Posts from March 2016

Edmonton News agencies including the Edmonton Sun, Global News, and the Edmonton Journal are reporting on recent community resistance towards the City of Edmonton’s infill project.

The ambitious project had been relatively well received by Edmonton residents, contractors, and particularly newcomers desperate to find residence amongst the city’s ever increasing population spike.

The project encourages the construction of new residences on existing properties, such as duplexes, the addition of rental units over garages, and basement suites. This will allow a population expansion in Edmonton, which does not see signs of slowing down, without the often associated sprawl of suburban communities. To encourage development, the city has been particularly lax on approval policies related to the former bureaucratic red tape of the projects.

Rumblings are beginning to be heard from homeowners, who are now organizing to voice their concerns.  Of particular note is the message board website EdmontonLotSubdivision.com which has been active since early last fall but is picking up momentum.  Of the largest concern to homeowners is the lack of an appeal process. Citizens are looking towards their city councillors and MLA’s in hope of some response. Says Westbrook community member Darren Jackinsky,

“Fundamentally, it’s that it’s been forced on people and that there’s no structure in place to appeal an approval of a subdivision.” He goes on to explain the difficulty in voicing homeowner dissatisfaction, “we’ve so far been told essentially by the MLAs that it’s a city issue — talk to your councilors — and the city is saying talk to your MLA, it’s a provincial government issue.”

According to Edmonton Journal reports concerns arose because “the appeal process exists for developments on already split properties and for subdivisions that are denied, but not for the subdivisions themselves.”

The latest vocal outcry is coming from the residents of Rio Terrace. A 500 signature petition and 100 letters were submitted in opposition of a split-lot skinny house proposal, believing the development would not to suit the aesthetic design of the neighborhood.

City Councilor Michael Oshry, a proponent of the project, is dedicated to working with residents to clear up misconceptions while maintaining momentum. He believes misinformation has led to recent outcries,

“I’m happy to listen to them, but I do think a lot of the supposed support for no infill is based on information that either people don’t know, or people have misunderstood, or even been misled on occasion…I think these are people that are just concerned about what they think is going to be a dramatic change to their neighbourhood. And I think what they don’t appreciate is what actually is going to be built there.”

Oshry has explained that in the instance of Rio Terrace, lots are 22 meters wide, meaning a split lot is still not so small to reasonably necessitate a house. Additionally, replacing a single, aging, bungalow with two higher value homes positively impacts the value of neighboring properties. The City sees the project as a win-win for communities.

Oshry concludes, “At the end of the day, in my view, I don’t think it’s going to make one iota of difference. You’re going to end up with two homes with two nice families living in a nice neighbourhood.”

Will YEG weather hold? Or should we prepare for second winter?

February in the YEG Real Estate Market carried a familiar theme, inventory.

More and more homeowners are continuing to see the value in listing their residences with MLS, as market prices are tending to remain steady. Market forecasters indicate that the predictable seasonal lull will be drawing to a close in the foreseeable future, as snow continues to melt and temperatures rise in the city.

“Buyers are still taking their time to consider all of their options before purchasing a new home,” Says REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Chair Steve Sedgwick. “But with warmer weather just around the corner, clients are reaching out to their REALTOR® for support as the busy spring buying season approaches.”

The early months of 2016 have seen fluctuations to over 6,000 residential listings on the market, with February closing at 6,682 MLS properties for sale. This total indicates just a 16.2% increase from January, however the year over year numbers show a more impactful 36.5% rise from February of 2015.

Average residential sale prices saw a mild increase in all categories across the board. The category of Duplex/Rowhouses continued to be the market superstars, showing an 8.41% rise to $354,386, up 8.41% from January previous, and a 1.24% from the same time last year. The real surprise in February came from renewed market strength of condominiums, which had lately been showing drops or only negligible rises, yet which had gains of over 8% last month (8.83%) for an average sale price of $247,090. This price tag indicates a minimal year over year drop of 1.32%. Single family homes remained nearly steady from January, a 0.24% increase brought their average to $419,940, which showed a 2.79% drop from February of 2015. The month ended with a total residential sale price average of $363,366, a healthy 6.93% rise month over month and virtually no change in year over year comparisons.

February showed a large climb in reported sales, with 837 by month-end compared to January’s 618. This indicates a 36.5% jump month over month. February of 2015 saw 931 residences sold, which shows a current 10.1% decrease. Explains Sedgwick

“Sales numbers are increasing consistent with seasonal trends. Relative to 2015, potential buyers have more inventory to choose from. Despite this inventory growth, prices have moderated only slightly compared to last year, so home owners and sellers can maintain some confidence that housing prices are remaining stable.”

These remarks are also reflected in days on market averages for the month. The average residence was on the market for 57 days, which shows a year over year increase of 48 days. Despite climbing inventory however, this is a remarkable drop from January’s 71 average days on market. Of particular note, Condominiums averaged 57 days, an even more significant decrease month over month from a previous 85 days.