Welcome to my Edmonton Housing Blog! I offer information on the Edmonton area real estate market in this section, including useful tips and reports on market conditions.

The proposed route of the Heartland transmission line project is prompting comment from many sources including Strathcona County’s acting mayor. Peter Wlodarczak expresses his disappointment at the line’s track thorough the area just east of Edmonton and is hoping that it still might go in a different location. That seems unlikely.

The Heartland project team, fronted by representatives of AltaLink and Epcor announced the route for their overhead double circuit 500 kilovolt transmission line last Wednesday. The proposed route starts at south east Edmonton’s Ellerslie substation, travels east and then north along the utility corridor and then takes a 45 kilometre run through Strathcona County on its way to Sturgeon County.

People living in the area are concerned the electromagnetic fields that will be generated by such high powered wire transport will cause health issues. The city of Edmonton, Strathcona County and Sturgeon County have all made mention that they want the line buried rather than overhead. Alberta Utilities Commission could well rule that the communities foot the bill, perceived to be two or three times the cost of overhead lines. It is unlikely that such a proposal would be approved by the respective councils.
This is still very much a work in progress as a proposed route change has been suggested for the portion of the line that runs through Edmonton. Alberta Infrastructure and Heartland officials have tentatively agreed to move the line north of an already in place 240 KV line. This moves the proposed line farther away from homes near that line.

Any homes that end up being within 65 to 75 metres away from overhead lines on the finalized route will be demolished by the ministry.

Edmonton Housing Blog - Monday December 14, 2009 - Condominium Developers See Challenges Ahead

Even with a recent jump in building permits in Edmonton, condo developers are still in search of strong signals about the state of the real estate market.

Statistics Canada recently released some data that showed the overall value of building permits in Edmonton increased from $363.4 million to $587.7 million.  However, those permits were mostly for single-family homes, not multi-family dwellings.

Analysts say that the weakness in the condo market is due to the fact that banks are refusing to hand out loans to developers who have less than 50% of the units sold.  Not to mention, pre-selling condominiums in Edmonton is not easy because the market is already flooded with older ones.

Also, buyers are not willing to wait for a property that will not be ready for a few years.

At the same time, developers do want to begin construction now, while the price of labour and materials are quite affordable.  Some developers are even bypassing North American banks altogether, and they are looking to secure financing from overseas investors.

Edmonton Housing Blog - Sunday November 29, 2009 - New Project Sees Signs of Activity

The business men and owners of the largest industrial construction project in Edmonton’s Fort Saskatchewan region want construction on the project to begin immediately.  The project has been on delay because there are problems in securing a line of bitumen supply to the project.

The project also needs long-term clients, who would be willing to continually buy the produced oil, and secure financing.  The $15-billion North West up grader is a three phase project, with each phase taking two years to complete.  Everyone involved hopes the project can be underway by 2011.

Although the companies behind the project hope things begin as soon as possible they admit many parts of the plan still need to be negotiated.  They say it will be a highly-productive project because the order will be coming directly from people on the site, not guidance from an office in Houston or Europe.

This project promises to be especially productive and lucrative for the region because the new gasifier will be able to separate the hydrogen from the carbon dioxide, and it will have a buyer.  The Alberta Carbon Truck Line plans to move the CO2 into central Alberta using pipelines.  The CO2 will be used to depleted reservoirs in an effort to enhance natural oil recovery.

Edmonton Housing Blog - Monday November 23, 2009 - Staging a Home

For sellers, staging a home can create a vision in the buyers mind that will make the property stick out compared to the many other homes on the market.  Staging the home consists of furnishing the home and creating the appearance that someone lives there, but really nothing is ever touched.  The practice creates ideas in the mind of potential buyers about the potential of the property.

The tactic is also catching on among banks who are trying to liquidate foreclosed homes.  Interior Designer and Stager, Nanci Hawkins, said she recently received a call from a bank to stage a vacant home.  She charged between $600 and $800 a day for the service. 

She explains that the process isn’t just about filling empty space, but it involves creating a great feeling of home and pleasure for the buyer.  She also mentions that staging can be used by landlords who are trying to rent a property.  Its a great process that really helps the homes sell because people have an idea about how the rooms can be used.
 

During the final quarter of 2009 it is expected that many of Canada’s markets will continue to grow. This is because the worst part of the recession is over and there is going to be a boom in the search for real estate.

Since there is going to be a good number of people looking to purchase homes now that the recession is over it is actually going to be one of the shortest recessions as far as the real estate market is concerned. There are a number of things that make this a prime market with which to shop for real estate. This is because there are lower interest rates, more of a demand for houses and many more levels of affordability. There have already been recent increases in the sale of houses in many areas of Canada including Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Regina, Ottawa and Toronto.

