So, here is the deal – we are seeing a shifting market. While July normally is a slower month due to people taking advantage of the summer months for holidays and local festivals/fun, compared to June we are seeing more drastic shifts than what we would consider normal seasonal changes.

Single-family homes in the greater Edmonton area saw a shift of 12.4% fewer sales in comparison to sales from the same time last year (July 2021). What may feel more surprising is the fact that comparing June 2022 and July 2022 – we are seeing an even more drastic change of 24.4%. You can read more about the Greater Edmonton Outlook from our Real Estate Association of Edmonton’s recent market update here.

We here at TruHome decided to dive a little deeper into the market stats for Single Family homes in the city of Edmonton to gauge a deeper sense of what is going on.

We have 9 months of active inventory compared to what is pending, and 4 months of active inventory in comparison to the most recent month of sales data (846). It is important to recognize that first impressions are important and pricing your home strategically will make a difference. The ones that are going pending/selling quicker, are pricing lower than what we may have seen even a couple months ago.

When we look at the sales by price range, it shows that the most competitive price ranges are still between $300,000 – $500,000 for Single Family Homes in Edmonton with some homes still competing in multiple offers. What is important to remember about this data, is that it is a snapshot of what is happening in the Edmonton Real Estate market, we are still more up than previous years in terms of value and there are still great good opportunities for sellers to sell and for buyers to buy. Every person’s situation is unique and it comes down to how your real estate goals can impact and enhance your life as a whole.

Earlier this week, we discussed what was happening with Single Family Homes in Edmonton, but we didn’t want you to miss out on the condo market too.

The condo market is proving to be interesting as well, with prices and demand shifting positively for the first time in years.

As of April 1, 2022, this is the what the numbers were showing:

Of the available, active condos – the price points are shocking, with almost ALL the available inventory priced at under 300k!

Since January 1, 2022 there have been 1474 total condos sold, so when comparing those against the available properties we find we have a fairly balanced level of supply for the demand:

If you are in the market to buy or sell an Edmonton Condo this year – reach out!

What Is REALLY Going On!

Real Estate is a hot topic these days, more so than ever. Every day we are inundated with articles on it be about mortgage rate increases, multiple offers, future predictions, you name it – we have heard about it!

Data is often the best indicator of “what is really going on” We have taken some time to break down the overall Edmonton market over January – March 2022 to show you what we have seen and experienced over the past 3 months. Stay tuned for more updates, as while we are multiple offers in many situations, this is not across the board and is primarily targeted to select sections of Edmonton. Some neighbourhoods are starting to see some minor and more significant shifts.

Edmonton Data as of March 31, 2022:

What is more interesting is how it breaks down in terms of prices. Of the 1575 homes for sale, the number of homes that showed available at each price point reflected the following:

How does this compare in regards to what has sold in the month of March 2022?

The data does indicate that we are seeing significant movement in the price ranges of $300,000 – $500,000. Southwest Edmonton is one of the more popular areas and newer builds (2010 or newer). What this data doesn’t show though is what parts of the city these homes have sold in which would factor into individual buying/selling strategies.

Sellers: What this does tell us is that for many sellers it is an extremely great time to sell – overall we have not seen an increase in the market to this level since 2007 and 2014 respectively. That being said, we are not in the BC or Ontario market and we are seeing fluctuations in the market based on types of homes, condition of the properties and location.

Buyers: Depending on your budget, location and what you are looking for may result in a more competitive landscape. Working with a team of professionals like our team at TruHome is important. We understand the nuances of how to craft a compelling offer, whether we are in multiple situations or not.

Connect with our Edmonton Real Estate team today to discuss how we can assist you with your Edmonton home buying or selling goals.

*Data collected Mach 31, 2022 via the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton MLS® System Data

Buying an Edmonton home? Planning your wish list: number of bedrooms, bathrooms, style? Or maybe you are an Edmonton Real Estate Investor looking for the right property to build your next project. We recommend considering the homes lot size or dimensions. Depending on your Edmonton lots dimensions, it may yield more or less value. Edmonton Infill builders will especially find this true when they are sourcing out building sites as a 33 wide or a 50 wide or larger, will drastically change the possibilities of what can be built.

