Holyrood Gardens Redevelopment | 86m | 25s | Regency Developments | DER + Associates

[soupcrate]

Yes, we can absorb more than a smaller city, but also remember the higher priced cities people are leaving are twice as large to five times our size.

This is why Calgary is now having trouble absorbing the newcomers (or at least why rents are going up a lot there).

Alberta is where the buck stops for housing because residential construction in our two major cities can scale up essentially infinitely.

Calgary will continue absorbing a high % of prairie-bound newcomers as it's the most prominent Prairie city. When Calgary's residential construction gets overwhelmed, Edmonton will pick up the excess until Calgary ramps up enough to handle the inflow. With 7% vacancy in Edmonton, we definitely have some breathing room.

The critical point is this: to keep housing supply + demand balanced, we don't need Prairie migration to slow down or even to stagnate. We just need it to return to modest y/y increases, which seems likely now that the post-covid shock is over.

 

[David A]

From observing a number of past cycles in Alberta, I don't think any city can scale up infinitely and certainly not as quickly as vacancy rates can change. Even if building increases in response to lower vacancy, then prices may increase too for land and other inputs. In any events, new buildings generally don't rent for less than existing ones.

Yes, currently the focus is on Calgary, but as prices there rise people (including some long term Calgarians who don't want to or can't pay much more) will move here and the vacancy rate will come down. Its not as big a transition from Calgary to Edmonton as say to a smaller city like Saskatoon and being in the same province it is the next logical choice.

 

[Daveography]

My best guess is they'll offer units at these prices and lock in as many leases as they can for those willing and able to afford them, then start bringing them down closer to the rest of the market as uptake slows.

Just conjecture, but trying to bilk as many people as you can for a slightly higher return would be on par with what I've come to expect.

Why yes, I have become cynical in my time away, thanks for noticing. 😅

 

[KreationYEG]

If you close your eyes it’s almost like it’s not there, though you can’t ignore it.

 

[occidentalcapital]

I wonder whether this will lease up, or whether people have finally stopped tolerating poor architecture?

 

[IanO]

Most folks don't really care about architecture.

SS appliances, 'hardwood', 'granite' - SOLD!

 

[cmd uw]

Most folks don't really care about architecture.

SS appliances, 'hardwood', 'granite' - SOLD!

For the vast majority it's price first...regardless of whether you're buying or renting. Then come the other things - location, number of bedrooms/bathrooms, new/renovated, etc.

 

[mcr]

Centrally located, adjacent to an LRT station, concrete construction limiting sound transfer. It may look like complete crap, but checks a lot of boxes for places to live overall.

 

[Edmcowboy11]

Affordability, safety, convenience are the primary concerns for most, especially on a budget.

 

[TAS]

From previous reports though the pricing here is more in line with what you'd expect in the core.

 

[IanO]

From previous reports though the pricing here is more in line with what you'd expect in the core.

When you build new concrete high-rise product, you have to charge x regardless of location.

 

[archited]

^^^^ Although land prices and site accessibility are important factors on the "cost" side of the ledger than can make a significant difference.

 

[occidentalcapital]

But land costs may be higher in a central area

You would expect some premium from a more central location.

 

[David A]

Most folks don't really care about architecture.

SS appliances, 'hardwood', 'granite' - SOLD!

That's true, the interior of the unit where people will spend most of their time and live is really what matters to most people.

Also, Edmonton is definitely less concerned about outward appearances than other places. Sometimes its almost like people here want to hide or downplay the fact they are living comfortably, whereas in other places they often want to flaunt it.

However, when this building is not so new, the drab outside appearance might become more of an problem.

 

[Oilers99]

But land costs may be higher in a central area

You would expect some premium from a more central location.

Land costs on concrete high rise are often less than 10% of the overall cost and sometimes less than 5%, so while it does have an impact on rental and sale rates it's not as material as it would be on horizontal housing.