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There is space to build in this city to push the single family home start
Author of the article:
• for the Edmonton Journal 
There are new home starts in Edmonton. Photo by David Bloom /Postal media
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Edmonton is owned by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. one of the top new real estate markets in Canada and is only behind Toronto for single-family homes.
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The city recorded 508 single-family home starts (the latest data available) in May, an 85 percent increase over the same period last year. The only major hub with more activity in the new segment of single family homes was Toronto with 599 starts.
Edmonton still has the ability to “utilize infill land and grow along major highways compared to other major centers,” says senior analyst Michael Mak of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.
By comparison, Vancouver has far less land available for single-family homes, and when opportunities for replenishment arise, developers often build apartment buildings because of the high real estate costs, he notes.
Calgary also doesn’t have the same land restrictions as cities in British Columbia or Ontario. The market also recorded considerable activity with 460 new single-family homes starting in May, an increase of 76 percent compared to the previous year.
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As in other jurisdictions, the demand for single-family homes in Edmonton has increased during the pandemic, Mak says. Nevertheless, the city remains one of the cheapest forms of housing even for new buildings. The average price for a new single family home was over $ 552,000 in May. In contrast, in Ottawa, which had 361 new admissions in May, the average cost for a single family home was $ 695,000.
Despite being one of the more affordable new home markets, Nathan Mol, real estate agent in Edmonton, many buyers are still looking to the resale market despite its imbalance between low supply and high demand.
“I’ve had several clients looking at new home builds, but each time we’ve found that the increased costs faced by builders are passed on,” says the Edmonton estate agent at Liv Real Estate.
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Citing the recent surge in timber prices, along with the rising cost of other building materials and the typical “premium” of new homes, Mol says buyers are faced with prices ranging from $ 30,000 to $ 70,000 more for a new home than for a similar resale property .
In addition, many prospective new builders in the upper price segment were looking for infill projects in established neighborhoods.
Still, Edmonton is one of the more ideal markets for new single family homes.
“Edmonton is fortunate enough to have a lot of land … so it’s not surprising that there are new houses up here,” says Mol.
CMHC starting numbers also include multi-family, townhouse, and semi-detached activity, which is up 40 percent year-over-year overall. At the top were the series starts with 154 units in May, an increase of more than 140 percent compared to the previous year. The residential segment – which also includes rentals – recorded the lowest growth in activity with 250 launches compared to 209 in the same month of the previous year.
Mak notes that the overall picture for new construction in the city remains good as the economy recovers from the pandemic and the price of oil continues to rise.
“Overall, the Edmonton starts have recovered.”
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