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Alberta’s second-largest city continues to evolve, thanks to recent investments in housing, retail and transit, as well as booming tech and research sectors.
Known as the “Gateway to the North,” Edmonton is Alberta’s capital and its northernmost metropolitan area. It serves as an access point to the Northwest Territories and as a business centre for the diamond mining and oil sands industries in northern Alberta. With a population of more than a million people, Edmonton is the second-largest city in the province and the fifth-largest in Canada. It’s also an educational hub, with the University of Alberta, MacEwan University and the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) all located within city limits. Edmonton is also a cultural hot spot—the city hosts more than 50 grassroots art, music and culinary events each year.
To simplify the task of buying a home in Edmonton, MoneySense partnered with Zoocasa—a full-service tech brokerage—on a guide to the city’s top neighbourhoods this year, as part of the 2022 edition of Where to Buy Real Estate in Canada. The neighbourhood rankings are based on local real estate data and current housing trends, Zoocasa crunched local real estate data and considered long-term trends to reveal the Edmonton neighbourhoods that offer the greatest value and price-growth potential.
If you’re looking beyond the Edmonton area, our guide includes a national ranking of cities and regions, as well as information on the top neighbourhoods in 12 other markets across Canada (view them by tapping or clicking on the menu above). The rankings are based on data collected at the end of March 2022, and interviews were conducted in March and April. Read more about our methodology.
To view all the data in the table, slide the columns right or left using your fingers or mouse. You can filter or rearrange the rankings by using the search tool or clicking on column headings. You can also download the data to your device by tapping on the Excel, CSV or PDF icons.
Though energy is the largest employment sector and many Canadians continue to migrate to Edmonton to work on or around the oil patch, the city has many other thriving industries. Due in part to the University of Alberta and NAIT, its tech and research sectors are booming. It continues to have strong agriculture, financial services and manufacturing sectors, and thanks to the proximity of the Canadian Rockies, Edmonton also has a flourishing tourism industry. The city is also a distribution point for CN railway and facilitates the flow of goods across Canada.
Edmonton’s downtown core is undergoing a long-term revitalization process that began in 2016, with roughly $750 million being put toward development in housing, retail and transit.
The COVID-19 pandemic initially stunted growth within the downtown core. As hockey games (Edmonton is home to the Oilers) and tourism were halted, and many residents transitioned to working remotely, fewer people had reason to spend time in the city centre. Demand for downtown condos and apartments fell. By the end of March 2020, home sales had dipped 2.6% and new listings had dropped by 14% compared to March of the previous year.
Despite the decline caused by the pandemic, real estate prices in Edmonton accelerated through 2021. By the end of the year, the benchmark price of a home was $18,000 higher compared to the same time in 2020, sitting at $337,983. The market has likely benefited from an uptick in new residents from outside the province. According to Statistics Canada, the second quarter of 2021 saw the highest number of interprovincial moves since 1991, and Alberta was one of the top destinations.
Home prices in Edmonton experienced moderate growth in 2021, but the benchmark price didn’t quite hit the record highs seen in other cities across the country. In fact, Edmonton’s home prices peaked back in June 2007, when the benchmark price was $376,000. In February 2022, the benchmark price was $348,900.
“Edmonton is still a very affordable city compared to other major cities like Toronto or Vancouver,” says Lauren Haw, CEO and broker of record at Zoocasa. “This factor will bolster the Edmonton real estate market as many people are searching for cost-effective options in the country.”
With a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 67% in February 2022, Edmonton remained a sellers’ market. But more recently, there have been signs that the city is returning to a more balanced market as more homes are put up for sale.
“Prices in the short term are likely to still rise, but at a more moderate level,” notes Haw. “As interest rates increase and more homes are listed, we would generally expect prices to settle. The oil industry is poised for continued gains; however, this could continue to push prices and real estate activity up in the province of Alberta.”
Located near Maplewood and Sherwood Heights, Maplegrove is a community with great parks and amenities. With a benchmark price of $403,827 at the end of 2021, it is the top Edmonton neighbourhood on our list this year. In December 2021, home prices were 329% higher than they were one year before, 12% higher than three years earlier and 19% higher than five years earlier. That translates to a value score of 5 out of 5 and a neighbourhood economics score of 4.5 out of 5.
