Fort McMurray real estate just closed out one of its strongest summers in a decade. August kept the momentum going: prices are up roughly 7% year over year, sales have been pacing well ahead of last year, and fresh inventory came to market to meet the demand. If the pace we have seen through the spring and summer holds, 2026 is on track to be the best year Fort McMurray real estate has had in more than ten years.

That is the headline, and it matters whether you are buying or selling this fall. Here is what the August numbers show and what to expect heading into the busy September and October season.

August 2026 At a Glance

Data reflects late-August through early-September 2026 Fort McMurray board activity, sourced from Alberta Real Estate Association / Pillar 9 MLS reporting and aggregated local market data. Figures are approximate and updated regularly on the Fort McMurray real estate statistics page.

What the August Numbers Actually Mean

The story of 2026 is momentum. Sales have run well ahead of last year through the spring and summer, prices have climbed at a healthy year-over-year clip, and buyer demand has stayed strong right through August, which is usually a quieter stretch before the fall push. That combination is what makes this one of the strongest summers Fort McMurray has seen in a decade.

Prices are up roughly 7% compared to a year ago. A small month-to-month wobble in the average is normal seasonal noise, not a change in direction. The trend line for 2026 points firmly up. When you sell a handful more entry-level homes in a given month, the average dips slightly even while values keep rising. That is exactly what a healthy, active market looks like.

Inventory is the piece worth reading correctly. Yes, more listings came to market this summer, but active supply is still lean by historical standards and months of supply remains in seller-favourable territory. In a slow market, rising inventory means homes are piling up. In this market, it means more sellers are stepping in to meet strong buyer demand, and those homes are getting absorbed. More selection is good news for buyers who sat out the tight spring, and it keeps the sales engine running.

Put it together and the picture is a market with real momentum. If the pace holds through the fall, Fort McMurray is set up for its best year in over a decade.

Fort McMurray Home Prices in August 2026

The overall average of roughly $419,900 hides a wide spread between segments. Here is how the property types have tracked through 2026, based on the most recent Fort McMurray board data:

• Detached homes: the standout all year, with average prices in the low $500,000s and double-digit year-over-year gains. Detached demand from families and relocating oil sands workers continues to lead the market.

• Semi-detached homes: also posting strong year-over-year gains, averaging in the low $400,000s. This has been a sweet spot for move-up buyers priced out of detached.

• Row and townhomes: averaging in the mid-$200,000s. This is where the newest inventory is most visible, which makes it a strong entry point for first-time buyers.

• Apartments and condos: the most affordable way in at roughly the $140,000s. Investor and first-time buyer activity keeps this segment moving.

The takeaway: detached and semi-detached homes are leading the charge, while townhouse and condo buyers have an affordable window into a rising market. If you are pricing a home this fall, the segment you are in matters more than the citywide average. Get a valuation specific to your property and neighbourhood rather than relying on a broad number. You can start with a free home evaluation.

Is It a Good Time to Sell in Fort McMurray?

It is one of the best selling windows we have had in years. Prices are up year over year, buyer demand is strong, and months of supply is still lean enough to keep sellers in a favourable position. Homes that are priced right and presented well are selling, and selling for strong numbers.

Here is where sellers should stay sharp: with more selection on the market than there was in the spring, buyers have options, so a well-prepared listing wins. Prepared looks like a home priced against recent neighbourhood sales, professionally photographed, decluttered and staged, and marketed to reach the relocating buyers who often shop from Calgary, Edmonton, and beyond. Do that in a market with this much momentum and you are in an excellent position.

Fall is historically one of Fort McMurray's strongest selling windows before winter slows things down, and it is landing on top of a record-setting summer. If selling is on your radar, now is the time to move. Start with a precise home evaluation, review the sellers guide, and see what your neighbour sold for to anchor your expectations in real data.

What Fort McMurray Buyers Should Know Right Now

The strong summer brought more homes to market, and that is your opening. There is more selection now than during the tight spring, so you have room to shop and make a considered decision. The catch: this is a rising market with real momentum, so waiting on the sidelines has a cost as prices continue to climb.

Where you have the most choice: townhouses and condos, where fresh inventory and accessible prices make for a strong entry point into an appreciating market. Where competition is still fierce: quality detached homes in family neighbourhoods like Timberlea and Thickwood, which move quickly when priced correctly.

One thing has not changed: get your financing in order before you shop. A pre-approval tells you exactly what you can spend and makes your offer stronger when you find the right home. Run the numbers with the mortgage calculator, connect with a lender through the professional network, and browse current Fort McMurray listings to see what your budget buys today. First-time buyers should start with the buyers guide.

Year-to-Date Summary

Through the first eight months of 2026, Fort McMurray has run ahead of last year on nearly every measure that matters. Sales volume has been up meaningfully year over year, the average residential price has held gains in the high single digits, and months of supply spent the year lean and seller-favourable. This has been one of the strongest spring-and-summer runs the market has seen in a decade, and the momentum has not let up. If the fall performs the way it typically does, 2026 is positioned to be the best year Fort McMurray real estate has posted in more than ten years.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Fort McMurray real estate market like right now? As of August 2026, the Fort McMurray market is strong and active. Prices are up roughly 7% year over year, sales have paced well ahead of 2025 through the spring and summer, and inventory is lean enough to keep sellers in a favourable position. It has been one of the strongest summers in a decade, and if the momentum holds, 2026 is on track to be the best year in over ten years.

Is it a good time to sell a home in Fort McMurray in 2026? Yes, this is one of the best selling windows in years. Prices are up year over year, buyer demand is strong, and supply is still lean. Homes that are priced to current comparables and marketed well are selling for strong numbers. Fall, landing on top of a record-setting summer, is a prime time to list.

What are Fort McMurray home prices in 2026? The overall average residential price sits near $419,900, up roughly 7% year over year. By property type, detached homes average in the low $500,000s, semi-detached in the low $400,000s, townhomes in the mid-$200,000s, and apartments and condos in the $140,000s. Detached and semi-detached have posted the strongest gains.

Which property types are selling fastest in Fort McMurray right now? Detached homes in established family neighbourhoods lead the market and hold the firmest pricing. Townhouses and condos offer the most selection and the most accessible entry prices, making them strong opportunities for first-time buyers and investors getting into a rising market.

Is 2026 going to be a record year for Fort McMurray real estate? It is trending that way. Sales have paced well ahead of last year and prices are up year over year, capping one of the strongest summers in a decade. If the fall market performs as it typically does, 2026 is on track to be the best year Fort McMurray has seen in more than ten years.

Is Fort McMurray real estate a good investment in 2026? Fort McMurray is attractive for investors right now given accessible entry prices, strong rental demand tied to the oil sands workforce, prices still below the 2014 peak, and clear upward momentum. Condos and townhomes in particular offer affordable entry into an appreciating market. As always, run the numbers on your specific property.

Who should I call about selling my home in Fort McMurray? Kate Arnold with Coldwell Banker United has worked the Fort McMurray market since 2016 and gives sellers clear, data-backed pricing guidance specific to their property and neighbourhood. Contact Kate for a no-obligation valuation.

Get Your Free Market Evaluation

Thinking about selling this fall? You are looking at one of the strongest markets in years. Kate will give you a precise, data-backed valuation specific to your property and neighbourhood so you can capitalize on the momentum. No generic estimates. No obligation.

Request Your Home Evaluation | Search Current Listings

About Kate Arnold

Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.

Data sources: Alberta Real Estate Association / Pillar 9 MLS, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), and aggregated local Fort McMurray board reporting. For regional economic and population context, see the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. Figures are approximate and current as of early September 2026.

Earlier this month I walked through a condo with sellers who had already moved out. In need of a professional move out clean, original finishes, a few burnt out bulbs, and a pair of lime green pendant lights over the kitchen island that stopped me in the doorway. The honest answer to what it would sell for as-is, versus what it would sell for after a professional clean, a neutral repaint and about a weekend of fixture swaps, was a difference of roughly twenty - thirty thousand dollars.
Nothing was structurally wrong with that home. The whole gap was paint, cleaning, lighting and a few fixtures; attention to detail. That is the good kind of problem, and it is the reason I like these conversations to happen early. There is comfortably enough time to prepare your Fort McMurray home for a fall sale if you start the outside work while the weather is still on your side.

Where the Fort McMurray Market Sits Heading Into Fall

The numbers matter here, because fall prep advice written for Toronto or Vancouver does not apply to a market with our inventory situation.

Based on the most recent board release:

• 144 sales in July 2026, up 33 percent year over year

• New listings flat at 160

• Active inventory down 21 percent to 343 units

• 2.38 months of supply

• Average detached price $476,948, up 7 percent

Sales climbing 33 percent while new listings sit flat is the part worth sitting with. Buyers are here. Supply is not keeping up. At 2.38 months of supply we are in seller's market territory, and that has held through most of 2026.

Data source: Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA), data supplied by Pillar 9. Reporting month: July 2026, released August 2026.

What that means for you: a well prepared home listed this fall is not competing against a wall of options. It is competing against a thin field. The homes that get punished in a tight market are the ones that look tired next to three prepared listings, not the ones that listed in October instead of May.

You can track the monthly numbers yourself on my Fort McMurray real estate statistics page, updated with every board release.

The Outside Work Has a Hard Deadline

This is the section that is genuinely different in Fort McMurray. Everything on this list becomes difficult, expensive or impossible once the weather turns, and none of it can be faked later.

