Fort McMurray housing market: August 2026

What happened in August

Sales cooled from the summer peak, as they usually do in August — 116 homes changed hands, down 19.4% from July — but the year-over-year comparison is the honest one, and it's still positive: sales were up 8.4% from August 2025.

Supply is where this market keeps making its point. New listings came in at 139, down 14.7% from a year ago, and active inventory fell again to 315 homes — down 25.2% year over year and lower than any month since the spring. Months of supply sat at 2.72 (up from July's 2.38 only because sales slowed, not because listings piled up), and 83% of new listings found a buyer. Under three months of supply is still seller-leaning territory.

About that 12% price jump

The average sale price was $399,590, up 12.1% from July. Last month the average fell 7.3% and we said that wasn't values dropping — this month it rose 12% and it isn't values climbing either. It's the same thing running the other way.

AREA reports an average for Fort McMurray, not a benchmark or a median, so on roughly 120 sales a month the number moves with whatever happens to sell. In July a wave of apartment-condo sales pulled it down; in August apartment sales fell 59% from July, so far fewer sub-$150,000 units were in the mix and the average sprang back up. The proof is in the detached number: the detached average was $475,992, essentially unchanged from July (-0.2%) and from last August (+0.3%). If you want to know what this market is actually doing, watch sales, inventory and months of supply — not the monthly average.

Where the action was, by property type

Detached homes carried the month: 80 of the 116 sales, up 17.6% from last August, with inventory down 25.1% year over year to 218 homes and 89% of new detached listings selling. Values there are steady rather than rising — the average is flat year over year — but the choice available to buyers keeps shrinking.

At the entry level, apartment condos had a quiet month on volume (16 sales, down 59% from July's spike) though still 23.1% ahead of last August, with an average of $149,734. Row and townhouse sales came in at 15, and were the one segment where new listings actually grew — up 50% from July — so townhome buyers have a little more to look at than they did a month ago. Note that with 15 or 16 sales in a segment, a monthly average price says more about which specific units sold than about the segment itself.

What this means if you're buying in Fort McMurray

A quarter less inventory than a year ago, with 83% of new listings selling, means the well-priced home still goes quickly here. The buyers who do well are the ones who've done the financing work up front — a real pre-approval with a firm number — so they can act the day the right place comes up. The most choice today is still in condos and townhomes, and the September–October stretch is often when a patient buyer finds a seller who has been waiting since spring.

Because so much Fort McMurray income is variable, how a lender reads your pay matters as much as the price. Overtime, shift premiums and bonuses can be used, but generally only with about a two-year history, and they're averaged — and lenders genuinely differ on how much of it they'll count. Getting your income assessed properly before you're negotiating, rather than after, is usually what separates a firm approval from a maybe.