2 days Ago By Joel Schlesinger, for the Edmonton Journal
Article content Economic uncertainty could be putting a damper on the spring real estate market as many Canadians, Edmontonians included, feel less wealthy and secure. The on-and-off again United States administration’s trade policy has sent markets careening downward, and then upward on every real or inferred announcement by U.S.
President Donald Trump. “Uncertainty can make people put plans on hold even if interest rates are coming down and expected to come down even more because if you can’t pay the bills, it doesn’t matter how cheap a mortgage is,” says Kingsley Ma, area vice-president with Re/Max Canada in Vancouver. Although the impact may be more acute in Canada’s most expensive markets, where in March the average price of a single-family home in Vancouver exceeded $2 million, Edmonton is not immune to the ongoing uncertainty either.
Still, the resale market remains hot, driven by affordability, says a local realtor. “I thought it would be a much bigger discussion and focal point than it’s actually been,” says Dave Ozubko, real estate agent with Dave Sells in Edmonton, referring to the recent stock market and economic upheaval. “But Edmonton is the hottest real estate market in Canada right now, and what’s going on with our friends and neighbours down south doesn’t seem to be having much impact.
” Home sales ending March 31 were up modestly year to date year over year, increasing less than one per cent, Realtors Association of Edmonton statistics show. At the same time, new listings grew nearly five per cent from the same period in 2024. Prices, however, still rose substantially.
The composite average price of a home in the Greater Edmonton Area increased more than 12 per cent year over year to $438,100. Townhomes saw the most price growth, increasing about 20 per cent to reach $303,900 for a benchmark price. That may illustrate the increased interest among first-time buyers who find themselves locked out of the more pricey and popular single-family detached home market.
In March, its benchmark grew 14 per cent to $516,400. (Although significant, it is still more than $200,000 less than in Calgary.) “The first-time home buyers seem to feel more pinched because pricing has gone up so much,” Ozubko adds.
But instead of feeling apprehensive about the economy, they tend to feel more pressure to buy sooner than later, worried prices will only go higher. As well, move-up buyers are generally feeling more confident because of rising home values. “Our higher net worth clients seem to feel a bit more insulated from everything that’s going on,” he says.
Uncertainty over the economy certainly is a headwind, he adds, but tariffs are less concerning to some than the result of the looming federal election, which they believe could have an impact on the province’s energy sector. And as the oil and gas economy goes in Alberta so, too, does Edmonton’s housing market, Ozubko says. “Still, most buyers are more focused on whether they can find the house they want at the price they can afford,” he adds.
“At the end of the day, families need a place to live, and given the choice between $2,500 a month for rent or a mortgage payment, they generally choose the latter.”.
