The Edmonton real estate blog is published by Coldwell Banker Johnston real estate. The authors, Sara MacLennan and Sheldon Johnston are both licensed real estate associates in the province of Alberta. The opinions contained herein are those of the authors and are just that - their opinions. For legal information, consult a lawyer. For mortgage information consult a mortgage professional. For tax information consult an accountant. This information is not intended to solicit clients already under contract. For more information about us visit our website.
A few months ago I suggested that "The Anthony Henday" needed a nickname - much like the freeways in many other cities.... I like to call it the Tony. I'd just like to point out that the Edmonton Journal is calling it the Tony now too. Perhaps if we get Garner Andrews on this it will catch on.
Tough sledding in Edmonton as spring and summer are officially cancelled. Is it me or did someone turn on the air conditioning too early and jinx the weather? One day we’re sitting on the deck having a BBQ at plus 20 and then the next we’re shoveling the driveway three times in one day.
It’s nice to be back blogging again after an almost a three week hiatus. I’ve been learning all I can on the fine art of facilitation and the common law requirements of agency. Dreary but necessary stuff as the October 1st deadline looms closer for the end of dual agency in Alberta. In some respects many consumers will find there might be some quantum changes to how REALTORS interact with them in terms of concurrent representation. Alberta will be the second province after Nova Scotia to adopt the “Transaction facilitation” model.
In other even more dreary industry news FinTrac has handed down new reporting guidelines for the Real Estate industry to assist in the tracking of proceeds of crime. Some of these changes are far-reaching and impact every transaction we deal with. Significant changes will occur in the areas of dealing with Canadian or Foreign owners living abroad.
I was wondering the other day just how many vacant properties are there at the moment an a quick search on MLS showed there are approximately 2200 in Edmonton. That led me to wonder how many had sold? Not that this is a telling stat by any stretch but in the last 60 days 784 vacant properties sold (vacant or never lived in) which isn’t bad as far as absorption - just about 5 months supply. The main reason I was wondering this was a comparison to how many Tenant occupied properties there are for sale and how many tenant occupied properties were sold. In that case there are currently 967 properties that are active on MLS that are designated as tenant occupied or have tenants rights applicable and there were 132 sales in the past 60 days which converts to approximately 14 months supply.
My thoughts here are that with so many vacant and seller occupied properties for sale, very few people are going through the inconvenience of showing the tenant occupied properties unless they are exactly what their clients are looking for. This brings up an interesting dilemma - should a seller market their property vacant where accessibility is greater, or collect cash flow even though it may take longer to sell?
The answer I guess depends on the property and the cooperative nature of the tenants residing in the property.
I was in Vancouver at a conference for the weekend. I've been to Vancouver a dozen times, and my opinion of the city has changed over the years, as I've lived in different places. When I lived in Toronto, Vancouver (the city) seemed small, and unimpressive. Don't get me wrong, the landscape and scenery is gorgeous (when you can see it through the fog) but the actual urban setting didn't live up to my experiences having traveled through the US extensively and a little bit in Europe. Perhaps I had high expectations.
This time I was impressed. The hustle and stir created by the Olympics has certainly given the city some more energy, but that wasn't the reason I was impressed.
After living in Edmonton for the past few years, I've gotten used to the smaller city experience. When I first moved here I was always surprised by how new everything is, and how there are hardly any historic buildings. I mean, in Ontario I grew up in a farm house built in the 1840's, and that wasn't particularly old compared to some of the neighbouring homes. It just seems that there is less of an appreciation for history here.
Now I understand much of Alberta is new, but how much of that new stuff was built where there used to be a beautiful old structure of some type? So much of this city has been plowed over to build something bigger and better and newer that there is hardly any evidence that the city existed 50 years ago (let alone 100). I think there is a small movement, to appreciate older structures, such as the conversion of warehouse spaces into lofts. But from my perspective the general philosophy it's demolish and rebuild.
Vancouver is a newer city as well, but there is certainly evidence of the old city in Gastown and Yaletown (and other places as well). The other thing that struck me is where there were new buildings, you found interesting architecture, park spaces and lots of fountains and artwork. The buildings are bright and airy with lots of glass, not plain and concrete.
