We generalize the notion of Elkies primes for elliptic curves to the setting of abelian varieties with real multiplication (RM), and prove the following. Let $A$ be an abelian variety with RM over a number field whose attached Galois representation has large image. Then the number of Elkies primes (in a suitable range) for reductions of $A$ modulo primes converges weakly to a Gaussian distribution around its expected value. This refines and generalizes results obtained by Shparlinski and Sutherland in the case of non-CM elliptic curves, and has implications for the complexity of the SEA point counting algorithm for abelian surfaces over finite fields.