were $530,000, $499,950, and $514,500 in 2024, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
While prices are higher than ever, the total number of detached homes sold was still lower this year than it was between January and June 2022, when sales reached a bit of a pandemic peak. Sales fell to 414 in 2023.
In 2022, from January to June, 576 homes sold in St. Albert, whereas only 530 sold this year.
Barry thinks the discrepancy could have something to do with the large wave of people relocating to Alberta from provinces such as B.C. and Ontario, where housing costs in many cities are much higher.
“Because of that, they're paying more money to make sure they get the house,” he said, noting many homes get multiple offers. “We're seeing that in good, clean, ready-for-the-market homes, they're fetching the best dollars. There are still homes that aren't as ready for the market.”
Apartment sales were lower in the first six months of 2024 than in the same period for 2023 and 2022.
Sales fell to 70 apartments this year from 86 in 2023. Some 74 apartments were sold in 2022.
Barry said the drop could be because of multiple factors, including slightly lower interest rates allowing buyers to aim for a detached home, more developers turning to rentals, and some types of condos increasing in price.
In many cases, people who migrated to Canada from elsewhere in the world are choosing the Edmonton area as a permanent home, said Realtor Sam Elias.
“They realize after a year … there's a lot cheaper places in Canada than the Toronto-Vancouver market,” he said. “Alberta is number one.”
Elias is also seeing more real estate investors buying property in St. Albert. He has had clients who sold property in more expensive Canadian cities to buy rental properties in St. Albert.
“Sell your home in Toronto for $1.8 million and you can buy three houses, cash, and live in one, rent the other two,” he said.
Elias had one tip for buyers entering 2024’s more competitive market: Work within your means.
“Be really, really honest with your financials,” he said. “Then you’ll have a real understanding what can you afford to purchase. That is your bottom line right there.”
Buyers should think about what they truly need in a home before spending lots of money on real estate that could be larger or more elaborate than is necessary, Elias said.
They should also aim for prices that are a bit lower than what the bank has approved so they have some room to go higher on a competitive property.
Choosing housing that buyers can easily afford helps insulate them from market changes and changes to life circumstances, he said.
“Otherwise, interest rates go up outside of your control, mortgage payments get higher and you can't afford it,” he said. “You don't want to go through that misery.”
