Edmonton Real Estate Market

[David A]

I don't know if the very Toronto-centric financial institutions have fully realized this yet, but in the future to be successful they may need to become more flexible about where they have many of their jobs located, rather than force everyone to move to places where housing is very unaffordable, like they have in the past.

A city like Edmonton, with quite a bit of downtown office space available and affordable housing could be a good alternative.

Soaring housing costs limiting population mobility across Canada: CMHC​

MSN

 

[David A]

I feel this is a good question to ask given our recently increasing rents and real estate prices. I will not spoil it, read the article for their answer.

Is Edmonton still an affordable city? Housing gives us an advantage, experts say

As Alberta's population swells, more people are moving to Edmonton trying to seize on what could be the last affordable major city in Canada

edmontonjournal.com

 

[policyenthusiast]

I feel this is a good question to ask given our recently increasing rents and real estate prices. I will not spoil it, read the article for their answer.

Is Edmonton still an affordable city? Housing gives us an advantage, experts say

As Alberta's population swells, more people are moving to Edmonton trying to seize on what could be the last affordable major city in Canada

edmontonjournal.com

Paywalled, anyone have access? I'm curious.

 

[kcantor]

^
I don't know if it's "paywalled" or if you've reached your limit of free articles. If it's the latter, you can try doing a google search of the article's headline and then clicking on one of the links from the search. That seems to bypass the counter or something...

 

[Tropical]

Summary:

We have cheaper homes than other 1M+ sized cities in almost all cases.
Availability of land and lower bureaucratic friction help this.
Reduced immigration means there is uncertainty in the market.
Smaller cities can be more affordable than Edmonton.

(There's honestly no new information here but learning facts always needs to start somewhere)

 

[policyenthusiast]

From Taproot:

Edmonton remains an attractive destination for people seeking luxury homes at lower prices than in other Canadian markets, especially around the $1 million range. Over the past year, the greater Edmonton area saw 414 sales of single-detached homes priced from $1 million to $1.5 million, 136 sales of homes exceeding $1.5 million, and six sales exceeding $3.5 million, according to the REALTORS Association of Edmonton.

 

[David A]

Edmonton real estate listings up more than 80 per cent from December​

MSN

 

[IanO]

A sad situation indeed, complicated by lack of regulation.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/edmonton/more-than-200-albertans-owed-hundreds-of-thousands-of-dollars-for-life-lease-repayment-1.7456846

 

[Gus Haynes]

Whenever people ask me for advice on "nontraditional" ownership schemes (e.g. life leases or "rent-to-own" contracts), my answer has always been: run away screaming.

 

[policyenthusiast]

Whenever people ask me for advice on "nontraditional" ownership schemes (e.g. life leases or "rent-to-own" contracts), my answer has always been: run away screaming.

Usually if the owner is on-board with novel sale mechanisms, the property itself is a disaster that they want to get rid of at all costs.

 

[kcantor]

Usually if the owner is on-board with novel sale mechanisms, the property itself is a disaster that they want to get rid of at all costs.

Except the same has been said of 99 year leases, 66 year leases, 45 year leases, co-ops, condominiums, bare land strata etc. - and even freehold title - all of which have had their own teething pains before gaining mainstream acceptance as the market learned how to manage their specific risks for both the vendors and the purchasers. There are potential advantages and disadvantages to purchasers and vendors for all of them.

 

[IanO]

https://assets.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/sites/cmhc/professional/housing-markets-data-and-research/market-reports/housing-market-outlook/2025/housing-market-outlook-02-2025-en.pdf?_gl=1*14x3fgm*_gcl_au*MTAzOTQyNTExNC4xNzM5OTg5NzU3*_ga*MTIxNjEwMjk2My4xNzM5OTg5NzYw*_ga_CY7T7RT5C4*MTczOTk5NDQyNC4yLjEuMTczOTk5NDUxNy41Ni4wLjA.

 

[Gronk!]

‘A great way to live alone with other people’: A look at Edmonton’s only cohousing community

More than a year after a once-controversial infill development fully opened in Old Strathcona, residents of Urban Green Cohousing say they feel welcome in the neighbourhood.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[IanO]

Downtown Gives Back its Modest Gains | Urban Affairs

Vacancies are on the rise, as more and more tenants shrink their downtown operations

urbanaffairs.ca

 

[archited]

Boy, talk about being out of step with trends. Leave the downtown office market alone -- it will recover and then some in its own time and it doesn't require more conversions to residential. Look to the downtown growth generators instead and focus on forward thinking -- not staring in the rearview mirror.