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This goes back to the Calgary versus Edmonton conversation. It really seems that it has become a level below Calgary, at least in perception.
Agreed and that Edmonton just feels like a smaller city than its population, and the core isn't as built up. That's why I think Calgary is a top destination for interprovincial migration from major cities like Vancouver and Toronto. But those in secondary markets like Ottawa or Kelowna, moving to Calgary isn't much of a saving, whereas Edmonton is significantly cheaper. Wondering why it hasn't attracted more of those people.
I agree about the perception thing. Whenever I mentioned to people about moving to Alberta one of the first things people would say was ‘I hope you’re at least going to Calgary and not Edmonton’
I’ve only been up to Edmonton a couple of times, but it seems like a nice enough place and yet somehow it has a bad reputation. I googled the average wage for Edmonton and it’s pretty similar to Calgary average wage yet house prices are like half!
Calgary to me seems like a nicer city and has more options, but there isn’t really a huge difference IMO. Anyone moving to Edmonton is getting a bargain real estate wise.
 
So we've sold our two places in Calgary, and made the move west! Good value recovery in Sunalta, but still significantly below the 2014 peak, and nice appreciation in Lake Bonavista.

1696454275175.jpeg
 
So we've sold our two places in Calgary, and made the move west! Good value recovery in Sunalta, but still significantly below the 2014 peak, and nice appreciation in Lake Bonavista.

View attachment 511169
I was just in that area yesterday.

Hopefully you'll still be a regular visitor to the forum!
 
Hopefully, this leads to a stabilization of prices or a slight decrease.

Was looking at 1 bedrooms downtown and there was nothing under 1.800$ while I was paying 1300$ in 2021 for a new built, furnished, internet, water and heating included. Madness.
 
The unfortunate reality is without a massive exodus, prices are unlikely to drop. These new build's costs are such (with higher land, labour, etc.) that rent at $1300 just isn't economical anymore. Projects would stall and not get built if rents decrease which will then constrain supply. The only possible way is a sudden sharp drop in demand, which has a lot of negative externalities that probably wouldn't be a good outcome anyways.
 
Hopefully, this leads to a stabilization of prices or a slight decrease.

Was looking at 1 bedrooms downtown and there was nothing under 1.800$ while I was paying 1300$ in 2021 for a new built, furnished, internet, water and heating included. Madness.

It's sad to see the living standards of this country really decline in the last 20-30 years. Mass immigration, a concentration of employment in urban centers and investors have contributed to one of the largest housing bubbles in the world.


I also can't see prices declining anytime soon.
 
Yeah I'm pretty convinced that the only thing that will restore housing prices to some sense of affordability is a nasty prolonged recession. The supply & demand gap is just waaaay to big for costs to go down and even if we flooded the market with new housing, at best I suspect prices would just stabilize.
 
The scary thing... Demand is higher than supply, which drives prices. There's also the cost factor: Prices go too low and the supply will get even tighter (developers won't build housing they cannot sell). I watch HGTV, house prices in the southern US are crazy how low they are but isn't that only because of the cheap (illegal) labour force?

It is not even like government development is the answer because if they enter the market and artificially drive down prices that will make non-government development impossible.

It is not even like supply will ever outpace demand, our market seems to be able to scale up and down pretty quickly. So unless demand turns negative I don't actually see the bubble bursting. And I don't see demand being negative, people can be shocked that a country with so much land can be paying the prices we pay but from my understanding, the answer is that our demand is so concentrated in so few major cities.

There are two options...
1. Create a cheap labour force, sorry trades, to build housing.
2. Create a demand for people to move out of our few major cities (someone mentioned Bank of America being HQ'd out of Charlotte NC).

Good luck out there folks.
 
The scary thing... Demand is higher than supply, which drives prices. There's also the cost factor: Prices go too low and the supply will get even tighter (developers won't build housing they cannot sell). I watch HGTV, house prices in the southern US are crazy how low they are but isn't that only because of the cheap (illegal) labour force?

It is not even like government development is the answer because if they enter the market and artificially drive down prices that will make non-government development impossible.

It is not even like supply will ever outpace demand, our market seems to be able to scale up and down pretty quickly. So unless demand turns negative I don't actually see the bubble bursting. And I don't see demand being negative, people can be shocked that a country with so much land can be paying the prices we pay but from my understanding, the answer is that our demand is so concentrated in so few major cities.

There are two options...
1. Create a cheap labour force, sorry trades, to build housing.
2. Create a demand for people to move out of our few major cities (someone mentioned Bank of America being HQ'd out of Charlotte NC).

Good luck out there folks.
I made the move to Lethbridge last year, largely because of the cost of living. Unfortunately for most young people I think the choice is between being a homeowner in a small town/city or renting in a major metro.

That being said, I'm loving being a homeowner and there's no way I could ever afford a comparable home in Calgary in an inner city neighborhood.
 

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