Photograph the yard now

If your listing photos show a snow covered lawn, buyers cannot see your yard. They cannot see the landscaping, the fence line, the deck, the mature trees or the size of the lot. That is a real loss of value on a property where the yard is a selling feature.

Take the photos now, even if you are listing in November. I wrote a full post on taking summer exterior photos of your Fort McMurray home before the snow flies because so many sellers miss this window and cannot get it back.

Finish the exterior repairs

Work through this while the weather holds:

• Paint, stain or seal the deck and fence

• Repair or replace damaged siding, soffit and fascia

• Clean the eavestroughs and confirm downspouts direct water away from the foundation

• Reseal the driveway and fill cracks in walkways

• Trim back trees and shrubs touching the roof or siding

• Touch up exterior paint, especially the front door and trim

Deal with drainage before freeze-up

Fort McMurray buyers ask about water. Grading, sump pumps, weeping tile and window wells all come up in conditions, and every one of them is harder to inspect and harder to fix once the ground is frozen. Handle it in September, not in a November home inspection where it becomes a price negotiation.

If you only do one thing from this section, do the photos. The repairs can happen after listing. The summer yard cannot.

Inside Prep That Actually Moves the Price

Fall and winter showings in Fort McMurray happen in the dark. People are walking in at 6 p.m. with the sun already gone, snow on their boots and a coat they want somewhere to put. Prep for that reality.

Light everything

Replace every burnt out bulb. Match the colour temperature across the room so it does not read as mismatched. Add lamps to dark corners. Open every blind before a showing, including basement windows. Clean the windows inside and out while you still can do the outside comfortably.

Give the entry a job

Boot trays, a bench, hooks and a clean mat. A cramped, wet entryway is the first impression on every single fall showing, and it sets the tone for the whole walkthrough.

Neutral paint is the highest return item on this list

This is the one from the condo story. Colours that reflect your taste are fine to live in and expensive to sell in. A neutral repaint is one of the few pre-listing spends that reliably returns more than it costs in this market.

Fix the small broken things

Sticking doors, running toilets, loose handles, cracked switch plates, dated light fixtures. Individually they are nothing. Collectively they tell a buyer the home has not been maintained, and that assumption gets applied to the furnace and the roof too.

Make the heat and the mechanicals a selling point

Service the furnace and keep the receipt. Change the filter. Have the ducts cleaned. In a Fort McMurray winter, a buyer standing in your basement wants to know the mechanical room is sorted. If you need trades to get this done, my professional network page lists the inspectors, contractors and service people I work with.

Price It for the Market You Are Actually In

Fall pricing gets emotional. Sellers anchor to a spring number they heard about, or to what a neighbour listed at, which is not the same as what a neighbour sold for.

Two things to look at honestly:

1. Recent comparable sales, not active listings. What buyers agreed to pay is data. What a seller is asking is a hope. Start with what your neighbour sold for.

2. A real evaluation of your specific home, accounting for its condition, its lot, its updates and its property type. Average price movement across the whole city tells you almost nothing about your house.

A home priced correctly in a 2.38 month supply market moves. A home priced ten percent over sits, goes stale, and gets a price reduction in December when traffic is at its lowest point of the year. The reduction almost always lands below where correct pricing would have started.

Ready to see a real number for your home? Request a home evaluation and I will build it from current comparable sales, not an online estimate.

A Fall Listing Timeline That Works

If you are reading this in late August and want to be listed in early October, you are on schedule. If you want to be listed in two weeks, we compress it and prioritize the photos and the paint.

The full step by step version is in my Fort McMurray sellers guide, and how I market a listing once it goes live is laid out on my marketing strategy page.

Mistakes That Cost Fall Sellers Money

• Waiting for spring on principle. Spring brings more buyers and considerably more competing listings. Fall inventory is thin. Thin is good for you.

• Skipping the pre-listing inspection. Finding the issue yourself costs you a repair. Letting a buyer's inspector find it costs you a repair plus leverage. The Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors is a reasonable starting point for finding a qualified inspector.

• Ignoring permits on past renovations. Unpermitted basement development and suite questions come up constantly here. Confirm the status with the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo before you list, not during conditions.

• Pricing to the highest opinion in the room. The market does not care what number you need.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is fall a good time to sell a house in Fort McMurray? Yes. Inventory in Fort McMurray was down 21 percent year over year as of the July 2026 board release, with sales up 33 percent. Fewer competing listings and active buyers is a favourable combination for a seller. Fall buyers also tend to be motivated rather than casual, which shows up in fewer showings but a higher conversion rate.

How long does it take to sell a house in Fort McMurray? It depends on price point, property type and condition. At 2.38 months of supply, a correctly priced and well prepared home is in a strong position. A home priced above the market can sit for months in any season. The AREA public release does not publish average days on market for Fort McMurray, so treat any specific number you see quoted with caution.

Should I renovate before selling my Fort McMurray home? Rarely a full renovation. Almost always paint, cleaning, lighting, fixtures and small repairs. Those items return more than they cost. Kitchen and bathroom gut jobs done specifically to sell usually do not return their full cost in this market.

What is the average house price in Fort McMurray? The average detached price was $476,948 in July 2026, up 7 percent year over year. Semi-detached averaged $371,429, row and townhouse averaged $273,847, and apartments averaged $139,647. Source: Alberta Real Estate Association, data supplied by Pillar 9, July 2026 reporting month.

Do I need to take my listing photos before it snows? If your yard, lot or landscaping is a selling feature, yes. Snow covered exterior photos remove information buyers use to make decisions. Take summer or early fall photos now and use them whenever you list.

Should I get a pre-listing home inspection in Fort McMurray? It is worth considering, particularly for older homes, homes with basement development, or anything with a history of water. It converts surprises into planned repairs and protects your negotiating position.

What should I fix first if I am on a budget? Paint, lighting and cleaning, in that order, then exterior photos. Those four things have the best return per dollar of anything on this page.

Start Now, Not in October

Back to the sellers with the lime green pendant lights. Nothing was wrong with their home. They were just going to list it exactly as they left it, and that decision alone was worth about thirty thousand dollars. The only reason we caught it is that they called before they listed instead of after.

If you are thinking about selling this fall or this winter, the most valuable conversation we can have is the one that happens before anything goes on MLS. There is still time to prepare your Fort McMurray home for a fall sale properly, but the outside work has a deadline and it is closer than it feels.

Contact me to book a pre-listing walkthrough, or request your home evaluation to see what your home is worth in today's market.

About Kate Arnold

Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.

If you have driven Draper Road on a clear evening, you already understand why people who live in Waterways stay in Waterways. This is the oldest settled corner of Fort McMurray, tucked along the Clearwater River where the Hudson's Bay Company and the riverboat crews set up more than a century ago. For buyers and sellers weighing Waterways Fort McMurray homes for sale, this pocket offers something the newer subdivisions cannot manufacture: river frontage, mature trees, oversized lots, and a genuine sense of place, all within a five minute drive of downtown.

It is also the neighbourhood people ask the most questions about, and the one with by far the best stories. This guide covers the history most residents do not know, what living here is actually like, what the housing stock looks like, where Waterways sits in the 2026 market, and what both buyers and sellers should understand before they make a move.

Where Waterways Sits in Fort McMurray

Waterways occupies the south side of the Clearwater River, just past the downtown core and running along Draper Road toward the Saprae Creek turnoff. It is one of the smallest residential areas in the city, which shapes almost everything about how it trades.

Commutes from Waterways are among the shortest in Fort McMurray. Downtown is roughly five minutes. Highway 63 north to the oil sands sites is a straight run through town. Fort McMurray International Airport is about a ten minute drive, which matters for anyone flying in and out on rotation.

The neighbourhood borders:

• Downtown Fort McMurray to the north, across the Clearwater

• Abasand to the west, up the hill

• The Draper Road corridor and Saprae Creek Estates acreage country to the southeast

That last point is worth sitting with. Waterways is the transition zone between city living and acreage living. You get municipal services and a five minute commute, but the lots and the setting feel closer to Saprae Creek than to Timberlea.

A Short History of Waterways: Where Steel Met Keel

Most Fort McMurray neighbourhoods were drawn on a planner's map in the last forty years. Waterways was not. For roughly four decades it was the most important few blocks in northern Alberta, and almost nobody who drives through today knows it.

The end of the line

Construction of the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway started at Carbondale in 1914. The line reached Lac La Biche in 1916, Draper in 1922, and finally stopped at Waterways in 1925. That was the end of the track, and not just locally.

Waterways was the northernmost point on the entire North American railway grid.

Everything headed north of here, to the Mackenzie River communities, to Great Slave Lake, to the Arctic coast, came off a rail car in Waterways and onto a barge. Everything headed south did the reverse. Local historians call it the place where steel met keel, and the docks along the Clearwater ran roughly ten blocks to handle the volume.

Until Highway 63 was completed in the 1960s, that railway was also the only land route between Fort McMurray and Edmonton. Two trains served the run: the Muskeg Flyer, which carried passengers, and the Muskeg Mixed, which carried passengers and freight together. Rail service finally wound down in the late 1980s once the highways took over.

The village that was busier than the fort

Railway Avenue was the main street, with shops, hotels, churches, a school, and a Legion hall. The Hudson's Bay Company ran eight buildings here, warehouses included. The McInnes Fish Company shipped fish out of the surrounding lakes all the way to Chicago and New York.