Take the Edmonton skinny home – which is typically a 17 wide home built on a 25 wide lot. These narrow homes are usually built on an existing 50 wide lot that is subdivided to make room for 2 homes. The benefit for home buyers of this is the further densification of more core neighbourhoods to accommodate more residents and offer newer or potentially more affordable alternatives.

At TruHome, we are often on the search for great Edmonton homes that offer further benefits for investors or buyers to consider so being able to track down the dimensions of a lot is extremely important. We also have always been and continue to be big advocates for making more data accessible and open, so when we launched a way to search for information on an Edmonton lots dimensions (Internal Tool – Not Fully Polished), it only made sense to not keep this as an internal tool, but rather open it up and make it accessible.

Try out our new tool here: https://www.yourtruhome.com/edmonton-land-size

We hope you enjoy this tool as much as we do. Be sure to share it, use it and let us know what you think and of course reach out and let us know how we can help you buy, sell or invest in Edmonton Real Estate.

That uneasy, gut reaction of not feeling safe can give anyone the heebie-jeebies and deep desire to “run” for safety. Feeling safe is a goal that all cities strive for and citizens want to be comfortable where they work, live and play. That being said, how can a city track when and how people aren’t feeling safe in order to better understand the issues at hand and to work with citizens to improve the overall safety landscape of the city?

The answer: A crowdsourced map making it easy for Edmontonians to report when they don’t feel safe. 

SafeCityYEG allows citizens like you and me to share our positive and negative experiences around feeling safe in our city. We are able to mark locations that feel bright, vibrant and welcoming and we can mark areas where it feels too dark, or if we have been harassed or just generally scared.

According to cbc.ca:

“Participants can state whether they feel “safe” or “unsafe” in a particular location. The tool then prompts people to answer questions about why they feel that way, with a pull-down menu of options that covers topics such as lighting, signage, and whether a person was harassed.The data on the map is updated constantly, with people updating or deleting their reports”

The idea of Safe City YEG, came from an initiative to make Edmonton overall safer for women from their involvement in the United Nations Women Safe Cities and Safe Public Spaces global initiative.

The difficulty will come down to the city combing through this plethora of data to determine validity when it comes to aiming to resolve concerns and ultimately improve general “safety” for most residents. Like any data, it can be skewed, so it will be up to the people involved to weigh how to use the data provided optimally.

Either way a great data initiative and one that we will be investing time looking over, as ultimately, we as real estate agents are asked our opinions about this question very often. In an effort to help many clients establish their “boundaries” for safety, we also offer private walking tours of most neighbourhoods, as we truly believe that we have to zone in on each of our client’s own comfort levels when it comes to safety.

Do you think sharing “safety” viewpoints could positively or negatively impact home values in a neighbourhood?

This piece was fun because we all love giving our Edmonton neighbourhoods personalities. Some of them are easy like the Whyte Avenue Strathcona area but some are just discovering who they are and it’s fun to watch. For us, we’re all about the core of Edmonton. These are the neighbourhoods we live, work, and play in and they’re communities we try and play an active role in. The music in the video is actually from Jeff Morris a local and we’re lucky that we got a chance to promote people doing cool stuff in the city.

We were really interested in understanding the neighbourhoods that we serve. Because It’s not just a house. It’s a community and it’s your lifestyle. You should have all the information available to you. And it’s going to change throughout your life so we wanted to know how our city itself is ageing and transforming.
Plus it’s pretty fun. We don’t want to take ourselves too seriously.

We’re not just experts because we live in the city but because we dive deeper into the data available to us. We’re really trying to be more than a basic Edmonton real estate experience.
https://www.facebook.com/jeffmorrismusic.ca for more.

