Statistics Canada Reports II

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

There's also a lot of crap out there.

My 2005, 1bdrm, 716sqft is in the $215-220 range right now, with 2bdrms mostly in the 250-350 range depending on the unit, age, etc.

These prices are still depressed from 2020, where that same 215k unit was 289.

SFH/Th/Du is exceptionally cheap here in many areas, with a lot of folks opting for that over apartments condos.

okay, for you that does suck unfortunately, for the price to still be down 30-35%.

It's odd that Edmonton is growing so quickly and prices are still depressed. Most Metros in Canada the prices appreciated rapidly from 2020, even if most of Ontario had a price correction/bubble deflate if not 'pop' happen in 2022.

[Coldrsx]

^supply and demand.

We are building like nuts in the burbs and adding a ton of rental product (far more appealing to the 18-30 crowd it seems) and many have more options than condos in this market.

[kora]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

^supply and demand.

We are building like nuts in the burbs and adding a ton of rental product (far more appealing to the 18-30 crowd it seems) and many have more options than condos in this market.

Is the condo market in Strathcona / Whyte Avenue / University area faring any better?

[Chocolite]

Originally Posted by ToxiK

It had been active before the last administration took over in 2017. Most projects already started and authorized went trough but eventually got finished and the new rules put in place by the administration (as well as their obvious aversion to developers) drove projects in the suburbs or simply postponed or canceled them.

We had a boom in the 2010's. The previous administration definitely contributed to kill it, but there were probably other reasons too for the slowdown. I am optimistic for the future, though (despite the Orange Idiot in the south...).

Thanks, it makes sense to me now. I remember going to Montreal a few times around 8 or 10 years ago, and remember seeing lots of high rises under construction.

[Chocolite]

Originally Posted by Wigs

My comment was merely hyping up Edmonton as one of the last bastions of an affordable big city. Very few Metros in Canada are still a place where the typical worker can thrive, and even be a homeowner with affordable condos. In my region, the mid range asking price for a condo is around $475,000. In Edmonton you can still find many asking under $250k.

I think you might be surprised by how much multi family housing there is in Edmonton. A large percentage of it was built when CMHC was involved during the 1970s-1980s. And more recently a sizeable percentage of multi-family units have been built since 2010 as well.

Oh, I get it, and I wish Toronto had Edmonton‘s house prices. But my point is that low house prices doesn’t help good urban development. In my trips to Edmonton, I’ve noticed so much suburban development, but not much in the core of the city. What little amount of development there is in the core is scattered.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by Chocolite

Oh, I get it, and I wish Toronto had Edmonton‘s house prices. But my point is that low house prices doesn’t help good urban development. In my trips to Edmonton, I’ve noticed so much suburban development, but not much in the core of the city. What little amount of development there is in the core is scattered.

part of why Edmonton is so cheap is because suburban development is simply cheaper to build.

Condos are also cheap because there is no demand for them, there isn't a lot of construction of new ones as they generally aren't profitable in the downtown.

Edmonton is ultimately cheap because it's not overly desirable either. The downtown isn't particularly attractive and the climate is one of the harshest for a major city on the planet.

Calgary is probably a better blend of relative affordability and desirability, though is a bit more expensive because of that desirability. Even in Calgary you can still buy detached homes for like $500,000.

[Harrison]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

part of why Edmonton is so cheap is because suburban development is simply cheaper to build.

Condos are also cheap because there is no demand for them, there isn't a lot of construction of new ones as they generally aren't profitable in the downtown.

Edmonton is ultimately cheap because it's not overly desirable either. The downtown isn't particularly attractive and the climate is one of the harshest for a major city on the planet.

Calgary is probably a better blend of relative affordability and desirability, though is a bit more expensive because of that desirability. Even in Calgary you can still buy detached homes for like $500,000.

Your climate assumption is a bit extreme. We didn't even crack -30 this winter - I think southern Ontario had more days below -20 honestly this year lol

I'd say our weather is more steady than Calgary's and we have a longer growing season, so not sure your argument holds much water. For harsh climates, look at the Persian Gulf or Siberia.

[kora]

Originally Posted by Harrison

Your climate assumption is a bit extreme. We didn't even crack -30 this winter - I think southern Ontario had more days below -20 honestly this year lol

I'd say our weather is more steady than Calgary's and we have a longer growing season, so not sure your argument holds much water. For harsh climates, look at the Persian Gulf or Siberia.

Compared to Calgary, Edmonton has warmer summers. Year round, there is less wind and fewer extreme temperature shifts that you see in Calgary. Edmonton is famous for its hot air balloons that fill the sky in the summer because there are so many windless days.

[someone123]

But Edmonton is still kind of extreme if you're not used to the Prairies, so it's not necessarily a slam dunk if you're looking to relocate from BC or Ontario, even though it's cheaper.

Urbanism-wise I also feel like Edmonton has fallen a bit behind relative to many other cities in Canada which were either already pretty solid or improved by leaps and bounds in recent years.

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Harrison

Your climate assumption is a bit extreme. We didn't even crack -30 this winter - I think southern Ontario had more days below -20 honestly this year lol

I'd say our weather is more steady than Calgary's and we have a longer growing season, so not sure your argument holds much water. For harsh climates, look at the Persian Gulf or Siberia.

Yeah, Edmonton's winters are warmer than Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg despite being further North. So it is not Novosibirsk FFS

O-tacular told me that Calgary has experienced crazy weather this past Winter and early Spring. Edmonton's more stable weather might be appreciated as climate change accelerates.

[O-tacular]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Yeah, Edmonton's winters are warmer than Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg despite being further North. So it is not Novosibirsk FFS

O-tacular told me that Calgary has experienced crazy weather this past Winter and early Spring. Edmonton's more stable weather might be appreciated as climate change accelerates.