A few more things that happened on these blocks:

• The bison airlift, by barge. Between 1925 and 1928 the Northern Transportation Company moved 6,673 bison north through Waterways to Wood Buffalo National Park.

• The salt plant. From 1937 to 1950, a plant here ran three shifts a day pulling salt from a deposit 210 metres underground by solution mining. It produced roughly 207,000 tonnes of table salt and cattle salt blocks before the company moved to richer deposits elsewhere.

• The oil sands started here too. In 1930 the chemist Karl Clark shipped the equipment for his bitumen separation process to Waterways. That process is the ancestor of how the oil sands are processed today.

• It has a rock formation named after it. In 1933 geologists named the Waterways Formation, a sequence of limestones and shales, after the town, based on outcrops along the rivers here.

• The Waterways Hotel fire. On October 30, 1951, fire tore through Railway Avenue and took the hotel and several businesses with it. The Hudson's Bay store survived.

The wartime secret

During the Second World War, pitchblende ore from the Eldorado mine at Port Radium on Great Bear Lake travelled roughly 2,000 kilometres south by water: across Great Bear Lake, down the Great Bear River, the Mackenzie, Great Slave Lake and the Slave River. At the southern end of that haul it came off the barges and onto rail cars bound for the refinery at Port Hope, Ontario.

That transfer happened at the railhead here. The uranium became part of the Manhattan Project, and the people loading the cars had no idea what they were handling. Canadian Nuclear Laboratories still refers to the corridor as the Northern Transportation Route, and has spent decades remediating spill sites along it.

How Waterways became part of Fort McMurray

In 1947 Waterways and Fort McMurray amalgamated into the village of McMurray. The "Fort" was dropped and not restored until 1962. The village became a town in 1948.

Waterways' role as a shipping hub ended in 1964, when Hay River took over as the northern rail terminus and the long-haul river traffic moved with it. The neighbourhood settled into what it is now: a quiet residential pocket that used to be the busiest place in the north.

Two more recent chapters belong in any honest history. The 2016 Horse River wildfire destroyed roughly 90 percent of the homes in Waterways, which is why you now see newer builds sitting beside houses that predate the highway. The 2020 flood followed four years later, and shaped the mitigation work covered further down this page.

The Fort McMurray Heritage Society keeps this history alive at the Heritage Shipyard, where the surviving riverboats are preserved. If you are buying here, go walk through it. It will change how you see the streets.

What It Is Like to Live in Waterways

The setting

River views are the headline. Homes along the water and up the slope look out over the Clearwater, and the tree cover here is mature in a way that newer neighbourhoods will not match for another thirty years. Lots run larger than the city average, with room for shops, detached garages, RV parking, and the kind of yard projects that are impossible on a standard subdivision lot.

Winters here are bright and clear, and the river valley in January is one of the better views in the region. The Birchwood Trails system and the riverfront pathways are close, and boat and quad access to the Clearwater is part of daily life for a lot of Waterways households.

The community

Waterways is small and people know each other. That cuts both ways depending on what you want, but for buyers coming from bigger cities who expected anonymity in a northern town, it tends to be the thing they end up liking most.

The Fort McMurray Heritage Society operates the Heritage Shipyard nearby, preserving the riverboats and buildings that put this neighbourhood on the map. It is a working reminder that Waterways is where the city started, not an afterthought on the edge of it.

Everyday amenities

You are close to downtown for groceries, schools, MacDonald Island Park, and the majority of city services. Waterways itself is residential and quiet. If your priority is walking to a coffee shop, this is not that neighbourhood. If your priority is a short drive to everything with quiet at the end of it, it delivers.

Waterways Housing Stock: What You Are Actually Buying

Waterways is not a builder's subdivision, and the inventory reflects that. Expect:

• Older detached homes on large lots, many with significant owner upgrades

• Newer infill and rebuilt homes, some built post 2016

• Mobile and modular homes on owned land, which is unusual and worth understanding

• Vacant and serviced lots, occasionally with river exposure

• Shops, outbuildings, and garages at a scale you rarely see inside city limits

Two practical notes for buyers. First, the age spread is wide, so a home inspection matters more here than in a subdivision where every house went up the same year. My professional network page lists inspectors, brokers, and lawyers I work with regularly. Second, if you are looking at a manufactured or modular home on owned land, financing works differently than it does for a standard detached property, and it is worth sorting out before you write an offer. My modular and mobile home page covers the basics, and my buyers guide walks through the offer process start to finish.

Flood History and Flood Mitigation: The Straight Answer

You cannot write honestly about Waterways without addressing this, so here it is plainly.

Waterways sits in the Clearwater River valley and was significantly affected by the 2020 flood, as were parts of downtown, Taiga Nova, and Ptarmigan. Following that event the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo launched a multi year flood mitigation program that divides the river valley into numbered reaches and builds permanent berms and structural protection in each one.

Waterways is Reach 10 in that program. According to the RMWB flood mitigation program, an interim berm has been constructed to the 1:100 year flood elevation, with permanent work staged across multiple contracts. The municipality's overall program is targeted for completion by 2028. Reach 11, running from Saline Creek Drive to Waterways, is complete, and Saline Creek Parkway reopened in August 2023.

What this means for you in practical terms:

• Verify the specific address, not the neighbourhood. Elevation varies significantly across Waterways. Two homes three blocks apart can sit in very different positions relative to the flood hazard line. The Alberta Flood Awareness Map is the starting point, and RMWB can confirm current designations and any land use provisions attached to a given parcel.

• Get an insurance quote before your condition removal date, not after. Overland water coverage availability and pricing vary by insurer and by address in this area. This is the single most common thing that surprises buyers here, and it is entirely avoidable with one phone call early.

• Sellers, get ahead of it. Buyers will ask. Having the elevation information, your insurance history, and any mitigation details ready is far stronger than letting a buyer discover it mid conditional period.

None of this makes Waterways a no. It makes it a neighbourhood where the homework is address specific rather than area wide, and where working with someone who knows the streets is worth more than usual.

Waterways in the 2026 Market

Waterways is small enough that month to month sales figures for the neighbourhood alone are directional at best, not settled. A handful of transactions can swing an average dramatically. So the honest way to read Waterways is against the broader Fort McMurray market, which is tight.

Fort McMurray, July 2026:

Source: Fort McMurray monthly statistics, July 2026, as reported in my July market update.

At 2.38 months of supply, this is a seller's market across the city. Inventory is down 21 percent year over year while sales are up 33 percent. That combination puts pressure on every segment, including the pockets buyers overlooked two years ago.

For Waterways specifically, the read is this: buyers priced out of detached homes elsewhere are looking harder at neighbourhoods with land and character, and Waterways offers more square footage of lot per dollar than almost anywhere else inside city limits. The properties that move fastest are the ones with clean documentation, verified elevation information, and an insurance answer ready.

Browse what is currently active on my Fort McMurray listings search, and see what has actually closed on my recent sales page.

Buying in Waterways

Waterways rewards buyers who do specific homework rather than general homework. If you are considering it:

1. Confirm elevation and flood designation for the exact address before you get emotionally attached.

2. Line up an insurance quote early, ideally before your offer or at minimum in the first days of your condition period.

3. Budget for a thorough inspection. Older housing stock, larger outbuildings, and varied build years mean there is more to look at.

4. Understand the lot. Access, servicing, setbacks, and any land use provisions attached to the parcel matter more here than in a standard subdivision.

5. Move decisively when the right one appears. With only a small number of properties in the neighbourhood, the good ones do not repeat often.

Thinking about Waterways or the Draper Road corridor? Contact me here and I will tell you honestly whether a specific property is worth your time before you spend a weekend on it.

Selling in Waterways

If you own in Waterways, the current market is working in your favour, but the strategy is different than it would be in Timberlea or Parsons Creek.

Your buyer pool is smaller and more specific. It is people who want land, river access, a short commute, and character. Marketing to that buyer means leading with the setting and the lot, not just the square footage. Summer and early fall photography is worth having on file, because the yard, the trees, and the river are a real part of what you are selling and they do not photograph the same way in February.

The second piece is documentation. Elevation information, insurance history, permits for any additions or outbuildings, and details of any mitigation work all shorten the conditional period and reduce the odds of a deal falling apart late. Sellers who prepare this material sell faster and hold their price better.

Curious what your Waterways property is worth in this market? Request a home evaluation and I will give you a real number based on comparable sales, not an automated estimate.

Frequently Asked Questions About Waterways, Fort McMurray

Where is Waterways in Fort McMurray? Waterways is on the south side of the Clearwater River, immediately southeast of downtown Fort McMurray along Draper Road. It is roughly five minutes from downtown and about ten minutes from Fort McMurray International Airport.

Is Waterways a good place to live? For buyers who want large lots, mature trees, river views, and a short commute, yes. It is quiet, historic, and close to everything. It suits people who want space and character more than it suits people who want a brand new build on a standard subdivision lot.

Can you get flood insurance in Waterways? Availability and pricing vary by insurer and by specific address, since elevation differs significantly across the neighbourhood. Get a quote for the exact property early in your purchase, ideally before your condition removal date. This is the most common surprise for buyers here and it is easily avoided.

