Selling a Home in Alberta

Before you list your home, it's important to understand your goals. Getting clear on the "why" and "when" now makes every later decision easier.

Questions to Ask Yourself

• Why am I selling?
• When do I need to move?
• Do I need to buy another home first?
• How much do I still owe on my mortgage?
• What repairs or updates should I do before listing?
• What price would make sense in today's market?

A REALTOR® can help you understand your home's value and what buyers in your area are looking for.

Small improvements can make a big difference. You don't always need major renovations — sometimes simple updates help your home show much better.

Before spending money on renovations, talk to your REALTOR®. Not every renovation increases your sale price enough to be worth the cost.

Curb Appeal

Curb appeal is how your home looks from the outside, and first impressions matter — buyers often start judging a home before they walk inside. Things that help: cut the grass, trim trees and bushes, add simple planters, clean the windows, touch up peeling paint, tidy the front door area, and make sure the exterior lights work.

Order Your Real Property Report Early

In Alberta, many sellers need to provide a Real Property Report, or RPR. It's a survey-style document that shows your property boundaries, the location of the house, and structures like the garage, decks, fences, and sheds. The RPR is usually reviewed by the municipality to confirm compliance — this is called municipal compliance.

Check Permits and Compliance

Before listing, check whether improvements on your property had proper permits. This may include decks, garages, basement developments, additions, sheds, hot tubs, secondary suites, and major renovations. If something doesn't comply, it may need to be fixed, removed, approved, or otherwise addressed before closing. It's much better to find this out before listing than during a buyer's condition period.

Selling a home involves pricing, marketing, paperwork, negotiation, and legal deadlines. A REALTOR® helps you understand the market, set a listing price, prepare and market the home, review offers, negotiate terms, track deadlines, work with the buyer's agent, and coordinate with lawyers and other professionals. In Alberta, real estate professionals are regulated by RECA, the Real Estate Council of Alberta.

Signing a Listing Agreement

When you hire a REALTOR® to sell your home, you'll usually sign a written agreement called a Written Service Agreement. For sellers, this is often an Exclusive Seller Representation Agreement. It explains who is representing you, the listing price, the length of the listing, how commission works, what services and marketing are included, what documents you need to provide, and what happens after the listing ends.

Understanding Agency

Agency describes the relationship between you and your REALTOR®. There are three main ways a REALTOR® may work with you in Alberta:

• Designated Agency — common in Alberta. Your specific REALTOR® represents you and works in your best interest, owing you duties like loyalty, confidentiality, full disclosure, reasonable care, following lawful instructions, and proper accounting.
• Transaction Brokerage — this can happen if the same REALTOR® becomes involved with both the seller and the buyer. The REALTOR® becomes neutral and can't favour either side. Both parties must agree to this in writing.
• Customer Status — the REALTOR® is not representing you as a client. They may provide basic information, but they aren't giving you full advice or working in your best interest the way they would for a client.

Setting the Right Price

Pricing is one of the most important parts of selling. Price too high and buyers may ignore the home; price too low and you may leave money on the table. A REALTOR® usually helps by reviewing recent sales, active and expired listings, the current competition, and your home's location, condition, size, lot features, and renovations, along with overall market trends.

Measuring Your Home

In Alberta, residential listings must follow the Residential Measurement Standard, or RMS — the standard way homes are measured so buyers can compare properties fairly. Generally, above-grade finished space is reported as the main size, below-grade space is shown separately, and apartment condos are measured differently than detached homes. Your REALTOR® will help make sure your home is measured properly before it's listed.

Marketing Your Home

Good marketing helps the right buyers find your property. A strong listing may include professional photos, accurate measurements, a floor plan, an MLS® listing, a property description and feature sheet, social media marketing, brokerage website exposure, agent network sharing, a video or virtual tour, and open houses where appropriate. In Alberta, MLS® listings are commonly handled through Pillar 9™ and local boards such as CREB® in Calgary. Marketing should always be accurate and not misleading.