Another somewhat surprising fact is that the housing rates of real estate are actually higher. There were seven areas of purchase that had record highs in real estate prices. These were Newfoundland-Labrador, Regina, Halifax-Dartmouth, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Toronto. The national average, for housing prices are also higher than the national average was just a year ago.

Basically since there were so many changes there was a great market for investors to take advantage of. This is because real estate prices were much lower and are now on an uphill move. So those who bought real estate had gotten good deals and are in a position where they could potentially make money.

One of the things that make the real estate market moving so quickly is that Canadians put a huge amount of importance into owning a home. There are some markets that have an extremely high home ownership rate. The overall home ownership rate has increased as well. There have been gains in most of the markets in Canada in general in these areas.

The Canadian real estate market has had great growth overall. However there have been three times in the past thirty years when things have not been going as well. These times of downward movement were 1981, 1989 and 2008. There have been some regional fluctuations that have been a part of things. Further there have been periods where there were some different types of things to consider. Real estate rates have continued to move and are continuing to be able to understand things and how to work through them. Further there were a number of things that were considered which include the overall improvement and therefore there are a vast majority of people who are happy to work through the growth.

There are many things to consider when renting a home or apartment and decorating is one thing that many people do not often consider or think about. Of course you want to be happy where you live and you want your surroundings to be things that make you happy as well. However it is important to not have to lose money when decorating a rental space as well. The following tips are things that experts suggest will help you to have the most success when looking into designing your rental space.

You should make sure that you purchase the furniture that you want and spare no expense when doing so. Furniture is one of the things that will move with you and will be part of the next space that you are living in. Plus buying cheaper furniture means more upkeep and having to replace the furniture more often.

Make sure and befriend your landlord. You will need to ask your landlord for permission with certain aspects of different design and decorating ideas. This can help you as well if things need to be replaced in being able to talk your landlord into upgrades that would make you happier.

Putting up wallpaper is a mistake that many renters make. Not only do they typically have to deal with the hassle of tearing it all down prior to moving out but it is typically more costly and it is an investment that you truly get nothing out of. You can always find removable decals that you can easily remove from the walls.

Painting your space can make a huge difference and you can get many different affects just by painting. However it is typically required that you at least prime if not prime and paint your walls prior to moving out. The cost of painting is not bad though and is something that anyone can easily do.

The last thing that you will want to consider is that you should not invest a lot of money into making structural changes in your rental space. This means that you should not put in new flooring, door frames, or any other type of woodwork. It is an unnecessary expense and there is nothing for you to get out of this so it is essentially a lot of wasted money that you could be saving for when you have your own home to invest in.
 

Edmonton Housing Blog - Tuesday October 27, 2009 - City Centre tenant won’t go down without a fight

City Centre Airport is scheduled to be remodeled into a large-scale real estate development, leaving one tenant, Airco Aircraft Charters, quite upset. A tenant of 22 years, Airco is suing the Edmonton Regional Airports Authority over this decision.

Their basis for suing is two-fold. First, they are only 11 years into their 25 year lease, and the current plans would breach that contract. Also, they have two years left on their licence agreement, and a lack of renewal, they say, would be unfair since their company’s performance has not warranted any such measure. They also argue that the authority’s decision will have an adverse effect on air services, especially since Airco is the only carrier that currently has flights into Grande Prairie from City Centre.

Edmonton Regional Airports Authority has leased the land from the city until 2054, and Airco wants them to maintain that lease, including the subleasing they have given to Airco. Whether the authority will wait that long or will move forward with plans to turn the land back over to the city for the scheduled real estate development will be determined once the authority has evaluated Airco’s claim, and if necessary, had their day in court.

Edmonton Housing Blog - Friday October 16, 2009 - City of Edmonton to Purchase Vacant School Sites

Edmonton is poised to acquire 18 undeveloped school sites, providing an opportunity to construct affordable housing, parks or libraries. The city’s public board approved this land-surplus measure at its October 14 meeting. The sites, located throughout suburban Edmonton, are in areas in which previous population projections have ultimately not warranted construction of new schools. Under consideration since last spring, the property transfer is one of the most significant undertakings of its nature. Some of the land has been designated for schools since the 1970s.

Of the 18 sites, eleven were allocated toward construction of junior high schools, and seven were earmarked as elementary school locations. The city of Edmonton is paying $1 for the land, and is responsible for its future development. According to Councillor Karen Leibovici, numerous groups will decide upon the use of the properties. She noted that priorities could include senior citizen housing, libraries, as well as residences that are more affordable to the general public.

The First Place Home Ownership Program could be a beneficiary of the land surplus. An expansion of this program could provide additional moderately priced dwellings for first-time home buyers.
 