Is Waterways still at risk of flooding? The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo has constructed an interim berm in Waterways, designated Reach 10, to the 1:100 year flood elevation, with permanent work staged through the municipality's broader flood mitigation program targeted for completion by 2028. Check the RMWB flood mitigation program and the Alberta Flood Awareness Map for current status on a specific parcel.

Why is it called Waterways? The name comes from the Alberta and Great Waterways Railway, which reached the site in 1925 and made it the northernmost point on the North American rail network. Cargo moving north came off the trains here and onto river barges, which is why the area was known as the place where steel met keel.

Is Waterways the oldest part of Fort McMurray? It is the oldest settled industrial area. Waterways was its own village with its own main street, hotels, churches and a Hudson's Bay post before it amalgamated with Fort McMurray in 1947 to form the village of McMurray.

What types of homes are in Waterways? Older detached homes on large lots, some newer infill and rebuilt homes, mobile and modular homes on owned land, and occasional vacant lots. Lot sizes and outbuildings tend to be larger than what you find elsewhere inside city limits.

Are homes in Waterways cheaper than the rest of Fort McMurray? Waterways generally offers more lot for the dollar than most city neighbourhoods, though pricing depends heavily on the individual property, its elevation, and its condition. Fort McMurray's average price in July 2026 was $356,489 with detached homes averaging $476,948. Because Waterways trades in small volumes, neighbourhood level averages should be treated as directional rather than definitive.

How is the Fort McMurray market doing in 2026? Tight. July 2026 saw 144 sales, up 33 percent year over year, with inventory down 21 percent and months of supply at 2.38, down 40 percent. That is a seller's market. Full numbers are on my Fort McMurray real estate statistics page.

Is Waterways a good investment? It depends entirely on the property. Land value, elevation, insurability, and condition drive returns here more than neighbourhood trends do. This is a place where property specific analysis beats neighbourhood generalizations, so get advice on the actual address you are considering.

Thinking About Waterways?

Waterways is one of the few Fort McMurray neighbourhoods where the right property and the wrong property can sit on the same street. Elevation, insurability, lot access, and build history all matter more here than they do in a subdivision where every home is a variation on the same plan. That is exactly why it is worth having someone walk it with you.

Whether you are looking at Waterways Fort McMurray homes for sale or wondering what your Waterways property would bring in today's market, contact me and let's talk through the specifics. I will tell you what I actually think, including when the answer is that a property is not worth pursuing.

About Kate Arnold Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.

If you are buying a home in Fort McMurray with kids in the house, the address you choose does more than set your commute. It sets your school. Fort McMurray school zones determine which public or Catholic school your child is assigned to, whether the bus is free or you are paying for it, and in some cases whether you are driving across the river twice a day for the next twelve years. Buyers figure this out after they have an accepted offer far too often. Here is what to check before you write one.

How School Zones Actually Work in Fort McMurray

Fort McMurray has three publicly funded school systems, and they draw their boundaries independently of each other:

• Fort McMurray Public School Division (FMPSD), which runs the public elementary and high schools

• Fort McMurray Catholic Schools (FMCSD), which runs the Catholic system and is open to all families, not only Catholic ones

• Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord, which operates École Boréale on Abasand Drive for families eligible under Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

That last point surprises a lot of buyers. A house in Timberlea does not have one assigned school. It has a public catchment school and a separate Catholic catchment school, and those two boundaries do not line up. You are choosing between systems, then choosing a home inside the right zone for the school you want.

This applies to every property type, not just detached houses. Families buying single family homes, townhomes, and semi-detached homes all land in the same catchment system. The zone follows the address, not the style of home.

The practical takeaway: two homes on the same street can share a public school and land in different Catholic catchments if a boundary line runs nearby.

Busing Is the Part That Costs You

FMPSD provides transportation at no additional cost to students living inside their designated catchment boundary. Families living between roughly 1.0 and 2.4 km from the school fall into a walk zone, where busing becomes a user-pay service if a route exists and there is space on it. If you enroll your child outside their assigned boundary, transportation becomes your responsibility.

The Catholic division works similarly. Choice school requests outside your boundary are at the principal's discretion, and busing is not provided. French immersion is the exception, with district-wide transportation.

In a winter city, that distinction is not a small line item. It is a daily decision about who is driving at seven in the morning in January.

Fort McMurray School Zones by Neighbourhood

Use this as a starting point, then confirm with the division before you remove conditions. Boundaries get reviewed, and a new school opening or an enrolment cap can shift them. For context on how each of these areas is performing in terms of price and inventory, see the current Fort McMurray real estate statistics.

Public high school students are generally served by École McTavish, Westwood Community High School, and Fort McMurray Composite High School, with Frank Spragins High School offering an alternative module-based program for grades 9 to 12.

If schools are driving your search, tell your REALTOR before you start touring, not after. I filter listings by catchment when that is a priority, which saves you from falling for a house that puts your kids on the wrong bus. Start your search here and let me know which schools matter to you.

French Immersion and Francophone Options

These are three different things, and buyers mix them up constantly.

French immersion in the public system runs through École Dickinsfield at the elementary level and continues at École McTavish and Westwood Community High School.

French immersion in the Catholic system is centralized. All Catholic immersion students from kindergarten to grade 6 attend École St. Paul in Thickwood regardless of where they live, with busing provided beyond a 1 km radius, and immersion students in grades 7 to 12 attend Holy Trinity.

Francophone education at École Boréale on Abasand Drive is not immersion. It is instruction in French for children eligible under Section 23 of the Charter, and it runs preschool through grade 12 on one campus.

Because both immersion streams provide district-wide transportation, immersion families have more geographic freedom than most buyers assume. If immersion is your plan, you are not locked into one quadrant of the city, which opens up neighbourhoods and price points you might have written off. That can mean stretching into a single family home in an area you had ruled out, or starting with a condo or townhome and keeping the same school through the move up.

How School Zones Affect Resale Value

Fort McMurray does not have the extreme school-driven price premiums you see in parts of Calgary or Toronto, mostly because the city is compact and the schools are well distributed. What you do see is demand depth. Homes in established family catchments with an elementary school inside walking distance attract a wider buyer pool, and a wider buyer pool means fewer days on market and less negotiating pressure when you sell.

That matters here more than in most markets. Fort McMurray turns over. Job transfers, camp rotations, and company relocations mean a meaningful share of buyers are five-to-seven-year owners, not thirty-year ones. The exit is part of the purchase.

You can see this in the numbers. Look at recent sales in walkable elementary catchments against comparable homes further out, or check what your neighbour sold for to see how your own street is trading.

If you already own and you are wondering how your catchment is affecting your value, a home evaluation will tell you where you sit against comparable sales in your zone. When you are ready to list, my sellers guide covers how to position a family home so the catchment works in your favour, and my marketing strategy page shows how I get it in front of the families searching for exactly that zone.

What to Verify Before You Remove Conditions

Run this list on any property you are serious about:

• Check the address on the FMPSD interactive catchment maps for both elementary and secondary

• Check the FMCSD boundary page if the Catholic system is in play

• Confirm whether the address sits in a walk zone, which changes busing from free to user-pay

• Ask whether the catchment school is at or near capacity, since caps can redirect new registrations

• If you want a choice school outside your boundary, confirm the principal will accept the registration and plan on driving

• For acreage and rural addresses, confirm the actual bus route and pickup point, not just the assigned school

First-time buyers, this belongs in your due diligence alongside inspection and financing. My buyers guide walks through the full condition period step by step, and the mortgage calculator helps you pressure-test what a stronger catchment is worth to you in monthly payment terms. If you need an inspector, mortgage broker, or real estate lawyer to get through that condition period, my professional network is the short list I hand every client.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find out what school zone a Fort McMurray address is in? Enter the address in the Fort McMurray Public School Division's interactive catchment maps for elementary and secondary boundaries, and check the Fort McMurray Catholic Schools boundary page separately. The two systems draw their boundaries independently, so an address has a public catchment and a different Catholic catchment.

Do you have to be Catholic to attend Fort McMurray Catholic Schools? No. The Catholic division is publicly funded and open to all families in Fort McMurray. Registration follows the division's boundaries the same way the public system does.

Is busing free in Fort McMurray? Busing is provided at no additional cost for students living inside their designated catchment boundary. Students in the walk zone, roughly 1.0 to 2.4 km from the school, fall under a user-pay service where routes and space allow. If you enroll outside your boundary, transportation is your responsibility, with French immersion as the main exception.

Which Fort McMurray neighbourhoods are best for families with school-age kids? Timberlea, Parsons Creek, Eagle Ridge, and Thickwood have the highest concentration of elementary schools relative to housing, which usually means a shorter walk and more school options within one catchment. Beacon Hill works well for families who want a quieter pocket with its own school. The right answer depends on which system and which program you want.

Can my child attend a school outside our catchment in Fort McMurray? Often yes, through a choice school or out-of-boundary request, but acceptance is at the principal's discretion and depends on capacity. You arrange your own transportation in that case.

Does being in a good school zone increase a home's value in Fort McMurray? It affects demand more than it affects list price. Homes within walking distance of an elementary school in an established family catchment typically draw a larger buyer pool, which tends to shorten days on market. In a city with as much relocation turnover as Fort McMurray, that resale depth is worth real money.

What school do kids in Anzac go to? Anzac Community School serves kindergarten through grade 5 and Bill Woodward School serves grades 6 through 12, operating on one campus under Northland School Division.