This is the first week we have had since the end of February that didn't have spring time temps of 15+ degrees followed 24 hours later by an intense blizzard. My migraines have been off the charts. I would almost trade the cold if it was consistent over the constant dashed hopes of spring finally arriving.

[DavidK93]

Edmonton’s winter climate is harsh. Maybe it’s because I’m used to coastal weather which is easily the best in the country, but my two years in Edmonton was two years too much.
Calgary can be cold also, but I would prefer that climate, the summers are marginally different from Edmonton, but the winters are significantly different. You see people out far less in Edmonton during the winter. It’s like six months of hibernation.

[ssiguy]

Calgary is blessed with the Chinooks. It is warmer than Edmonton in the winter but the big difference is the snow-pack. Those few days of Chinook every so often melts the snow while it doesn't happen in Edmonton so you can leave Edmonton with tons of snow on the ground and arrive in Calgary that has none. Not only is the Chinook very warm but it is also very dry melting any snow very fast.

Fun fact..........Chinook is actually the Native word for "snow eater".

[MattBerryOfficial]

Montreal, QC, and Ottawa have similarly cold winters compared to Edmonton. For whatever reason the prairies have a reputation for being Siberia when regions of eastern Canada get a pass.

[Surrealplaces]

Originally Posted by MattBerryOfficial

Montreal, QC, and Ottawa have similarly cold winters compared to Edmonton. For whatever reason the prairies have a reputation for being Siberia when regions of eastern Canada get a pass.

Kind of a 6, half dozen or the other situation. Statistically speaking cities like Ottawa, Montreal, QC, don't get as cold as the prairies, but have a lot more gray days, so it kind of evens out.
Kind of like Vancouver. It doesn't get cold, but normally it's super gray and wet all winter - this year being an exception. IMO, Victoria's the only place in Canada that more or less escapes winter.

Calgary probably has the weirdest winter and doesn't fit into any particular type of category. It could be -20, or +20. It's one of the few places where patios are used in January/February. You can be on a patio in a t-shirt in January, and the next day bundled up with a scarf and a parka.

[niwell]

I lived in Ottawa and spent a lot of time in Edmonton. The latter did *feel* like it has worse winters to me. But both suck. Montreal is bad too but the city itself helps ameliorate that. Grew up in Calgary and it’s better weather-wise for the sole reason of Chinooks. God help you if you are sensitive to dry skin or pressure changes though. Didn’t bother me growing up but when I’ve been back as an adult I feel it immediately.

This winter notwithstanding southern Ontario is much preferable to me. And Lower Mainland BC even moreso. But then again I hate winter and wish I could leave the country for 4 months every year!

[zoomer]

And ideal winter for me would be an average high of 12 C for the coldest month and warming up by two degrees C per month until summer. So, no where in Canada as of 2026, lol. Summers are good for the vast majority of the country and generally we tend to like the heat level where we live/grown up. Which is why I like low 20's to mid 20's with no humidity and will avoid eastern Canada from June to August.

Interesting tidbit on the past six months which I think was colder than normal in the east and warmer on the coast. The coldest month in Victoria was January which was warmer than the six months from November 2025 to April 2026 in Halifax and warmer than Toronto from November 2025 to March 2026.

[ssiguy]

In most of BC and Alberta, December is as cold as January. Winter arrives earlier and thus so does Spring. As you move further east you get more "seasonal lag" to the point that in AC, February is the coldest month and September is often warmer than June.

Calgary is certainly much colder than Vancouver but I have met many Calgarians that say that Vancouver "feels" colder due to the rain and dampness as opposed to Calgary's sun and very low humidity.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by zoomer

The coldest month in Victoria was January which was warmer than the six months from November 2025 to April 2026 in Halifax and warmer than Toronto from November 2025 to March 2026.

There isn't much variation in Victoria from around November-March and that Halifax link is for a weather station 30 km inland at higher elevation, so it is a couple degrees colder than the city. November and April are about the same temperature-wise as Victoria winter months, but March/April will be much brighter than Victoria with longer days and feel warmer in the sun. Toronto/Halifax do not get the equivalent of 5-6 months of Victoria January. Actually they are never as dark as Victoria in January.

I don't really have major complaints about BC weather and most of the time I find NS and Ontario are okay as well (I've lived in NS, BC, ON). I still find that dark time around Nov-Jan bad enough in BC that if I were able, I'd go spend a month or two somewhere more tropical. I feel like "winter" is a bit overrated in Vancouver but the early spring is maybe the best feature. The weather patterns are qualitatively very different on the east coast from the west and you tend to get more of a mix rather than "40 days and 40 nights" of rain or drought periods.

[Xelebes]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

part of why Edmonton is so cheap is because suburban development is simply cheaper to build.

Condos are also cheap because there is no demand for them, there isn't a lot of construction of new ones as they generally aren't profitable in the downtown.

Edmonton is ultimately cheap because it's not overly desirable either. The downtown isn't particularly attractive and the climate is one of the harshest for a major city on the planet.

Calgary is probably a better blend of relative affordability and desirability, though is a bit more expensive because of that desirability. Even in Calgary you can still buy detached homes for like $500,000.

The other big component is how spread out the employment centres are. Refinery Row, Nisku, Acheson, Industrial Heartland are major employment centres and they dilute the pressures of having to locate everyone so centrally. Although Edmonton proper has been able to capture much of the population growth over the last decade because it jumped the gun on allowing smaller multi-unit developments. Where you see a lot of this is places along the new LRT line or along streets like 106th street southside (Allendale, Mount Pleasant.)