Edmonton real estate market shows surprising resilience
Edmonton finished dead last in a recent survey on best places to buy a home in Canada. But that doesn’t mean the city isn’t experiencing a warm front when it comes to activity, especially in the southeast where a couple of neighbourhoods are experiencing growing demand.
Zolo.ca, an online national real estate marketplace and independent brokerage, released its Where to buy real estate in 2020: Top 35 cities earlier this year, ranking cities on key metrics, including average price, year-over-year growth and amenities.
And Edmonton ranked dead last, or 35th place — just one ahead of Calgary. (Guelph and London were No. 1 and 2 in the nation.)
Yet Zolo’s director of content Romana King argues Edmonton’s real estate market is showing surprising resilience in the face of headwinds like the pandemic and oil price shock. As of mid-august, the city had seen a two per cent increase, year over year, in home prices.
“During COVID, homes were selling faster,” King adds. “On average, a single-family home was selling in 49 days — eight days faster than last summer.”
Two neighbourhoods have been particularly hot in the city: Bonnie Doon and Idylwylde.
Both in the city’s southeast, they ranked No. 1 and 2 out of 384 neighbourhoods in the Zolo survey.
Real estate agent Beverley Hasinoff with Liv Real Estate says it’s no surprise these communities are in demand.
“Those are always top for Edmonton because of their close proximity to downtown, the River Valley, schools and other amenities.”
King notes Bonnie Doon is “a community that is still in transition from old to new.” Homes in this community range from postwar bungalows in need of updating — with prices that reflect this — to custom-built single-family homes commanding higher prices.
According to Zolo’s scorecard, the average price is about $454,000, an increase of 10 per cent over the last year.
“Buyers are attracted to this community because it’s central,” she says. “This picturesque neighbourhood draws families and firsttime buyers.”
Idylwylde is also nearby and shares many similar characteristics.
“While Idylwylde’s average house price is lower than Bonnie Doon’s, it didn’t take the top spot since it’s a smidge further away from the action and doesn’t offer the immediate access to green space and nature that you find in Bonnie Doon," King says.
The average home price is similar — about $454,000 — but Idylwylde saw a bigger one-year price jump at more than 15 per cent.
Additionally, its five-year price appreciation was less than one per cent, which shows the neighbourhood is only now entering a potential sellers’ market territory. (Bonnie Doon’s five-year price appreciation is also less than one per cent.)
Another community showing interest from buyers is Rapperswill (average price about $380,000) in the northwest.
“The area has only just started to appreciate.”
King points to its one-year price gain of seven per cent with a fiveyear appreciation of less than one per cent.