The area’s main claim to fame is that it’s the site of Smeltzer House Visual Arts Centre, a 100-year-old building that houses a popular visual arts centre with a pottery studio and glassworks shop—it’s a big draw for artists, crafters and families. Maplegrove features mostly detached and semi-detached residences with vinyl or wood siding, dating back to the 1960s. The area is filled with mature trees that provide plenty of shade. About 47% of households have children, and the area has a number of good schools. However, Maplegrove’s subdivision model means that it isn’t very walkable—its neighbourhood accessibility score is only 0.5 out of 5.
View Zoocasa’s real estate listings in Maplegrove.
Mills Haven was primarily developed in the 1970s and features three schools and several parks. In December 2021, homes sold for an average price of $376,692. That’s the result of recent impressive price growth. At the end of 2021, home values were 117% higher than they were one year earlier, 3% higher than three years earlier and 1% higher than five years earlier. That gives the area a value score of 3.8 out of 5 and a neighbourhood economics score of 4.5 out of 5.
The housing stock in Mills Haven features large lot sizes, deep front yards and mature trees. Homes include an assortment of single-level, bi-level and split-level houses, clad in vinyl siding or brick veneer. Malvern Park is a popular destination, and so are the school playgrounds. Around 47% of households in the area have kids. Residents love Mills Haven because it’s a quiet, suburban-style community. If you want serenity, avoid homes that border Main Boulevard—their occupants are more likely to complain about heavy traffic. The one drawback that may give some home buyers pause: With few amenities and businesses in the area, you’re likely to need a car. Mills Haven has a neighbourhood accessibility score of just 0.5 out of 5.
View Zoocasa’s real estate listings in Mills Haven.
Located in the southwest corner of Edmonton, Terwillegar South is bounded on the west by Terwillegar Drive and on the east by Rabbit Hill Road. It’s one of seven neighbourhoods within Terwillegar Heights. Housing prices have fallen in recent years. In December 2021, the benchmark price of a home was $316,211—7% lower than it was one year earlier, 12% lower than three years earlier and 15% lower than five years earlier. However, Terwillegar South still made the top three because of its strong value score of 3.2 and perfect neighbourhood economics score of 5 out of 5.
Terwillegar South is relatively new; construction began in 2003 and ended around 2009. The neighbourhood is made up primarily of single-family detached homes, but you’ll also find multi-family housing and condos. Homes all face the street and parking is in the rear, prioritizing pedestrian access. It’s a great place to buy if you want a cost-efficient newer home. It’s also a favourite among families, with kids in 51% of households. The area is more accessible than the others on our list, with an accessibility score of 2.2 out of 5.
View Zoocasa’s real estate listings in Terwillegar South.
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The top neighborhoods aren’t even in Edmonton. These are in Sherwood park.
This is totally nonsense, it did not have a full picture of the housing market in Edmonton at all. There are so many good neighborhoods including heritage valley that offers houses with reasonable price and fairly new built houses.
Pretty funny article. As a lifelong resident of Edmonton I had a good chuckle at this. Basing good neighborhoods against the almighty buck! I’ll live here because I can make money on my house. I’ll live here because the prices of houses are cheaper. very questionable reasons for determining good neighborhoods. Some of the neighborhoods they list have these ugly monstrous cookie cutter houses. Cookie cutter houses that will never last a life of your mortgage. My father was a custom home builder and some of these neighborhoods have horrendously cheap built new houses. Houses that are 2 ft apart. Oh hey, look at me, look at me, I live in a better neighborhood than you do. I don’t think it’s going to matter what neighborhood you live in when it’s minus 40 during the middle of winter in the city doesn’t plow the roads. They should base the best neighborhoods on the amount of potholes.
Lost me at ” With a population of around 900,000 people”. Statistics Canada states city of edmonton population was 1,010,899 in 2021. With something this basic, and easily verified. Makes we wonder what else they got wrong.
Thanks for letting us know. We have updated the article. We do our best to fact check all our content before it gets published, and we regret that some things occasionally do get missed.
Potential Edmonton home buyers rejoice !!!….now you can get a mortgage and be comfortable knowing that you are in the city that leads the country in missed mortgage payments and higher than average debt levels…has to be a realtor add…perhaps he wants to unload his COVID repos on you !!!