[Gronk!]

Council urged to accelerate adoption of heat pumps

A city committee is urging council to partner with EPCOR to accelerate the adoption of ground-source heat pumps.

edmonton.taproot.news

 

[policyenthusiast]

Council urged to accelerate adoption of heat pumps

A city committee is urging council to partner with EPCOR to accelerate the adoption of ground-source heat pumps.

edmonton.taproot.news

I'm a bit confused, what exactly is Janz going to pitch? If it's a grant program to encourage heat pump retrofits, why would EPCOR need to be involved? They don't install heat pumps to my knowledge.

The only guess I have is that they want people to switch from gas heating to electric heating, and EPCOR might be interested because they would benefit from the increased power demand.

 

[cmd uw]

Wouldn't buying up a bunch of condos make condos less affordable (for those not eligible for official affordable housing), keeping people in the rental market and making rentals less affordable? I don't know what's a reasonable cost, but it makes sense to me that you have to increase supply to have a real impact on affordability.

It would be an absolute nightmare from an operations and management perspective. Hence why it would never be considered.

 

[archited]

Edmonton ranks #1 in housing affordability The Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) announced that Edmonton ranked number one in its 2024 Municipal Benchmarking Study. This is the second time in a row Edmonton has taken top spot on the survey, which examines how local development processes, approvals and charges affect housing affordability and housing supply in major housing markets across the country.

Learn more​

 

[Kosy123]

Edmonton's retail market sees robust growth and positive outlook for the future

Vacancy rates for Edmonton are on the decline, particularly in the suburbs – with a shift toward more urban, mixed-use concepts.

retail-insider.com

 

[policyenthusiast]

Was reading the old "renting vs owning" Skyrise thread and saw a comment stating that it was cheaper to own than to rent in 2022. Decided to check if that was true in 2025.

Average cost to rent a 2bd apartment in Edmonton: $1,661

Average cost to own: $239,000 (2bd condo sales from Jan. 1 to today), fixed rates available at 3.99%, assuming 5% downpayment = $1,255 per month

Utilities are a crapshoot because not all rentals include them, but since average condo fees are around $500, it's safe to assume that in the past three years, the comparative cost of owning an Edmonton home has exceeded the cost of renting.

 

[David A]

Yes, utilities are a crapshoot. Many rentals here do not include power which could be 50 - 100 per month, some condo fees do, some don't. If that's the case, then it comes out very close to even.

Also, I'm not sure if the 1,255 is based on a mortgage payment some of course which goes to equity, you get no equity in renting. Lastly the cost/price is locked in when you purchase, rent will likely increase in the future.

 

[Yeggy]

Have an update, it is quite substantial:

News From Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC):​

Federal government invests in 1431 homes in Edmonton​

EDMONTON, AB, March 4, 2025 /CNW/ - Today, the Government of Canada announced more than $46 million in contributions and low-cost repayable loans to build and renew 1431 homes at 21 housing projects located across Edmonton.

Today's announcement was made by the Honourable Randy Boissonnault, Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre, Alberta, on behalf of the Honourable Nathaniel Erskine-Smith, the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities, alongside Lindsay Munn, Vice President of Property Portfolio Management for Civida.

The announcement took place at Central Village, a low-rise 42-unit apartment building owned and operated by Civida, which received $24,300 funding through Canada Greener Affordable Housing (CGAH) program as part of today's announcement.

The projects announced today are supported by various initiatives under the National Housing Strategy (NHS) and are designed to meet needs across the housing continuum, with a focus on Edmonton's most vulnerable populations.

The funding announced today includes:

• $37,179,550 in contributions and loans through the Affordable Housing Fund (AHF), which will help create 124 units across 2 projects.
• $8,836,337 in contributions and loans through the Canada Greener Affordable Housing (CGAH), which will help renew 1307 units across 19 projects.

Look at Don Iverson working away from behind the scene.

I also applaud the change CMHC has made that stops people buying a number of single family homes (suited or not) to reach the number of units to qualify for commercial mortgages.

Commercial mortgages allowed individuals to get 50 year terms at better than posted mortgage rates. It was disgustingly unfair.

 

[David A]

Edmonton real estate could be country's spring market unicorn​

MSN

 

[policyenthusiast]

Edmonton real estate could be country's spring market unicorn​

MSN

No real news or surprises in this article. Market's still hot in Edmonton and Calgary, and supply can't increase much before May.

Glad I finally got around to owning instead of renting, prices have been rising faster than I've been able to save.

 

[_urbanite]

Was reading the old "renting vs owning" Skyrise thread and saw a comment stating that it was cheaper to own than to rent in 2022. Decided to check if that was true in 2025.

Average cost to rent a 2bd apartment in Edmonton: $1,661
View attachment 638247
Average cost to own: $239,000 (2bd condo sales from Jan. 1 to today), fixed rates available at 3.99%, assuming 5% downpayment = $1,255 per month

Utilities are a crapshoot because not all rentals include them, but since average condo fees are around $500, it's safe to assume that in the past three years, the comparative cost of owning an Edmonton home has exceeded the cost of renting.

Don't forget to factor in property taxes and insurance into the costs for owning vs renting. That widens the gap a bit more

 

[Barnaby]

Don't forget to factor in property taxes and insurance into the costs for owning vs renting. That widens the gap a bit more between renting vs owning.

And opportunity cost.

 

[archited]

And Equity build-up

 

[archited]

And hedge against rent increases

 

[kcantor]

And Equity build-up

Monthly investing the savings between renting and owning (along with never incurring large maintenance or replacement expenses) will typically build up greater equity than mortgage principal reduction and capital appreciation. The benefits of owning vs renting are primarily emotional, not financial.