The Bottom Line

Fort McMurray school zones are one of the few things about a home you cannot renovate your way out of. You can change the kitchen. You cannot change the catchment. Sort it out during your search rather than after possession, and you will avoid the most common regret I hear from families who bought here without checking.

Buying or selling in Fort McMurray and want school zones factored into the search from day one? Browse current listings, then contact Kate and let's map your shortlist against the catchments that matter to your family.

About Kate Arnold Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.

Sources and further reading: Fort McMurray Public School Division catchment maps | Fort McMurray Catholic Schools boundaries | École Boréale, Conseil scolaire Centre-Nord

Here is a small thing that makes a real difference, and almost nobody thinks of it until it is too late in the year: get summer exterior photos of your Fort McMurray home taken now, while the yard is still green. Not because you are selling. Not because anything is wrong. Just because a garden you spent three summers building is worth having on record, and because there is no way to take that photo in February.

This is one of my favourite pieces of advice to give homeowners, and it applies whether you are listing this winter, listing in five years, or have no plans to ever move.

First, a Word in Defence of Winter Here

I want to be clear about something, because this argument gets made badly often.

Winter in Fort McMurray is not something to apologize for. Our winters are bright. We get long stretches of clear blue sky and hard sunshine, and a still, sunny day at minus 20 with the snow lit up is genuinely one of the best things about living here (sunny days are my most favourite winter days!). The trails are busy. The highways are cleared and well maintained. People who move here bracing for six months of gloom are usually surprised by how much light we actually get.

So this is not a post about hiding winter. Winter photos of a Fort McMurray home can be beautiful, and I use them.

The point is simpler than that: a snow-covered yard is still a yard you cannot see. Not ugly. Just hidden. And if you have put real work into that yard, it is a shame for it to only exist five months a year.

What Summer Photos Actually Show

Think about the parts of a property that live outside, and how much of the year they are visible:

• Gardens and flower beds. Perennials that took years to establish. Raised beds. Anything you have babied through a few short seasons.

• The deck. People put serious money and serious weekends into decks here, and a deck under snow reads as a flat white surface.

• Mature trees. A treed lot in Saprae Creek, Anzac, or Timberlea looks completely different in leaf than it does in bare branches.

• The backyard setup. Fire pit, pergola, hot tub area, patio furniture, the whole summer oasis people build for those few good months.

• Lot size and shape. Fence lines and usable space are much easier to read when there is grass under them.

• Hardscaping. Retaining walls, paving stones, stamped concrete, edging, all of it disappears under snow.

• The view. River valley, greenbelt, and ravine lots show their best in green.

Some of the nicest listings I have ever taken to market were nice specifically because the seller had a folder of summer photos and handed them over. Buyers loved them. They were not a sales trick. They were just the missing half of the story.

Why It Is Worth Doing Even If You Are Not Selling

Most people reading this are not listing next week. Here is the case anyway.

You have earned it

If you built the deck, laid the stone, planted the beds, or finally got the yard the way you wanted it, photograph it properly at least once. Not phone snaps from the back step. Actual photos, in good light, of the thing you worked on. That has value entirely separate from real estate.

Timelines here change fast

Fort McMurray runs on rotations, transfers, and postings. Plans shift with a few weeks of notice. If your situation changes in January and you decide to list, having a summer set already on file means you are not stuck wishing you had thought of it in August. It costs you nothing to have and it is genuinely useful if you ever need it.

You are about to change the property

Landscaping, a new fence, a garage, a redone driveway. Shoot it once it is finished and once it has grown in a bit. A yard photographed two summers after the sod went down looks established. The same yard photographed the week it was laid does not.

Documentation

A dated, good-quality photo set of your exterior, roof, siding, fencing, and outbuildings is useful for insurance and warranty conversations. The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo recommends documenting your property in advance as part of general emergency preparedness, and people here understand exactly why that is not a hypothetical.

Curious where your property stands generally? A free home evaluation is a no-pressure way to find out, whether or not selling is anywhere on your radar.

Why This Comes Up More in Fort McMurray Than Other Markets

Two reasons, both local.

Our green season is short and our snow season is long. According to Environment and Climate Change Canada climate normals, the snowy period here runs roughly October 9 to May 7, and the frost-free stretch is about three and a half months, from around May 20 to mid September. That is a narrow window to catch a yard at its best, and it is closing.

A lot of our buyers shop from out of town. Fort McMurray draws buyers relocating from Edmonton, Calgary, Ontario, and the East Coast, many of whom look at dozens of properties online before they ever fly in. The Canadian Real Estate Association has tracked for years how much of the search now happens on screen first. For those buyers, photos are the property until showing day. Giving them a look at the summer version is a kindness, not a tactic.

If you want a sense of what is actually moving locally right now, current activity is on my Fort McMurray real estate statistics page.

What a Summer Exterior Session Looks Like

It is a short evening, not a production. A good exterior set covers:

• Front elevation in decent light, usually early evening

• Full yard, front and back, including fence lines

• Deck, patio, and outdoor living space, staged simply

• Gardens, mature trees, and any planting worth showing

• Drone or elevated shots where the lot or the view justifies it

• Outbuildings, garage, shop, shed, RV parking

• Any view or backing feature

The files go on record. If and when you list, whether that is November or 2031, we pair them with fresh interior photos and current exteriors so buyers get the full year. That is part of how I approach listing marketing, and it is a nice thing to have sitting in a folder either way.

The Practical Timing

Late August into early September is still fully green in Fort McMurray. Leaf change starts in the back half of September. By roughly the second week of October we are into the snow season.

So realistically you have about four to six weeks left this year. After that, the next window opens around June 2027. That is the only reason I am writing this in August rather than November.

I offer free market evaluations and free consultations on exterior photos for Fort McMurray and Wood Buffalo homeowners. Reach out today and we can talk about whether your property is one that would benefit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I take summer photos of my house if I am not planning to sell?

Yes, and it is worth doing even if you never move. Gardens, decks, mature trees, and landscaping are only visible about five months a year in Fort McMurray. A good summer photo set documents work you have put into the property and is useful for insurance and warranty purposes regardless of whether you list.

Do summer exterior photos help sell a home in Fort McMurray?

They help buyers see the full property rather than half of it, which matters most for homes where the yard, deck, trees, or view are a real part of the appeal. They are not a magic ingredient and they will not sell a home on their own, but they answer questions a winter photo simply cannot.

Is it acceptable to include summer photos in a winter listing?

Yes, as long as they are current, accurately dated, and disclosed. Standard practice is to note that exterior images were taken in a previous season and to include current photos alongside them. Buyers appreciate seeing both.

When is the best time to photograph a home exterior in Fort McMurray?

Roughly mid June through mid September. Late August into early September is still fully green. Snow typically arrives around the second week of October. June also gives you close to 18 hours of daylight, which makes finding good light much easier.

What does exterior real estate photography cost in Fort McMurray?

It depends on the property and whether drone work makes sense. For my clients and for homeowners considering listing with me, the consultation is free and photography is included in my listing marketing. Get in touch and I will give you a straight answer for your specific property.

Are winter listing photos in Fort McMurray a problem?

Not at all. Our winters photograph beautifully and we get a lot of clear, bright days. The only limitation is that snow covers landscaping, so a winter set alone leaves out part of the property. The best listings show both.

Get It on File While the Grass Is Green

None of this is urgent in the way real estate advice usually pretends to be. It is just a good idea with a deadline attached, and the deadline is roughly the first week of October.

If you have a yard, a garden, a deck, an acreage, or a view you are proud of, get it photographed properly before the snow comes. Then you have it, whatever you decide to do down the road.

I offer free market evaluations and free exterior photo consultations. Contact me today. And if selling is actually on your mind, my Sellers Guide covers the rest of the process from there.

About Kate Arnold

Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.

The Fort McMurray real estate market did something in July that deserves an explanation, because the headline number and the actual story point in opposite directions. Sales rose 33 percent year over year. Inventory dropped 21 percent. Every single property type gained value. And yet the overall average price came in flat, down 0.3 percent from July 2025.

That is not a contradiction. It is a mix shift, and understanding it is the difference between pricing your home correctly and leaving money on the table. Here is the full July 2026 Fort McMurray real estate market update, and what it means whether you are buying or selling this summer.

July 2026 Fort McMurray Market at a Glance

Data source: Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA), data supplied by Pillar 9. Reporting month: July 2026, released August 2026.

A note on two metrics you will see on other sites: the AREA public release does not publish average days on market or sale-to-list price ratio for Fort McMurray. I do not estimate numbers I cannot source, so they are not in this table. If you want those figures for a specific property type or neighbourhood, reach out and I will pull them from the board data directly.

What the July Numbers Actually Mean

Demand is up sharply. Supply is not keeping pace.

One hundred forty-four homes sold in July against 160 new listings. That is a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 90 percent, meaning nearly every new listing that came to market was absorbed by a buyer within the month. New listings were flat year over year at exactly 0 percent growth, while sales climbed by a third.

The result shows up in inventory: 343 active units, down from 434 a year ago.

With 2.38 months of supply, Fort McMurray is not a balanced market. It is a seller's market, and it tightened by 40 percent over the past twelve months.

The standard read on months of supply: under four months favours sellers, four to six is balanced, over six favours buyers. At 2.38 months, Fort McMurray is well inside seller territory. If every listing stopped coming to market tomorrow, the current inventory would be gone in roughly ten weeks.