** This video was featured on Global! So excited to keep bringing Edmonton more insights on the amazing core neighbourhoods. https://globalnews.ca/video/4025127/our-yeg-at-night-where-to-find-other-single-people-in-edmonton-on-valentines-day 

How do you get around the city? The City of Edmonton wants to get you out of the car and has many initiatives in place including new LRT lines and bike lanes. But what about right now? We looked at the City of Edmonton’s 2016 Census results to get a feel for how our city moves.

As you can see, we are a city that drives. Even in central Edmonton, over half the people get around by driving. That said, you can see how the LRT line increases transit use along the line.

It will be interesting to see what happens to people’s commute choices as more LRT and bike options become available. We can’t wait to see what the numbers say about the new downtown bike network.

So, are we a well-off city with a manageable population that makes driving convenient and the costs associated with it are within our budgets? Are we a bad example of urban sprawl making dedicated transit solutions impossible and we’re being forced to drive? Is it poor transit planning or an unwillingness to invest in infrastructure that could affect this balance? Or are we just an oil city that prefers the comfort and independence of a vehicle?

Let us know what you think.

More on Edmonton’s commuting preferences to come.

At TruHome, we are interested in the makeup of Edmonton, so that we can provide our clients with all the information they need to buy or sell their home.

Which areas of the city do you think are the most dense in Edmonton?

In order to do this, we calculated the density as the number of people living in a square kilometre (km²) in each neighbourhood. So what exactly is a square kilometre? To give you an idea of what a square kilometre is, we measured the area of a typical block in Garneau. Approximately 30 blocks would fit into 1 km². Therefore, in Garneau, about 340 people live in each block. Although city blocks do not stay consistent in size in Edmonton, this gives you a feel for what these numbers mean.

Typically, the more dense communities  have apartments and other higher density living options.

Most Populated Edmonton Neighbourhoods

1) Garneau (11810 people/km²)

With a total population just shy of 10k and a smaller area of only 0.8 km², this neighbourhood is the densest in Edmonton. When one thinks Garneau, the University of Alberta is often talked about. This neighbourhood is a hot location for students, professors and those who like the eclectic energy Garneau offers. Situated along the river valley and surrounded by 109th Street and 82 Avenue, this neighbourhood is a perfect place to enjoy good cafes, great food and be inspired by the historical and modern attributes of the university.

2) Oliver (10647 people/km²)

With almost double the population of Garneau but also double the land area, Oliver is the 2nd most dense neighbourhood in Edmonton. Again with many apartments in this region, this is no surprise. Located on the northern side of the river, Oliver is 1 LRT ride away from the university. In Oliver you will find a diverse population ranging from students, to professors, to business professionals, to young families. People love Oliver for the beautiful greenery, the close walkability to the core, the amenities and quick transportation routes.

3) Boyle Street (7647 people/km²)

Boyle Street is situated to the east of downtown, Edmonton. The city of Edmonton has large aspirations for this neighbourhood and are actively developing The Quarters here as well as the new LRT line. Boyle Street offers a wide range of options when it comes to affordability of homes. While still largely apartment style, there is a mix between newer high-rises along the river to low rises. This neighbourhood is walkable to the Stadium and provides a quick commute to downtown.

4) Callingwood South (7132 people/km²)

With West Edmonton Village, one of Edmonton’s largest multi-unit complexes, this neighbourhood is the most dense area outside of the city’s core. However, it is still almost half the density of the top spot Garneau. Callingwood South is close to West Edmonton Mall and boasts an excellent farmer’s market each week during the summer/fall months.

5) Cromdale (5737 people/km²)

Cromdale is the smallest region of the top 5 densest neighbourhoods, at only 2059 km². So even though only about 2000 residents call this neighbourhood home, many live in more dense homes such as apartment buildings. Situated to the east of Boyle Street, it too offers great commutability, close to the Stadium LRT, Save-On Foods, the river valley and more.

Some other neigbhourhoods were just shy of the top 5, including Downtown (with over 12,000 Edmontonians calling it home), Strathcona and South Terwillegar (both with almost 9000 residents).

