Edmonton homebuyers have a nearly two-year head start on Calgary
While housing in Edmonton remains far more affordable than in Calgary, it’s still taking would-be buyers longer to save for a down payment than it did a few years ago.
The new data comes from real estate platform Zoocasa, which looked at how long it would take households in Edmonton and Calgary to save for a 20 per cent down payment on a single-detached home, based on local real estate board data.
And while Edmonton is still the clear winner when it comes to how long buyers would need to save, the timeline is creeping up.
According to Zoocasa, a household saving 15 per cent of its income would need about six years and four months to save for a 20 per cent down payment in Edmonton in 2026.
That’s up from five years and eight months in 2023.
The timeline increased to six years in 2024, and six years and five months in 2025, before dipping slightly this year.
Zoocasa
“That steady, largely uninterrupted rise points to a structural shift rather than a short-term spike,” Zoocasa wrote.
Zoocasa
Zoocasa found that Edmonton home prices increased 18.9 per cent between 2023 and 2026, compared with a 9.5 per cent increase in Calgary.
“What’s especially noteworthy is that the more affordable city saw the steeper relative increase.”
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But despite the rising timeline, Edmonton buyers still have a pretty big advantage over prospective Calgarian homebuyers.
A household needs about eight years and one month to reach a 20 per cent down payment in Calgary in 2026, nearly two years more than in YEG.
Zoocasa described the two cities as taking very different paths, with Calgary’s timeline spiking sharply in 2024 before correcting, while Edmonton’s has generally continued to stretch.
Zoocasa
Zoocasa’s analysis assumes a household saves 15 per cent of its gross family income each year toward a 20 per cent down payment on an average detached home.
The income figures for 2024 to 2026 are estimates, as income data was only available for 2023.
You can find the full report on Zoocasa’s website.