Edmonton Housing Blog - Thursday October 9, 2009 - Health Cuts Cause Loud Debate

The criticism continues over Albert Health Services intent to phase out hospital beds for those requiring psychiatric care in favour of placing those patients in community facilities. Edmonton’s Alberta Hospital is expecting to loose up to 150 acute-care psychiatric beds in the move.

Arguments against the plan have come from psychiatrists, lawyers, police agencies and the patients themselves. Families of those patients have also registered their concerns. All are concerned that many of the patients turned away from hospital care will end up on their own on city streets. Without a support system, the likelihood of increased crime and homelessness is a viable possibility.

Alberta Hospital is known for the quality of care given to its psychiatric patients. It is unmatched in any of the psychiatric wards in the other city hospitals and in community facilities. Alberta Health has stated that no patients will be moved from the hospital until housing has been found for them.

Even so, doctors and families of patients, among others, are concerned that by implementing these budget cuts, Alberta Health is not living up to its responsibilities of caring for Albertans who are in need of health care services. The cutbacks as planned can only adversely affect the lives of the patients and their families.

Edmonton Housing Blog - Thursday October 1, 2009 - Canadian Homes Still Affordable

In North America, the difference in price between the most expensive and least expensive, similarly configured homes is nearly $2 million. So states the real estate firm, Caldwell Banker, in a recent report. A four-bedroom, 2 ½ bath, 2,200 square foot home, ranges in price from $2.1 million US in La Jolla, California, to $112,675 US in Grayling, Mich. The numbers in Canada are comparable, from $1.3 million in Vancouver to $158,667 in Charlottetown. In Alberta, the most expensive homes in this configuration are found in Fort McMurray, at $638,000, far surpassing Calgary and Edmonton, where prices average $525,525 and $432,250, respectively.

Globally, homes of this style were the most expensive in Singapore, where one could expect to pay $1.9 million US, while the least expensive locale was in Salinas, Ecuador at $69,375 US.

After a brief slump, Canadian home prices have been steadily climbing. Industry experts believe that Canadian real estate delivers the best value for a typical family purchasing their next home.

Location plays a major role in home prices. Drive twenty minutes from Vancouver, to Burnaby, B.C., and the price of the same style home drops 50%, to $657,250. Likewise, this same home in Detroit, Michigan would average $132,000 US, while across the border, in Windsor, Ontario, the price would nearly double, to $244,000.

Edmonton Housing Blog - Tuesday September 22, 2009 - Bigger Problems Than The Elephant In The Room

Thanks to a large, aging elephant, activists have done what a rising unemployment rate, lack of hospital beds, and increased crime have failed to do: get the people of Toronto, Edmonton and Alberta passionate about something.

Lucy the Elephant, who suffers breathing problems, is in the middle of a tug of war between PETA and the Zoo system. Animal rights gropus have offered to foot the bill to move Lucy to an animal sanctuary in California - to the tune of $200,000. Celebrities like William Shatner and Bob Barker have lent their names to the struggle, but the trip could prove harmful to her. Lawsuits have been threatened.

Meanwhile, reported cuts at Alberta Hospital will mean a higher number of mentally ill patients out on the streets. Unemployment is near 7%. Hospital beds are being cut. Almost every department in our government is struggling to provide basic services to taxpayers, troubled teens about to get kicked out of their group homes, and reduced hours on the way for pools, rec centres, the Muttart Conservatory, the Zoo, and the libraries.

Surely there are bigger problems we need to face up to before we go using up all our fervor on Lucy.
 

Edmonton Housing Blog - Monday September 14, 2009 - Nationwide New Home Sales

The housing sector continues to display indications of recovery. An increase in sales prices for new homes was observed in July, which signaled the first increase in ten months. On Friday, Statistics Canada noted a 0.3% increase in the sale price for new homes in July, contrasting the expectations of many economists that had expected a 0.1% drop, especially after June’s decline.

According to the agency, the statistics for July demonstrated the first significant rise in real estate sales since September of the previous year. The largest increases were observed in Vancouver, at 1.2%. Other areas with significant increases were Hamilton and Windsor in Ontario, and Calgary. Statistics Canada elaborated that in Edmonton prices went up by 0.4%, which was the first positive change since October 2007.

They continued to explain that while builders were observing lower sales prices in July, they were able to revert back to regular list prices after being forced to decrease prices earlier in the year. In Victoria, the biggest drop was observed at a recorded 3.5%. Many builders in Victoria were forced to settle for lower prices as a sales tactic.

An economics strategist from TD Securities named Millan Mulraine concluded that this report is a positive sign. It is indicative of the Canadian market’s ability to transfer the stability of the existing home market to the domain of the new home market.
 

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