Least Populated Neighbourhoods

Excluding industrial areas as well as areas on the outskirts of the city not yet fully developed, the least dense neighbourhoods in the city in 2016 were:

1) Cloverdale (839 people/km²)

With large portions of this neighbourhood covered by park space, it makes sense that Cloverdale is the least dense area of the city. Beautiful Gallagher park, with it’s amazing views of downtown, is the setting for the prestigious Edmonton Folk Music Festival. Located just south of the river, with a mix of condos and single detached houses, this is a beautiful neighbourhood for those that want to live in the centre of the city, close to Downtown.

2) Westbrook Estates (928 people/km²)

Again most of this neighbourhood is occupied by green space, this time by The Derrick Golf and Winter Club. This private club provides family friendly year-round activities, including golf, tennis, swimming, cross country skiing, and curling. Most of the architecturally designed homes in this neighbourhood are situated on large lots backing onto either the golf course or the picturesque Whitemud Creek Ravine.

3) Rossdale (954 people/km²)

Although debatable to include in the top 5 since a large portion of the neighbourhood is taken up by the power and waste water treatment plants as well as the RE/MAX baseball field, we included it since this is a well known mixed residential area in the heart of Edmonton. Rossdale is one of Edmonton’s oldest neighbourhoods, now mostly made up of apartment buildings with a small portion of single detached homes. Some of these homes are over 50 years old!

4) Prince Rupert (1128 people/km²)

With the old municipal airport to the east, it will be interesting to see how this older neighbourhood changes as the Blatchford Area is converted to residential. The innovative Blatchford Area design is focused on sustainability and community, with about 30,000 residents expected to live there at it’s completion. Prince Rupert is an affordable option for people looking to live central right now. It is especially close to Kingsway Mall, NAIT, and the Royal Alexandra Hospital.

5) Richford (1282 people/km²)

With a population of only about 760 people and a land area of only 0.6 km², this area is again low in density because of lots of green space. Richford has Ellerslie Rugby Park plus the Blackmud Creek Ravine along its boundaries. Close to the Anthony Henday for commuting around the city, this neighbourhood has a mix of apartments and single detached homes.

What do you think of the most and least dense regions of Edmonton? Would this affect where you decide to live? If you have questions or are looking for guidance on buying or selling Edmonton Real Estate, get in touch and let’s chat.

Data Source: 2016 census data from the City of Edmonton

Disclaimer: The data included on this website is deemed to be reliable, but is not guaranteed to be accurate as we are relying on data insight from 3rd parties. 

Understanding Edmonton’s Flood Maps

At TruHome, we aim to provide our clients with the information needed to make educated choices about buying a home in Edmonton. In 2017 there has been much talk about the release of the Edmonton flood maps and what they mean. One of the most common questions we get related to this topic is: What are the chances of my house flooding?

Of course, the reality is that no one can fully predict the future. However, it is possible to understand how at risk your home may be and what you can do to reduce the chances of flooding.

Understanding Drainage Systems

Flooding can be caused by a variety of factors. The first factor to look at is the City of Edmonton’s drainage system.

During severe rainstorms, the City’s current drainage system can be overwhelmed, leading to potential basement flooding and/or dangerous amounts of water pooling on streets and roads.

After severe storms in recent years, the City of Edmonton decided to proactively study flood mitigation. This research completed by the City primarily concentrated on Edmonton neighbourhoods built before 1989. The reason newer communities were not reviewed is because they have different drainage systems that are expected to be able to handle more severe storms.

The city modelled a large four-hour rainstorm over each area, which is assumed to be the worst-case scenario for rainfall for Edmonton. Two different issues were looked at in the model: surface ponding and surcharge depths.

We have highlighted the results of this study below. However, more information about Edmonton surface ponding and surcharge depths can be found at the City of Edmonton Data website. 

Understanding Surface Ponding

Surface ponding reflects how deep the water would be on the street during a severe rainstorm. The City of Edmonton’s acceptable standard is <0.35m, which is displayed as green on the map below. Orange corresponds to water that would reach half-way up a car, while red indicates water reaching just over the hood, and maroon reflects an even higher depth.

