Alberta new home prices stable despite population surge

April 3 2023

Big-city Alberta new home prices are holding relatively stable despite a nation-leading increase in population growth due to newcomers.
Statistics Canada recently noted the population growth rate in the final quarter of 2022 was higher in Alberta than any other province with 45,864 residents arriving there between October and December 2022—a 1 per cent increase.
The province also welcomed the most net interprovincial migrants across Canada, and, on a yearly basis between January 2022 and January 2023, its annual population growth rate edged upwards by 3.7 per cent.
A study by Edmonton-based Zonda Urban shows 88 per cent of total Alberta building permits are in Calgary and Edmonton.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, Calgary’s multi-family housing investment increased by 42 percent while Edmonton’s multi-family investment increased by 9 percent on a yearly basis. But single-family investment decreased by 24 per cent and 33 percent, respectively, in Calgary and Edmonton on a quarterly basis.
In Calgary, as of the end of 2022, the average unit price across all product types increased by 2.1 percent to $422,491 compared to a year earlier. Concrete condominium pricing increased by 1.6 percent, wood frame condominium prices increased by 1.5 percent, and townhome prices increased by 5.4 percent when compared to the last quarter of 2021.
In Edmonton, the average unit price across all new product types increased by 1.5 percent compared to the previous quarter. The average price of a new townhome is $360,570 and the average price of a new wood frame condominium is $443,233. The most affordable sub-markets on a per-square-foot basis are the Northeast at $221 per square foot and the Southeast at $264 per square foot.