Open Houses and Showings

During showings, buyers are deciding whether the home feels right for them. Before a showing, turn on the lights and open the blinds, clean the counters, put away laundry, remove valuables, take pets out if possible, make sure walkways are safe, keep the temperature comfortable, and avoid strong smells. Afterward, your REALTOR® may collect feedback from buyers and their agents, which can help you decide if any changes are needed.

Seller Disclosure

In Alberta, sellers must disclose known material latent defects — serious problems that aren't easy to see during a normal inspection and that affect the use or value of the property. Examples include a basement that floods, hidden foundation problems, serious mould, unsafe electrical work, major work done without permits, or a hidden structural issue. If you know about a serious hidden problem, it should be disclosed — a REALTOR® cannot help hide a known material latent defect.

Stigmatized Properties

Some things may make a property feel uncomfortable to a buyer even if they don't physically affect the home — such as a death in the home, a crime that happened there, or a belief that the home is haunted. In Alberta, sellers are generally not required to volunteer this kind of information unless directly asked. If a buyer asks a direct question, the REALTOR® cannot lie. It's worth discussing with your REALTOR® how to handle these questions before listing.

Comparing Offers

When an offer comes in, price matters — but it isn't the only thing to review. Also look at the deposit amount, the financing condition, the home inspection condition, any condo document condition, the possession date, inclusions and exclusions, the buyer's sale condition, and any other terms or requests. A lower offer with fewer conditions can sometimes be stronger than a higher offer that carries more risk. Your REALTOR® will help you compare the details.

Common Buyer Conditions

A buyer may include conditions in their offer — commonly financing approval, a home inspection, a condo document review, the sale of the buyer's current home, lawyer review, and title review. If the buyer removes or waives their conditions by the deadline, the sale usually becomes firm. If they don't, the contract may end.

Multiple Offers and Counter Offers

Sometimes more than one buyer wants to write an offer — a multiple-offer situation. The seller can accept one offer, reject all offers, counter one offer, or ask buyers to improve their offers, but should not accept more than one offer at the same time. Each buyer's offer details are confidential unless the buyer gives permission to share them. A counter offer means the seller is offering different terms — changing things like price, possession date, conditions, inclusions, deposit, or deadlines. Each counter offer replaces the previous one, so review every detail carefully before signing.

Selling a Condo

Selling a condo involves extra documents — bylaws and rules, the budget and financial statements, the reserve fund study and plan, AGM and board meeting minutes, the insurance certificate, the estoppel and information certificates, details about special assessments, and management agreements. The condo corporation has timelines for providing certain documents after a written request, so order them early because delays can affect the sale. If a special assessment has been approved or is being discussed, the contract should clearly state who is responsible for paying it.

Seller Closing Costs

Sellers should understand the costs that come out of their sale proceeds:

GST and Taxes When You Sell

Most resale homes used as a primary residence are not subject to GST on the sale price, but GST may apply to new construction, substantially renovated homes, builder sales, and some rental or investment properties. The seller is responsible for confirming whether GST applies.

Selling can also have income tax consequences. If the home was your principal residence for every year you owned it, the gain may usually be sheltered from tax — though the sale still needs to be reported on your return. If it was a rental, vacation, or investment property, there may be capital gains tax. And under Canada's property flipping rule, a residential property sold within 365 days of buying it may have its profit treated as business income rather than a capital gain, with some exceptions for major life events. Because tax rules are complex, speak with a Canadian tax professional.

Closing Day

Closing day is when ownership transfers to the buyer. The seller's lawyer usually receives the sale funds, pays out the mortgage, pays the real estate commission and closing costs, adjusts property taxes, discharges the mortgage, and sends the seller the remaining proceeds. In Alberta, possession is often around noon on the possession date unless the contract says otherwise — and you should be fully moved out before possession unless you have a written agreement saying otherwise.

Seller Moving Checklist

• Book movers, pack early, and label your boxes.
• Cancel or transfer utilities and arrange final meter readings.
• Forward your mail and update your address.
• Cancel your home insurance after closing.
• Clean the home and remove all personal belongings.
• Leave keys, fobs, remotes, and manuals for the buyer.
• Check the garage, shed, attic, and storage areas.
• If selling a condo, book the elevator and confirm move-out rules with the condo manager.