CREA June 2026 Housing Report: Alberta Prices Rebound

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released its June 2026 national housing figures on July 15, 2026, and the headline is a market that has stopped sliding. National home sales rose 0.5% from May to June, the third straight monthly gain, and were up 0.9% from a year earlier. The National Composite MLS Home Price Index (HPI) was flat month over month, the first month since January 2025 without a decline, though it remains 3.6% below where it sat a year ago. For Alberta, the news was better still: CREA said provincial prices "turned a corner and resumed rising" in the second quarter of 2026, making Alberta the clearest positive standout among the major provinces. On the same day, CREA cut its full-year 2026 national sales forecast to a 1.4% decline. Here is what the national picture means for Edmonton buyers, sellers, and owners.

Information last verified on July 16, 2026. Rates, forecasts, and market figures change; the numbers below are current as of that date.

What did CREA report for June 2026?

CREA's June release describes a national market slowly regaining its footing. Sales activity edged up 0.5% on a seasonally adjusted basis from May, extending a recovery that began after a slow start to the year. Measured against June 2025, sales were 0.9% higher.

On price, the two main measures moved in different directions, and the distinction matters. The National Composite MLS Home Price Index, which tracks a like-for-like "typical" home and is the more reliable gauge of price trends, was unchanged from May, its first flat or positive month in well over a year. Year over year it was still down 3.6%. The separate national average sale price, which simply divides total dollar volume by the number of sales and swings with the mix of what sold, came in at $696,078, up 0.5% from a year earlier. When you see two different national price stories in the same week, this is usually why: the HPI and the average price measure different things.

Supply tightened. New listings fell 1.3% from May, the second straight monthly drop. The national sales-to-new-listings ratio rose to 50.2%, the first time it topped 50% this year, and there were 4.8 months of inventory, the lowest reading of 2026. A sales-to-new-listings ratio near 50% and inventory under five months point to a broadly balanced national market rather than a clear buyer's or seller's advantage.

Where does Alberta fit in the national picture?

CREA's accompanying forecast update named Alberta as the province that has pulled ahead on price. While prices in Ontario and British Columbia are still below year-ago levels, with those declines shrinking, CREA said Alberta prices "turned a corner and resumed rising" in the second quarter of 2026. That characterization reflects the recent quarterly trend as CREA reads it, not a claim that every Alberta price measure is now above where it sat a year ago. It lines up, though, with what our own reporting on Edmonton's June numbers showed locally, where sales climbed and the market tightened faster than the national average.

The national forecast, by contrast, moved the other way. CREA now expects 463,336 homes to change hands across Canada in 2026, a 1.4% decline from 2025 and a reversal from the roughly 1% gain it had penciled in back in April, which was itself already cut from a much stronger call at the start of the year. CREA attributed the downgrade mainly to a faster than expected slowdown in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, tied to slower population growth and long-standing supply shortages. Ontario is now the only province CREA expects to post higher sales this year. For 2027, CREA forecasts national sales rising 3.7% and the average price up about 1%.

What this means for Edmonton

The one-line read for Edmonton: the national market has stabilized, and Alberta is one of the few places where prices are actively rising again rather than merely falling more slowly. That is a meaningfully stronger position than most of the country, and it is the backdrop against which Alberta's narrowing buyer's window should be understood.

For buyers, a rising provincial price trend removes some of the "wait and it will get cheaper" logic that applied through 2025. It does not mean prices will keep climbing at any particular pace, and no one can promise that, but the direction has changed. For sellers, a tighter market with fewer new listings and firmer prices is a more favourable backdrop than a year ago, which is part of what shapes Edmonton's 2026 forecast. For owners who are simply curious, the shift in trend is a reason to recheck where a property actually stands.

A national forecast is a national forecast. The weakness CREA flagged is concentrated in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, not the Prairies, so the "sales will fall in 2026" headline does not describe the Edmonton market you are actually buying or selling in. Whether Edmonton reads as a buyer's or a seller's market right now depends on local inventory and price data, not the national average. As always with rate and market timing, talk to a mortgage broker or a REALTOR® about your specific situation before acting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did CREA report for June 2026 home sales? CREA said national home sales rose 0.5% from May to June 2026 on a seasonally adjusted basis, the third straight monthly increase, and were up 0.9% compared with June 2025.

Did Canadian home prices go up in June 2026? The National Composite MLS Home Price Index was flat month over month, its first non-declining month since January 2025, but still sat 3.6% below June 2025. The separate national average sale price was $696,078, up 0.5% year over year. The two measures track different things, so they can move in different directions.

Why did CREA lower its 2026 forecast? CREA now expects national sales to fall 1.4% in 2026, to 463,336 transactions, down from an earlier forecast of a small gain. It blamed a faster than expected slowdown in Quebec and Atlantic Canada, linked to slower population growth and persistent supply shortages.

Are Alberta home prices rising? In its July 15, 2026 update, CREA said Alberta prices "turned a corner and resumed rising" in the second quarter of 2026, making Alberta the clearest positive standout among the major provinces, while prices in Ontario and British Columbia remained below year-ago levels.

Does the national forecast apply to Edmonton? Not directly. CREA's forecast is a national number, and the weakness it flagged is concentrated in Quebec and Atlantic Canada. Alberta and Edmonton have been running stronger than the national average, so local inventory and price data are a better guide to the Edmonton market than the national headline.

This article was researched and drafted with AI assistance, fact-checked against the primary sources listed below, and reviewed by the hômm editorial team before publication. Market data is live from the MLS®.