Tag Archive for “Edmonton”

The Highlands neighborhood located in the northeast section of Edmonton, Alberta, has been recognized as one of the top spots for old homes in North America, according to the Edmonton Journal.

This Old House magazine recognized the Highlands as one of the nation's 10 best for old homes and is one of 61 neighborhoods in North America to be been honored for their craftsmanship, architectural diversity, community amenities and more, the news source states.

“It’s a special neighborhood, it exerts a special pull on people,” Ken Tingley, the city reigning historian laureate, who is finishing a history of the neighborhood, told the news source. “Since the beginning of the community, many people have lived there for a number of generations, or have grown up there, gone away, and then returned.” Continue reading »

Calgary and Edmonton are projected to be the only major Canadian cities to witness an increase in housing starts next year, new research suggests.

According to a recent report by Altus Group, the two thriving cities will drive Alberta to be the only province expected to see housing starts hike.

"Based on recent data, the Canadian housing sector is performing at a very high level, with elevated housing starts, steady prices, and steady resale markets," said Peter Norman, chief economist at Altus Group, according to the Calgary Herald. "But at the same time a number of risk factors are emerging, especially deteriorating economic conditions and tighter mortgage rules. Canadians can expect lower levels of housing construction in most areas of the country next year." Continue reading »

A new report says while commercial office vacancies increased during the past quarter in the city of Edmonton, the market remains relatively steady.

The office vacancy rate rose from 11.07 to 11.26 percent during the quarter with a negative absorption of just under 30,000 square feet, according to data from Colliers International. Lease rates in downtown and suburban areas of the market both showed slight increases in vacancies during the quarter, while vacancies in the Sherwood Park area – fueled by the oil/gas and construction industries – saw availability drop. Continue reading »

The Realtors Association of Edmonton recently released new information regarding the region's real estate sales for June, which showed improvements.

Home sales increased during the month, settling at $584 million generated, which is up 7.6 percent from last June. Overall, residential transactions totaled 1,768, with 3,260 listings, providing a sales-to-listing ratio of 54 percent. In June 2010, the ratio was 48 percent.

Fueling the greater volume of real estate sales, the region's average price dropped by half of a percentage point to $330,297.

Single-family MLS sales were up 15.1 percent, totaling 1,165, which is up from 1,012 during the previous June. The average price for these properties settled at $379,409, which is down 2.86 percent from June 2010. The median price was up, however, gaining 1 percent to $361,888. Continue reading »

A recent article in the Calgary Herald relayed that, despite close races the last several years, Edmonton is expected to build more homes than Calgary during 2011.

In a battle to reign supreme among Alberta's home sector, Calgary homebuilders created one more property than Edmonton in 2009 – 6,318 to 6,317 – and just three more in 2010 – 9,262 to 9,259.

However, in 2011, Edmonton is expected to easily surpass Calgary, as the region will begin construction on 9,250 new properties, well above Calgary's projection of 8,500. Experts anticipate the margin will narrow again in 2012, but Edmonton will still lead by a total of 10,100 to Calgary's 9,600. Continue reading »

According to a recent report released by The Canadian Real Estate Association, the values of homes throughout Canada stabilized from April to May.

Overall, seasonally adjusted national home sales activity was down slightly, falling 1 percent during May from April. Vancouver and Ottawa experienced the greatest declines, which offset the improvements recorded in Edmonton and Toronto, where sales reached their second-highest levels on record during May.

Unadjusted sales activity was up 2.7 percent, which is the first year-over-year increase experienced in more than a year, as sales were down during May 2010.
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The Realtors Association of Edmonton says home sales in May continued the upward trend in recent home loans, following the group’s forecast for the local housing market.

REA says there were more than 2,000 MLS sales during the month, which is up 3.3 percent from May 2010. At the same time, while many new listings are still entering the market, the average time on the market has dropped to just 50 days.

“There is a wide range of property on the market right now but it is turning over quicker than in recent months,” said REA president Chris Mooney. “The local economy is picking up, the demand for labour is increasing but the national situation is keeping interest rates low. We anticipate increasing prices and sales through the summer ahead as we originally forecast.”

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According to the most recent New Housing Price Index, home prices for Canada’s major metropolitan areas remained stagnant in March after experiencing a slight increase in February.

Saint John, Fredericton, Moncton, Toronto, Oshawa, Winnipeg and Regina were among the only regions showing signs of improvement, with the former three metropolitan areas increasing by 0.4 percent and the latter three by 0.3 percent.

Builders relayed that price increases in Saint John, Fredericton and Moncton were the result of better market conditions. Toronto and Oshawa builders expressed a similar sentiment.

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A report from the Conference Board of Canada finds that economic growth in the coming years may be strongest in cities in Saskatchewan and Alberta.

The firm predicts economic growth in Saskatoon and Regina to top 3 percent this year, with strong gains in population boosting demand for Canadian home loans in the area. Similar results are expected to be seen in Calgary and Alberta, where strong growth in the energy sector will fuel the local economies.

“Buoyed by the resources and energy sectors, the economies of Saskatoon, Calgary, Regina and Edmonton will post noticeably stronger growth than the other cities covered in this report,” said Mario Lefebvre, director of the Centre for Municipal Studies.

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The residential housing market in the Edmonton area continued to be well balanced in April, as home loan amounts remained steady.

According to the Realtors Association of Edmonton, the average residential price during the month was $327,415, down just $310 from March’s average value, despite the fact that sales were down 7.8 percent compared to the previous month.

However, the number of home listings entering the market increased during the month as well, creating additional opportunities for buyers. Overall, MLS listings in the area increased by nearly 5 percent over the month.

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