The flat average price is a mix effect, not a value decline

This is the part that matters most, and it is where most market summaries get lazy.

The overall average price was $356,489, down 0.3 percent. But look at the property type breakdown below and you will see that detached, semi-detached, row, and apartment prices were all up, some substantially. Nothing lost value.

What changed is what sold. Apartment sales nearly doubled year over year, up 95 percent to 39 units. Apartments are the lowest-priced segment in Fort McMurray by a wide margin. When a much larger share of monthly sales comes from the most affordable property type, the blended average gets pulled down even as every individual segment appreciates.

If a market report tells you Fort McMurray prices were flat in July, it is reporting the mix, not the market. Your home did not lose value.

Fort McMurray Home Prices by Property Type, July 2026

Detached homes remain the backbone of the market with 81 sales and a 7 percent price gain. At 2.96 months of supply, this is the loosest segment in the city, and it is still a seller's market. See current single family detached listings.

Apartments are the story of the month. Sales up 95 percent, new listings up 55 percent, inventory down 24 percent, and a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 126 percent. That ratio above 100 percent means buyers absorbed more units than sellers brought to market, drawing inventory down even as supply increased. At 1.33 months of supply, the Fort McMurray condo market is the tightest segment in the city right now.

Row and townhouse properties posted the largest percentage price gain at 26 percent, with a 121 percent sales-to-new-listings ratio. With only 17 sales in the month, treat that price figure as directional rather than settled. Small samples move hard on a handful of transactions. The direction is real. The magnitude will smooth out over the next few months. Browse Fort McMurray townhomes.

Semi-detached posted 10 percent price growth on just seven sales, with inventory down 56 percent to 12 active units. Same caution applies on sample size, but 12 units of inventory citywide is genuinely thin. Semi-detached listings here.

Is It a Good Time to Sell in Fort McMurray?

Yes, and the data says so clearly. Two and a half months of supply, a 90 percent absorption rate, and price growth in every property type is about as favourable a combination as a seller gets.

But favourable conditions do not make preparation optional. In a market where 90 percent of new listings find a buyer, the ones that do not are almost always priced against the wrong comparables or presented poorly. The gap between a well-prepared listing and an unprepared one is not a few days on market. It is thousands of dollars and a price reduction conversation nobody wants to have.

Prepared looks like: a valuation built on your actual property type and neighbourhood rather than a citywide average, pre-listing repairs handled, professional photography, and a pricing strategy that accounts for the fact that your segment may be moving very differently from the headline number.

Start with a real number. Request a free home evaluation and I will price your property against comparable sales in your neighbourhood, not a blended average that includes apartment sales across town. You can also see what your neighbour sold for or review the full Fort McMurray real estate statistics page.

What Fort McMurray Buyers Should Know Right Now

Competition is real, and it is not evenly distributed.

Tightest segments: Apartments at 1.33 months of supply and semi-detached at 1.71. In these categories you are competing, and hesitation costs you the property.

Most breathing room: Detached at 2.96 months of supply. Still a seller's market, but you have room to inspect, negotiate, and think.

Two practical points. First, get your financing sorted before you shop. In a market absorbing 90 percent of new listings monthly, a pre-approval is not paperwork, it is your ability to act. Run your numbers with the mortgage calculator and connect with a broker through my professional network.

Second, if you are a first-time buyer watching apartment prices climb 8 percent while inventory drops, understand that waiting for a softer entry point has not worked in this market for a year now. The Fort McMurray buyers guide walks through the full process, and you can search current listings here.

Fort McMurray Year-to-Date, January Through July 2026

Year-to-date price growth by type: apartments +7%, semi-detached +6%, detached +4%, row/townhouse +3%.

The year-to-date pattern is cleaner than any single month: more sales, fewer listings, less inventory, higher prices. Seven months into 2026, demand has consistently outrun supply. Nothing in the July data suggests that reverses before fall.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Fort McMurray real estate market like right now? As of July 2026, Fort McMurray is a seller's market. There were 144 sales against 160 new listings, active inventory of 343 units is down 21 percent year over year, and months of supply sits at 2.38. Anything under four months of supply favours sellers. Prices rose in every property type, with the overall average at $356,489.

What is the average house price in Fort McMurray in 2026? The July 2026 average residential price was $356,489. By property type: detached $476,948, semi-detached $371,429, row/townhouse $273,847, and apartment $139,647. Year to date, the average across all residential sales is $379,668, up 3 percent from 2025.

Why is the Fort McMurray average price flat when prices are up? Because the mix of what sold changed. Apartment sales rose 95 percent year over year, and apartments are the lowest-priced segment. A higher share of low-priced sales pulls the blended average down even though detached, semi-detached, row, and apartment prices all rose individually.

Is it a good time to sell a home in Fort McMurray in 2026? The conditions are strong. Months of supply is 2.38, well into seller territory, and 90 percent of new listings were absorbed by buyers in July. Every property type gained value year over year. Sellers who price against their own segment and neighbourhood rather than the citywide average do best in this market.

Which property types are selling fastest in Fort McMurray right now? Apartments and semi-detached homes. Apartments sit at 1.33 months of supply with a 126 percent sales-to-new-listings ratio, and semi-detached at 1.71 months. Detached homes at 2.96 months of supply move more slowly, though that is still a seller's market.

Is Fort McMurray real estate a good investment in 2026? The July data shows tightening inventory and price growth across all segments, with the apartment category showing the strongest volume growth at 95 percent more sales year over year. Whether it fits your situation depends on your financing, timeline, and whether you are buying for rental income or appreciation. That is a conversation worth having with real numbers in front of you.

Where does this Fort McMurray market data come from? All figures in this update come from the Alberta Real Estate Association monthly statistics release for Fort McMurray, with data supplied by Pillar 9. AREA publishes regional statistics on the sixth of each month. You can view the full AREA statistics releases here.

Who should I call about buying or selling in Fort McMurray? Kate Arnold, REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United. Active in the Fort McMurray market since 2016, specializing in residential, commercial, and rural properties across Wood Buffalo. Get in touch here.

Get a Real Number on Your Fort McMurray Home

Thinking about selling this summer or fall? The citywide average will not tell you what your property is worth. Your neighbourhood, property type, and condition will.

I will give you a precise, data-backed valuation specific to your home. No generic online estimate. No obligation.

Request Your Home Evaluation | Search Current Listings | Read the Sellers Guide

About Kate Arnold

Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.

Data source: Alberta Real Estate Association (AREA), data supplied by Pillar 9. Fort McMurray monthly statistics, reporting month July 2026. Additional market context: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo.

If you've made an offer on a Fort McMurray home this year and lost it to another buyer, you are not alone. Fort McMurray homebuyer challenges in 2026 come down to one core problem: there simply are not enough homes for the number of buyers who want them. Just last month, I helped a buyer land a home in Timberlea by getting them in for a showing the same day it hit the market and a strong offer in that evening, beating out three other offers before the weekend even started. That's the pace this market demands right now. Active inventory is down 22.6% from last year, sales are up 25% year over year, and homes that are priced correctly are going under contract in weeks, sometimes days. If you're house hunting in this market without a clear strategy, you're going to lose more offers than you win. Here's what's actually happening, and what separates the buyers who win from the ones who keep striking out.

Why Fort McMurray's Housing Inventory Is So Tight Right Now

The numbers tell the story clearly. As of May 2026:

• 134 homes sold, up 25% year over year

• Active inventory sitting at just 358 listings, down 22.6% from May 2025

• Months of supply down to 2.64, a 38% drop year over year

• Average sale price up 9.4% year over year

A market is generally considered balanced somewhere between three and six months of supply. At 2.64 months, Fort McMurray is firmly in seller's market territory, and it has been trending that direction for over a year. That means fewer choices for buyers, faster decisions required, and less room to negotiate on price once a home is listed correctly. You can track the month-to-month shift yourself on our Fort McMurray real estate statistics page, and CREA's own explainer on what a seller's market means for buyers is worth a read if you want the national context.

CMHC's Summer 2026 Housing Market Outlook points to the same pattern playing out in resource-driven markets across the country: supply has not kept pace with demand, and buyers are absorbing the pressure.

What Multiple-Offer Situations Actually Look Like Here

Homes in Fort McMurray are moving fast. The most recent board data puts average days on market at 46, down from 64 the year before, with homes selling for an average of 97.16% of list price. In practice, that means a well-priced, well-presented home in Thickwood, Timberlea, or Abasand can receive multiple offers within the first week of hitting the market, sometimes the first weekend.

Buyers who are used to a slower market get caught off guard. They ask for a second showing three days later and the house is already gone. They plan to "think it over" and lose to someone who didn't. This is not a market that rewards hesitation, and it's not going to change until inventory does.

Why So Many Buyers Are Losing Out Right Now

There simply aren't enough homes to choose from

With inventory this tight, most buyers are realistically choosing from two or three homes that actually fit their must-haves, not ten or fifteen. That forces hard decisions fast: compromise on a feature, stretch the budget, or risk waiting for the next one to come along, which might take weeks.

Working with an agent who doesn't move with urgency

This is the part buyers underestimate. In a market moving this fast, an agent who takes a day to return a call, doesn't book a showing until the weekend, or isn't checking new listings the moment they hit the market is costing you the house before you ever get a chance to write an offer. Speed is not optional here. It's the job.

