Blog

The great question of 2026 is: What Can We Expect from the Edmonton Real Estate Market?

So far, it’s both a mixed bag and classic early spring market (more on that below). We have 35% more inventory on the market than a year ago, and about 16% fewer sales. More supply and less demand usually means dropping prices, and in a way that is what we have seen. Benchmark prices for all types of homes are down year over year, which also means that the price gains from last summer are gone.

You’d think that means that it would be easier to buy a home in 2026? Well, that’s not really the case.

Accurately priced, well staged, move-in ready homes are selling in bidding wars!

What gives? Well, two things:

1) The end of year market became saturated with properties that either needed work or price adjustments. What worked in spring 2025 didn’t work in fall 2025, including pricing.

2) Early spring market – Buyers are back out shopping, but sellers are still getting ready. If we’ve talked in the last 6 months, I’ll tell you that March can be a powerful time to be a seller (and a tricky time to be a buyer) in Edmonton, because our market just never has enough nice homes for sale this time of year.

My advice? Strategy matters more than ever. If you’re buying, a well positioned offer can get you the home of your dreams, even if you’re in a bidding war. If you’re selling, positioning – price and staging matter more than everything.

I’m here to help – if you’re ready now or even if you’re thinking of moving within the next year or two, strategy is my specialty and good planning begins early.

It feels like we have a big news story every day and it’s so hard to know what to do! Will AI crash? Will we see more tariffs, oil price crashes, etc.? Will Venezuelan oil replace Alberta oil? And last but not least, will the Alberta separation movement slow immigration to the province?

Do you move? Do you buy a hut in the forest somewhere?

In my real estate career, I’ve worked through many ups and downs – the 2007 boom, the ’08 US market crash, the 2014 oil crash, Covid, and now tariffs and uncertainty.

There’s one truth:

No matter the market, people need to move.

The most important thing we can do is: keep living! After that? be realistic, stay positive, and solution-focused.

Each time the market “crashed” in 2008, 2015 and 2020, many realtors blamed the market – “it’s just slow”… and their listings sat, expired, and sellers would stay focused on their “break even” number, forgetting that the property they were about to buy also dropped in price.

The worst part is they would stay stuck… in the wrong house, with the wrong renters, needing more space, more liquid cash, or to downsize.

The solution? Proven experience, data-driven decisions, and smart strategy that just doesn’t give up! And that’s where I come in.

It takes guts to have the reality check conversations with sellers, but the best part? The relief and thank you at the end.

My guess is the market will actually be quite balanced in 2026: our prices are still affordable, buyers need to buy, and sellers need to sell. Well-priced, well positioned homes will still sell.

The biggest prediction I have is that homes that need work – homes with old shingles, anything broken, and especially those with that dirty, run-down feel, will need to discount more than ever. And homes that are polished, staged, and well presented? They’ll be more in demand than ever!

**Not written by AI please excuse any grammar or spelling!