Prices remained relatively steady throughout market cooldown
Average home prices in Canada’s hottest markets have tended to oscillate wildly, with both Toronto and Vancouver registering huge year-over-year price increases at the height of the market frenzy before seeing values plummet amid a rapid cooldown and higher interest rates.
While Alberta’s average prices fell when buyers moved to the sidelines, the comedown was nowhere near as dramatic as in those other markets – and that stability is part of the reason for its current popularity, according to Tagg.
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“It seems like it’s Alberta’s time to shine,” he said. “We’ve watched from the sideline as our market’s been a little bit sluggish over the years pre-COVID, and seen with some envy what’s going on in the Vancouver market or the Toronto area.
“We’ve had some price appreciation, of course, during COVID – but it wasn’t so wild that it needed a massive correction like we’ve observed elsewhere in the country. The peak benchmark price in Calgary was $546,000 in May of 2022, and the low point on the trough was in December at $518,800.
“From an affordability perspective, Calgary and Edmonton continue to be the most affordable major housing markets in Canada and arguably the most affordable major housing markets in the developed world when we’re talking costing homeownership compared to median income.”