Understanding Surcharge Depth

Surcharge depth demonstrates how full the City of Edmonton’s pipes would get during a high volume rainstorm. As the pipe over fills, the extra flow of water may increase the chance of basement flooding. Red indicates that the pipes are at their capacity.

Historical Flooding

The City of Edmonton has also mapped out all reported historical flooding. To view your Edmonton house with all three pieces of data together, refer to the maps provided by the City related to Edmonton Wide Flood Mitigation. 

While this data provides a general idea of what could result on your street, this does not mean it will work exactly as predicted. That being said, the model seems to match up with flood history, and is still a valuable tool to understand where the problem areas in the city may be.

Future Direction

The City of Edmonton council reviewed the flood mitigation study last month, and have decided to move forward with a further risk-based analysis. This is expected to be released in August 2017.

The goal is to figure out the optimal sharing of risk of these extreme storms between the City of Edmonton, insurance companies, and disaster response to be allocated from the federal and provincial tax dollars.

The City of Edmonton is planning to allocate some level of infrastructure funding to help with flood prevention, but at some point it “might cost less to deal with the problem when it happens, if it happens” stated city councillor Ben Henderson , Ward 8 when he was interviewed by the Edmonton Journal.

Understanding River Levels

Another factor when it is comes to flooding is due to the rise of the river’s levels. There have been occasions where some neighbourhoods have been blocked off to non-residents due to high tides. This can certainly cause some alarm.

You can check out Edmonton’s Flood Hazard map to see where the flood hazards for the river and creeks are. Also, if you live in Cloverdale, Riverdale, or Rossdale, you can sign up for Edmonton’s storm and river level alerts.

Steps to Take

After checking out the potential flooding risks related to your home, what can you do? There is excellent information on the City of Edmonton website about flood prevention tips. You may also be eligible for a backwater valve grant. Finally, you can also get a free flood prevention home checkup by calling 780-944-7777.

Protecting Your TruHome

There is a risk with living in any building anywhere in the world. At TruHome, we want to help you be informed and aware of the risks involved and how to possibly reduce those risks.

Have questions or looking for guidance on buying or selling Edmonton Real Estate, get in touch and let’s chat. 

Edmonton has a reputation for its low population density and large sprawl. Although it’s great to have space in our beautiful city, it may come at the cost of trying to provide services to outlying communities. We wrote about urban sprawl before, with great discussion from the Edmonton community about the pros and cons.

Last year, the city of Edmonton reported it would cost $1.4-billion to support Edmonton’s last three growth areas. It’s worth the time to check out Mayor Don Iveson’s take on urban sprawl here.  With this in mind, the city has been encouraging different options including infill development and the implementation of garage suites to try and boost the number of people living near Edmonton’s core. So we thought it would be interesting to look at the latest release from Statistics Canada’s dwelling census data.

Officially, the cities of Edmonton and Toronto occupy about the same land area, but Toronto has three times the population! The good news is that the land area that the City of Edmonton occupies has remained relatively unchanged since 2001. The population density has also increased by 15 per cent since 2011. That means for every square kilometre, there are about 175 more residents.

However, the question is how much of this is due to higher density housing, versus just new development in previously undeveloped areas of the city? The census only reports on the total land size of the city, not on how much of that land is undeveloped versus developed.

We decided to dig deeper and compare the change in the type of housing occupied by Edmontonians. Overall, there seems to be a marked increase in people living in medium-density housing. The growth since 2011 in single detached houses was slightly lower than the total growth of number of properties in Edmonton. On the other hand, growth in attached dwellings was higher, at 14 per cent. The largest growth was with semi-detached houses at 39 per cent.

It will be interesting to see if this increase in medium-density housing will be enough for Edmonton in the future, or if we will need to move towards more high-density housing like apartment buildings. Will Edmonton residents be willing to give up their space to keep the city sprawl down? Or will we even have a choice as the city reaches its outer size limits?

At TruHome, we are committed to keeping up with and analyzing the most current data to help you better understand projected growth and housing trends in the City of Edmonton.