[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.

 

[Barnaby]

Surface parking lot to residential/mixed use conversions should be incentivized before anything else. I'm not in favour of grants, I'd rather see tax holidays and permitting discounts within a defined area.

 

[Kosy123]

As well, about a third of Edmonton’s downtown office space is occupied by government and Crown corporations — and they don’t need as much room as they once did.

This was interesting to see because it's nice to finally see the proportion of office space taken up by the government and crown corps. Take this with a grain of salt (since it's just my area), but there's a lot of hiring happening within the provincial government. The issue is, we're kinda running out of space for in-office spaces. I don't know if this means we're going to get pressure to lease more, but space constraints are starting to occur from my own experience/observation.

 

[thommyjo]

Surface parking lot to residential/mixed use conversions should be incentivized before anything else. I'm not in favour of grants, I'd rather see tax holidays and permitting discounts within a defined area.

Agreed. I’d rather an empty office building with an apartment next door vs a converted office (likely somewhat ugly) with a surface parking lot next door.

The former also brings in more taxes still. Even if the business building declines in value. And I don’t think the C tier stuff staying empty impacts the A and trophy type stuff, does it? Not really competition when they’re worlds apart (can anyone confirm this? Just what I’ve heard).

The prior incentive program that got us that little boom should 100% be done again.

 

[David A]

This was interesting to see because it's nice to finally see the proportion of office space taken up by the government and crown corps. Take this with a grain of salt (since it's just my area), but there's a lot of hiring happening within the provincial government. The issue is, we're kinda running out of space for in-office spaces. I don't know if this means we're going to get pressure to lease more, but space constraints are starting to occur from my own experience/observation.

Well Alberta's population has grown a lot in the last few years, so that probably means some growth in the provincial government will have to happen now too.

The good news is no shortage of office space in downtown Edmonton, if they need more, but they might actually have to start looking at some of the buildings that are not Class A.

There are several buildings close to the government district I am familiar with that have quite a bit of vacancy. Some may need some fixing up, but if the provincial government offers to fill them, the landlord would probably gladly spruce it up.