Edmonton Real Estate Blog

There are two important aspects to the small home under construction in the North West Edmonton community of Westmount. The first is the fact that this cottage is the city’s first officially-recognized lane-way home.  At 638 square feet, this two-bedroom abode is atop a large two-car garage behind the home on a quiet, Westmount street. 

Supervising the job are owners Karly Coleman and Andreas Hengst, who employed Carbon Busters, an Edmonton consulting firm, to design the small building. The couple has a keen interest in green energy systems are determined to build a home that produces the same amount of energy as it consumers, otherwise known as a net-zero home. The green energy system includes solar panels on the roof, to capture solar energy stored

For those who prefer driving to their nearest LRT station rather than taking a bus, there’s a price to pay for the convenience.  Lack of parking.

Some art taking to residential streets to park much to the chagrin of local homeowners, particularly at the McKernan-Belgravia LRT station.  So the city is looking at options.

That could include church parking lots which are next to empty during weekdays.  Or going the other way – making park-and-ride lots more expensive and less desirable.  The transit authorities have also suggested having a four-hour limit when people are riding the train for shorter trips.

Something needs to be done to ease the congestion.

Century Park LRT station is another trouble spot.  Some commuters have said they’ve changed

Families living in downtown Edmonton will know after the April 15 registration deadline whether a French Immersion is a “oui” or a “non”.

Parents have been lobbying the Edmonton Public School board for a French immersion program for some time.  If enough kindergarten students are pre-registered in the potential program at Oliver School, it will be a sure thing in September.

One of the parents that has been trying to get a French program near her downtown home is former public school trustee Heather MacKenzie.   She told the Edmonton Journal that she wasn’t too sure that she would be successful in getting a program while her daughter was still in school but felt it was an important undertaking for future students in the downtown core.  She also a

The recently restored childhood home of Canadian writer Marshall McLuhan in the north east Edmonton community of Highlands is now open for public tours.

The beautiful 1,500 square foot cottage located on 64 Street was built in 1912 and is a wonderful example of Arts and Crafts architecture. It's original to the old neighbourhood, located at the crest of a small hill and was the home of Marshall McLuhan.

For those unfamiliar with McLuhan, who died in 1980 at the age of 69, he was a well-known Canadian writer, teacher, philosopher and intellect who coined phrases such as "the message is the medium" and "global village". He also predicted the advent of the Internet 30 years before it came into use.

The home in Highlands was actually designed by

The price of gas is a moving target.  It changes with the seasons, it changes during elections and now it’s fluctuating because the price of oil has all but dropped off the map.

Pictures of gas station signage have been popping up online, taken by Edmontonians who wonder if, given the circumstances, it’s okay to actually be excited about paying less at the pump?

A good-sized pick-up truck, which Albertans love to drive, has a 130-litre tank. With some prices spotted at 56.9 cents a litre (compared with 61.9 in Calgary allegedly) a full tank could be as cheap as $74.00 (rounding up) compared with nearly $160.00 when regular gas was at its peak in the summer of 2014 in Alberta.

According to Statistics Canada, the last time gas at the pump dipped

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) has been eyeballing the real estate market in Edmonton, and have found moderate evidence that housing is overvaluated in this city.

Spell-check will flag overvaluated as a non-word, a combination of over and evaluated, but the message is pretty clear.

In the last quarter of 2015 CMHC observed that home prices are dropping but not in proportion or not supported by other economic drivers in Edmonton, such as income and jobs, mortgage rates and growth of the population.  This means, despite what’s happening in Alberta the growth of house prices has not kept in step. The rate of decline is not the same rate of decline as other drivers which could be problematic.

When CHMC does as assessment of a market, it

It’s a tough market right now in Edmonton.  If you follow market statistics, you’ll know that last year only 54% of homes listed on MLS in Edmonton and area actually moved off the market.  That’s means the other 46% didn’t sell or the owners gave up.  If your home is up for sale and not selling is not an option, what can you do to ensure success?

A new approach

There’s an old theory about what happens when people do the same thing over and over again with the expectation of a different outcome.  The same theory applies when it comes to developing a new approach to marketing your home.  

A common practice when sellers get anxious about the small number of showings their home is getting with no offers is to change real estate agents.   That isn’t

Many of Edmonton's new construction communities have storm water ponds, a wonderful water feature that is trendy for a variety of good reasons. Recreational skating and pond hockey are not some of those reasons.

Environmentally sound and economical for developers and municipalities to build and maintain, storm water ponds are different from natural ponds or even dugouts out on the farm. There are at least 160 storm water ponds in the City of Edmonton, many in new communities where they've become a neighbourhood lifestyle selling feature. Many are right outside people's back doors and in winter, the temptation to scrape off the snow and set up a rink for shinny is pretty big.

Research in Edmonton

Edmonton scientists have spent some time the last

Property assessors have been sharpening their pencils and the results are in.  Even though our Alberta economy is on shaky ground, property values as assessed by the City of Edmonton have risen right across the board.

Rod Risling, manager of the city's assessment and taxation branch, assured Edmonton media recently that his team of assessors reviewed every property transaction through land titles and that increases are a reflection of the real estate market. Risling points to market activity that occurred over the summer months in Edmonton.

Assessments are in the Mail

Tax assessment notices will be distributed to Edmonton property owners in the new few weeks. Heads up for those who own a condominium or for those who live in the Homesteader

Why wait for spring?

Flowers create fabulous curb appeal, especially tulips in the spring. They add a dash of welcome colour after a long and dreary winter. But why wait for spring when you can wave a magic want and have tulips blooming indoors anytime of the year.

It's called "forcing" bulbs, which means that you set up an environment that makes bulbs thing that it's growing season, when it's not. There are just three easy steps to make you forget that's really December.

Gather up materials, such as deep pots, potting mix (with no soil), a package of tulip bulbs and a watering can.

Not any tulip will do

It's important to choose the correct variety. Check the label on the package. You want a shorter-growing variety, and a variety that only