No plan for winning in a multiple-offer situation

Going into a bidding war without a strategy is how buyers lose homes they could have had. That means walking in without a firm pre-approval, without knowing your ceiling, without an escalation approach, and without understanding what actually makes an offer competitive beyond price. A strong agent walks you through all of this before you're standing in a house with three other showings booked behind you, not after.

The Backup Offer Strategy Most Agents Skip

Here's something most buyers never hear from their agent: losing the first round doesn't mean losing the home.

When a seller accepts an offer that still has conditions attached, financing, inspection, or otherwise, that deal isn't guaranteed to close. Conditional deals fall through more often than people assume. A backup offer puts you in line to become the accepted offer automatically if the first buyer's conditions aren't met or they walk away.

Most agents don't bother writing backup offers. It takes extra work, extra paperwork, and a willingness to keep advocating for a client after the "no" instead of moving on to the next listing. But if you actually want the house, and not just a house, it is one of the most underused tools in this market. I write backup offers for my clients as a standard part of how I compete for them, not as an afterthought. If you want to talk through how this works for a property you have your eye on, reach out and let's talk strategy.

How to Actually Win in Fort McMurray's Market Right Now

• Get a full, underwritten pre-approval before you start touring, not just a rate quote. Use our mortgage calculator to get a realistic sense of your range first.

• Know your ceiling and your escalation approach before you're in a multiple-offer situation, not while you're sitting in the driveway.

• Line up your inspector, lawyer, and lender ahead of time. Our professional network is a good place to start if you need trusted names.

• Don't walk away after a losing offer. Ask about a backup position. It costs you nothing and it has put buyers into homes they were told they'd lost.

If you're ready to start looking with a real plan behind you, our buyers guide walks through the full process, and you can browse what's currently available through our listings search.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Fort McMurray a buyer's or seller's market in 2026? Fort McMurray is currently a seller's market. Months of supply sat at 2.64 as of May 2026, well below the three to six months considered a balanced market, with sales up 25% year over year and inventory down 22.6%.

Why is Fort McMurray's housing inventory so low right now? New listings have not kept pace with buyer demand for over a year. Fewer sellers are listing relative to the number of active buyers, which has pushed active inventory down sharply while sales activity climbs.

What is a backup offer and should I make one? A backup offer is a formal offer submitted after a seller has already accepted another offer that still has conditions attached. If the first deal falls through, the backup offer moves into position automatically. It's worth doing any time you lose a home you genuinely wanted.

How many offers does a typical Fort McMurray home get right now? It varies by price point and condition, but well-priced homes in desirable neighbourhoods are commonly receiving multiple offers within the first week of listing, with an average sale-to-list ratio of 97.16%.

How can I win a bidding war in Fort McMurray? Have a full pre-approval in hand, work with an agent who moves quickly and communicates directly with the listing agent, know your ceiling before you offer, and consider a backup offer if you lose the first round.

Is now a good time to buy a home in Fort McMurray? It depends on your timeline and financial readiness more than the market cycle. Waiting for more inventory or lower prices has not paid off for buyers over the past year, since both sales activity and prices have continued climbing.

Fort McMurray's market isn't slowing down, and buyers who wait for it to get easier are going to keep losing ground.  Here’s the thing, the market is fast right now, but it’s not impossible.  With the right representation, you can acheive your real estate dreams! The buyers who are winning right now are the ones with financing ready, a clear number in mind, and an agent who treats every showing and every offer like it matters. If that's the kind of representation you want in your corner, get in touch and let's build your plan.

About Kate Arnold Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.

If you are searching for Stone Creek Fort McMurray luxury homes, you already know this is one of the newer communities in Wood Buffalo. What most buyers do not know is exactly what they are paying for, how the price range breaks down street to street, and whether now is the right time to make a move here. This guide covers all of it.

Stone Creek sits just off Highway 63, giving residents an easy commute to downtown Fort McMurray and to the oil sands sites north of the city. That location, combined with a genuinely wide mix of housing stock, is why the neighbourhood pulls buyers ranging from first-time purchasers to executives looking for a large custom build.

Where Stone Creek Fits in Fort McMurray

Stone Creek is part of the newer wave of development alongside Parsons Creek, built to handle the city's growth without the density pressures of older neighbourhoods closer to downtown. It is designed around walkability and access, with major roadways connecting quickly to both the highway and established communities like Timberlea and Thickwood.

For buyers relocating to Fort McMurray for work, particularly in the energy sector, this matters. You get newer construction, modern floor plans, and a shorter commute window than several of the city's older neighbourhoods offer.

Home Prices in Stone Creek: What to Expect in 2026

Stone Creek is one of the few Fort McMurray neighbourhoods where the price range genuinely spans the full market, from entry-level to luxury. Here is how it typically breaks down:

That range is wider than most Fort McMurray communities, which is exactly why Stone Creek works for such a broad buyer base. A young professional buying their first condo and a family building a custom five-bedroom home can both land in Stone Creek and never cross paths on price.

For context, Fort McMurray's overall average residential price sits at $432,213, with detached homes averaging $532,614 citywide as of May 2026. Stone Creek's higher-end inventory tracks closely with, and in some cases exceeds, that detached average, which is part of what has driven its reputation as a destination for move-up buyers and relocating executives.

If you want to see exactly what is active right now, search current Stone Creek and Fort McMurray listings here.

What It Is Like to Live in Stone Creek

Amenities and Everyday Convenience

Stone Creek residents are not driving across town for groceries or gas. Stoney Creek Village anchors the neighbourhood with retail stores, restaurants, and banking, plus a Save-On Foods and a Petro Canada station within the community itself. Add a community ice rink and an expanding network of walking and biking trails, and you have a neighbourhood built for people who actually want to use their yard and their weekends, not just their garage.

Outdoor Access

This is a big differentiator for Stone Creek compared to some of the more established, built-out neighbourhoods. Buyers here tend to be active homeowners who bike, walk, run or hike regularly, and several properties back onto ponds or green space. If proximity to nature without sacrificing a short commute is a priority, this is one of the strongest options in the city.

Schools and Transit

Families in Stone Creek are bussed to nearby schools for grades K to 12, and the neighbourhood is served by Fort McMurray Transit, with regular routes connecting to shuttle service for oil sands worksites. If school zoning is a deciding factor in your search, Fort McMurray's school zones and real estate are worth reviewing before you commit to a specific street.

Is Stone Creek a Good Investment?

Fort McMurray's broader market context matters here. As of May 2026, sales were up 25% year over year while active inventory dropped 22.6%, pushing months of supply down 38% to just 2.64 months. That is a tight, seller-favoured market citywide, and newer communities with strong amenity packages like Stone Creek tend to hold their value well in that environment because build quality and lot availability are both limited compared to older neighbourhoods.

For buyers, that also means moving decisively when the right property comes up. Homes priced correctly in Stone Creek are not sitting long. For a full breakdown of current citywide numbers, see Fort McMurray's real estate statistics here.

If you are weighing whether to buy now or wait, the mortgage calculator on my site is a good first step to understand what a Stone Creek purchase actually looks like on your budget before you start touring.

Buying in Stone Creek

Whether you are a first-time buyer or moving up to a custom build, a few things are worth knowing before you start:

• Lot sizes vary significantly, with some exceeding 13,000 square feet, so confirm lot size early if space matters to you

• New construction is available alongside resale, meaning you can choose a move-in ready home or build to your own floor plan

• First-time buyers may qualify for government incentive programs, which can meaningfully change what you can afford here

• Front-attached garages and rear parking are common, which affects both resale value and day-to-day convenience

If you are new to the Fort McMurray buying process entirely, my buyers guide walks through financing, inspections, and offer strategy from start to finish.

Selling in Stone Creek

If you already own in Stone Creek and are wondering what your equity looks like in today's market, this is a good time to check. With inventory this tight and prices trending up, many Stone Creek owners are sitting on more equity than they expect.

Get a free home evaluation here to see what your property could sell for in the current market, or check what your neighbour's home actually sold for for a real-world comparison on your street.

Frequently Asked Questions About Stone Creek, Fort McMurray

What is the average home price in Stone Creek, Fort McMurray? Prices in Stone Creek typically range from $520,000 to $790,000 for single-family homes, with executive and custom builds reaching over $1,000,000. Townhomes and condos start around $314,888, and vacant lots are available from roughly $179,000.

Is Stone Creek a good neighbourhood for families? Yes. Stone Creek is designed as a family-oriented community with K to 12 school busing, a community ice rink, walking and biking trails, and Stoney Creek Village for everyday shopping and dining, all within the neighbourhood itself.

How far is Stone Creek from downtown Fort McMurray and the oil sands sites? Stone Creek sits just off Highway 63, offering an easy commute to both downtown Fort McMurray and the oil sands sites to the north, which is a major reason it appeals to energy sector workers and relocating families.

What amenities are in Stone Creek, Fort McMurray? Stone Creek includes Stoney Creek Village with retail, restaurants, and banking, a Save-On Foods, a Petro Canada station, a community ice rink, and an expanding network of walking and biking trails.

Are there condos and townhomes for sale in Stone Creek? Yes. Alongside single-family homes and custom builds, Stone Creek offers townhomes and condos starting around $314,888, making it accessible to first-time buyers as well as move-up buyers.

