In the last quarter of 2008, 6,198 people packed up their belongings and moved to Alberta which brings the province’s population to 3,632,483 as of January 1. Alberta was the only province with substantial interprovincial migration: BC came in next with 1,453 new residents according to statistics compiled by Statistics Canada, CMHC and the Conference Board of Canada.

Now that our newest residents have been in the province for a while and have secured stable jobs and lifestyles, they are going to be looking to find the home of their dreams, and they’ll need to move out of their current abode. That’s where you come in. Residential sales have been increasing since December and there are over 7,500 listings currently on the market. So if a client comes to you and asks if now is a good time to buy, tell them yes.

In-migration is a key factor that influences the housing market. New Albertans looking for homes increase demand for homes and simple supply and demand theory states as demand increases, so does price. Interested in what the market did in March? The REALTORS® Association monthly and quarterly market analysis is now available on the intranet. The Edmonton market is solid and now is a great time to buy.