Purchasing a home is never an easy financial milestone to achieve, and in Edmonton, it is becoming even more challenging, making it an outlier among major cities in a new report.
Edmonton's Affordability Deteriorates
“Its affordability has deteriorated slightly,” says Kyle Dahms, senior economist with National Bank of Canada, who co-authored the recent market report by the nation’s sixth largest bank. Affordability fell in the city, along with a handful of other markets that had previously been the hottest in Canada. The National Bank report notes that Winnipeg, Quebec City and Montreal also experienced affordability decreases.
Expensive Markets See Improvements
Examining housing prices, median incomes and mortgage interest rate data for major Canadian metropolitan markets at the end of the first quarter of this year, the study reveals that the nation’s most expensive markets saw significant improvements in affordability. Those include Toronto, Victoria, Vancouver and Hamilton.
“If you look at Canada as a whole, income was the biggest contributor to the improving affordability and then, to a lesser extent, home price declines,” Dahms says. “The Toronto and Vancouver markets have seen the biggest corrections in home prices for condos.”
Price Increases Drive Down Affordability in Edmonton
Price increases are driving down affordability in Edmonton. The report cites that the median price of a home gained almost five per cent year over year to reach $491,773. That is the highest percentage increase among major markets outside of Montreal (4.9 per cent) and Quebec City (11.9 per cent). These cities are also among the few that have seen increases in the median price of a condominium. In Edmonton, the median price grew 3.6 per cent to about $292,000 as of March 31 compared with the same quarter in 2025.
That is in contrast to Toronto where the median price fell nearly 10 per cent to about $633,000. In Vancouver, the median price dropped more than seven per cent to about $708,000.
Mortgage Payments Relative to Income
When examining the monthly mortgage payment based on median price as a percentage of median income, Toronto’s market has fallen from a peak of more than 90 per cent in 2021 to just over 70 per cent this year for all housing types. Similarly, Vancouver fell from close to 110 per cent of median income to just over 80 per cent.
By comparison, Edmonton remains very affordable despite rising prices. As of March 31, just 33 per cent of a median income was required to afford a mortgage for the median price of a home. It is also likely that affordability has improved this spring — the busiest time of year for real estate resales.
“With increased inventory and fewer buyers, the dynamics have shifted, largely reflecting broader economic factors, such as rising grocery and gas prices,” says Wally Fakhreddine, a real estate agent with Top Edmonton Real Estate.