Is now a good time to buy a home in Stone Creek? With Fort McMurray inventory down over 22% year over year and months of supply at just 2.64, the market is currently tight. Well-priced Stone Creek homes are moving quickly, so buyers who are ready should expect to act fast on the right property.

Ready to Explore Stone Creek?

Stone Creek offers one of the widest price ranges and most complete amenity packages of any newer Fort McMurray neighbourhood, whether you are buying your first condo or building a custom executive home. Contact me here and I will walk you through what is currently available, what is coming to market, and whether Stone Creek is the right fit for your budget and lifestyle.

About Kate Arnold Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.

Sources referenced:

• Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo: Area Redevelopment and Area Structure Plans

• CMHC Housing Market Outlook 2026

• Fort McMurray Real Estate Board, May 2026 market statistics

Summer in Fort McMurray is bright and glorious, and locals know to squeeze every last hour out of it. The days stretch so long that the sun barely sets, the trails fill up, and the river and lakes become the centre of the whole town's social life. Whether you have lived in Wood Buffalo for years or you are new here and figuring out how people actually spend their summers, this is your 2026 guide to the best things to do in Fort McMurray when the weather turns warm.

I have lived and worked here since 2014, and I will be honest: the summers are a big part of why people fall in love with this place. If you are considering a move and want the wider picture on neighbourhoods and lifestyle, pair this with the Fort McMurray relocation guide. If you are already local, consider this your reminder to get out there.

Summer is my favourite season here. A sun that never fully sets makes the whole season feel magical. What I love most is simple: the trails and morning walks and runs, coffee over the river at our seasonal campsite, and the nature all around us. Living in the middle of the Boreal Forest, there is always something to admire. And the community comes alive in summer, everyone's energy charged by the endless sunlight..  

On the Water: The River Is the Heart of Summer

When the ice goes out, life in Fort McMurray moves to the water.

The Snye

Snye Point is the beating heart of it. This public park and boat launch sits right in the middle of town at the entrance to the Clearwater River, and in summer it is packed with paddle boarders, kayakers and canoeists. It is the easiest place in the city to get on the water, whether you own a board or you are borrowing one for the first time. You can learn more about regional paddling routes through Travel Alberta's guide to paddling in Wood Buffalo.

River Boating, Paddle Boarding and Floating

Beyond the Snye, the Clearwater and Athabasca Rivers are the go-to for boating, stand-up paddle boarding and lazy afternoons floating the river with friends. On a warm July day you will see everything from fishing boats to flotillas of inner tubes drifting downstream. It is the most Fort McMurray way there is to spend a Saturday.

Fishing

Anglers do well here. The rivers and nearby lakes hold northern pike, walleye and yellow perch, and you will find quiet spots within a short drive of town. Gregoire Lake and Maqua Lake are both popular for casting a line on a calm evening.

Lakes and Beaches

Fort McMurray is closer to great beaches than most people expect.

Gregoire Lake Provincial Park and the Anzac Day Use Beach

About 30 kilometres southeast of town near the community of Anzac, Gregoire Lake Provincial Park is the region's summer staple. The Anzac day use beach has sand, calm water for swimming, a playground and a boat launch, making it a favourite for families. There are also 140 campsites for tents and RVs if you want to make a weekend of it. Check facilities and camping availability through Alberta Parks.

Honestly, the drive out to Anzac is worth it for more than the beach. Zee Bar's patio is a great spot to land after a day on the water, and the soft serve ice cream at Anzac Pizza is exactly the kind of small-town summer treat that makes the trip feel like a proper day out.

Maqua Lake

A little further afield, Maqua Lake sits about 40 kilometres south of Fort McMurray inside Stony Mountain Wildland Provincial Park. It has a beautiful sandy beach and, because it is tucked out of the wind, the water is usually calm and serene. It is a quieter alternative to Gregoire when you want a peaceful beach day.

On Land: Trails, Golf and parkrun

The Birchwood Trails

If you ask me for my single favourite thing about summer here, it is the trails. The Birchwood Trails are a genuine treasure: roughly 135 kilometres of maintained paths winding through boreal forest right inside the city, threading between Timberlea and Thickwood. You can walk, hike, bike, trail run or just wander, and many residents step onto a trailhead straight from their backyard. In the long summer evenings, with the light lasting until nearly midnight, there is nowhere I would rather be.

Birchwood Trails parkrun

For a fun, free way to start a Saturday, Birchwood Trails parkrun runs every Saturday at 9:00am. It is a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event where you can run, jog or walk at your own pace, and it is welcoming to all ages and abilities. It is also a lovely way for newcomers to meet people. You can find the course details on the Birchwood Trails parkrun page.

Golf

Fort McMurray punches above its weight for golf. Miskanaw Golf Club is an 18-hole course set right at MacDonald Island Park, wrapped in boreal forest along the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers. You can find tee times and details at Miskanaw Golf Club. For something more relaxed or family-friendly, Vista Ridge offers a 12-hole course with oversize cups, plus the Vista Ridge All Seasons Park with an aerial adventure course and views over the Clearwater River.

Restaurant Patios and Long Evenings

When the weather is this good, everyone heads outside to eat. The town's restaurant patios fill up fast on warm evenings, from downtown spots, like Earls and Surekha’s to the patio at Zee Bar out in Anzac. It is worth checking out a few different patios across the season to find your favourite. Because the sun stays up so late in June and July, a patio dinner can easily roll into a long, golden evening.

My other favourite thing about summer here: the late nights where the sun never truly sets. That soft midnight light over the river is something you only really understand once you have lived through a Fort McMurray summer.

Festivals and Events

Fort McMurray's event calendar comes alive once the snow is gone:

• Hello Summer Festival returns to SMS Equipment Place on July 4 and 5, with two days of live music and food. The 2026 lineup features artists like Jimmy Eat World, Simple Plan, Alexisonfire, Dean Brody and Hailey Benedict.

• West Coast Amusements, Canada's largest travelling amusement park, brings rides and games to town in mid-June.

• Baseball Canada 18U National Championship runs August 13 to 16 at Legacy Dodge Field at MacDonald Island Park and Ross Hennigar Park in Thickwood, a free and family-friendly watch.

For the full, current schedule, the Fort McMurray Wood Buffalo events calendar is the best place to confirm dates before you head out.

Camping and Weekend Getaways

Summer is camping season, and you do not have to go far. Gregoire Lake Provincial Park offers 140 tent and RV sites near the water, and Maqua Lake and the surrounding wildland parks give you quieter, more rustic options. Many families here keep a seasonal campsite they return to all summer, which is exactly where I sneak away for that morning river coffee. For newcomers, a seasonal site is a wonderful way to build a summer routine and get to know the region beyond the city.

Make the Most of a Short Season

Fort McMurray summers are brief, which is precisely why the community leans into them so completely. Between the river, the beaches, the trails, the golf, the patios and those endless bright evenings, there is more than enough to fill every weekend from June through August. Keep an eye on the local calendars, pack for quick weather changes, and get outside while it lasts.

If exploring the area this summer has you thinking about calling Wood Buffalo home, I would love to talk through the neighbourhoods and lifestyle that fit you best.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is there to do in Fort McMurray in the summer?

Summer in Fort McMurray centres on the outdoors: paddle boarding and boating on the Clearwater and Athabasca Rivers from Snye Point, swimming at Gregoire Lake and Maqua Lake, hiking and biking the 135 kilometre Birchwood Trails, golf at Miskanaw and Vista Ridge, restaurant patios, festivals like the Hello Summer Festival, and camping across the region.

Where can you swim near Fort McMurray?

The Anzac day use beach at Gregoire Lake Provincial Park, about 30 kilometres southeast of town, has a sandy beach and calm water for swimming. Maqua Lake, roughly 40 kilometres south in Stony Mountain Wildland Provincial Park, is a quieter beach with calm, sheltered water.

Can you paddle board or kayak in Fort McMurray?

Yes. Snye Point is a public park and boat launch in the heart of the city at the entrance to the Clearwater River, and it is the most popular spot to launch a paddle board, kayak or canoe. The rivers and nearby lakes all offer paddling.

Is there a parkrun in Fort McMurray?

Yes. Birchwood Trails parkrun is a free, weekly, timed 5 kilometre event held every Saturday at 9:00am on the Birchwood Trails. You can run, jog or walk, and all ages and abilities are welcome.

What golf courses are in Fort McMurray?

Miskanaw Golf Club is an 18-hole course at MacDonald Island Park along the Athabasca and Clearwater Rivers. Vista Ridge offers a family-friendly 12-hole course plus an all-seasons park with an aerial adventure course.

Is Fort McMurray a good place to live for people who love the outdoors?

Fort McMurray offers strong access to the outdoors, with an extensive in-city trail network, rivers for paddling and boating, nearby provincial parks and lakes, camping, and famously long summer daylight. Residents who enjoy hiking, biking, fishing, paddling and camping tend to find plenty to do.

Curious what it is like to call Wood Buffalo home? If summer in Fort McMurray has you picturing life here, contact Kate to talk through the neighbourhoods and lifestyle that fit you best. You can also browse current Fort McMurray listings to see what is available.

About Kate Arnold

Kate Arnold is a REALTOR® with Coldwell Banker United in Fort McMurray, Alberta. She has been active in the Fort McMurray real estate market since 2016 and specializes in residential, commercial, and rural properties. Kate works with buyers and sellers who want clear, data-backed guidance on one of the most significant decisions they will make. Contact Kate today.