Low prices and tight supplies are heating up condo sales in St. Albert, recent research suggests.
Re/Max released its 2024 Canada Condominium Report on Oct. 9. The report examined condo sales in seven major Canadian markets, including Edmonton.
Condominium sales in Edmonton from Jan. 1 to Aug. 31, 2024, were up 36.7 per cent compared to that same period last year, which was the biggest increase amongst the seven markets, the report showed. Some 3,351 condos changed hands in that time period, making 2024 the best year for apartment sales for that period in the last five years. The average apartment cost $200,951, up for per cent from last year and the lowest amongst the seven markets examined.
St. Albert was seeing similar trends in its condo market, said Brian Cyr, a Re/Max Elite realtor who lives in St. Albert. Edmonton Real Estate Board data shows that some 300 condos have been sold in St. Albert so far this year, which was closing in on the 363 sold in the entirety of 2023.
Cyr said St. Albert has never had the greatest condo market, but it has improved significantly in the last few years, with prices up about four per cent this year compared to last. Condos are also spending less time on the market, averaging 33 days on sale now compared to 45 last year.
“Condos are selling for more money and taking less time to do so, so that is definitely encouraging,” Cyr said.
St. Albert is also seeing a surge in new multi-housing developments, with some 432 row and apartment units started so far this year compared to 224 for that same period last year, noted Lory Scott, affordable housing liaison officer for the City of St. Albert in an email. Just 17 per cent of those units were intended for sale, with some 83 per cent slated for the rental market. Statistics shared by Scott suggest high demand for rentals in St. Albert, with just 0.9 per cent of rental apartments vacant last year — far below the three or four per cent considered healthy for a community.
Who’s buying
The Re/Max report found that low prices, immigration, and in-migration had all driven condo sales in Edmonton. Demand has far outstripped supply, with the ratio of sales to new listings sitting at 65 per cent. Most newcomers were buying and living in their condos, with a smaller number of investors purchasing and renovating older units to rent.
Cyr said he was seeing a mix of buyers for St. Albert’s condos. Some were first-time buyers using condos and duplexes as an affordable way to get into home ownership. Others were retirees looking for homes they could “lock and leave” when they go on vacation without having to worry about yard maintenance, or who were moving back from the west coast to be closer to family.
Cyr projected brisk condo sales in St. Albert for the rest of this year.
“We are one of the most affordable major centres in the country,” he said, and investors pay attention to that.
The Re/Max report can be found at blog.remax.ca/condominium-report.