I was excited to learn last year that a 99-year old brick building in downtown Edmonton that had been damaged by fire was going to be preserved and converted into condos. The plan was to maintain the brick exterior, and build a condo project inside and over the old structure. The developer has recently applied to alter the plans. They claim with higher construction costs and a slower condo market the project is no longer economically feasible. The developer would now like to remove the brick and ``attempt`` to put them back up after completing the new structure.
The second problem is that building has been sitting there fire damaged and unpreserved for three years, so the brick is starting to deteriorate.
What a shame!!! The city has the option to deny any changes to the plan, but then the building will just continue to sit and deteriorate until there is nothing left to save. Can`t somebody think outside the box a little here? Isn`t there another way to make the project economically feasible? Perhaps they could mix commercial or retail space on the lower floors and put condos on top. What about hotel space? There`s got to be a better solution than tearing down the building. Perhaps we should call a developer from Vancouver for help.
There has been much talk of a high speed train connecting Calgary, Edmonton and Fort McMurray. I think this is a fantastic idea and I've heard it may be completed in as little as 10 years. Yesterday we met with a friend of ours, who is a wildlife biologist for the government of Alberta, currently working on a feasibility study for the railway. The leg of the "bullet" train from Edmonton to Fort McMurray is set to roughly follow the Highway 63 route. There will only be one station stop along the route, which has long been expected to be in Boyle. Property values have started to increase drastically as speculators brought in by the bus load buy up every property in the town.
Now here is the catch...our biologist friend informs us that they've recently found a flock of Piping Plovers along the shores of Flat Lake, near Boyle. The Piping Plover once inhabited much of Alberta, but has been considered endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada since 1985. It is illegal to kill the birds or disturb their nests at anytime.
In other words, the train won't be stopping in, or going anywhere near Boyle. To avoid the Piping Plover territory the rail route will have to swing way west or easy of Boyle, and the most direct route would be through Plamondon - just east of Lac La Biche and the last town of any decent size along the route.
Consequently, Plamondon will become a commuter centre for much of Northern Alberta, allowing quick transit to Edmonton, Calgary and Fort McMurray. The service industry is expected to boom as a result, with a new mall, entertainment district, hotels and plenty of restaurants already being planned. Of course, we expect real estate prices to start a rapid increase this month as word spreads and we will be hosting a bus tour of our own up to Plamondon this weekend to help our investor clients make it rich in Plamondon. If you're interested, drop us a line and we'll reserve you a spot on the bus.
You may have heard of it or you may not have, but tonight at 8pm everyone is asked to turn off their lights. Sonic - an Edmonton radio station - has been promoting the event and will have one hour of "unplugged" music at 8pm tonight.
The idea of earth hour is to make a statement about the greatest contributor to global warming - coal fired electricity. On March 31 2007, 2.2 million residents of Sydney, Australia turned off their lights for one hour reducing energy consumption in the city by 10%. This year they've taken the movement global and I hope you'll consider turning off your lights for an hour tonight. It's just about the easiest event to participate in that I've ever heard of...you don't have to do anything, just turn off the lights and enjoy!
If you really want to get on the energy reduction band wagon stop by the Riverdale NetZero house too! Come
see what's new at the Riverdale NetZero house, from active and passive
solar heating, grid-dependent solar systems, ultra-highly insulated
air-tight walls and high performance windows. When: Saturday, March 29, 11 am to 4:30 pm For more information and group tours, e-mail info@riverdalenetzero.ca.
Format: open house
Where: 9926-87 Street
Cost: FREE, no registration required
For those who live in the west end or drive on the Anthony Henday... the government of Alberta is having an open house tomorrow to discuss the detailed plans for the interchanges on the Anthony Henday and Callingwood Road and Lessard Road interchanges.
Wednesday March 26, 2008
2:30-7:30
Willowby Community Hall
6315 184 st.
It is an informal drop in event with displays and consulting team members available to answer questions and listen to comments and suggestions.
According to an article in the journal, the Stony Plain road information session has already taken place, and there are plans for an interchange at Cameron Heights as well.
Ok, this is not our typical blog post...this one is geared towards the Real Estate Associates that read our blog. We are looking for some licensed associates to join our team. If you are licensed, and are looking to join a company that can guarantee you leads everyday, contact us ASAP. Imagine, no need to spend money on marketing or high desk fees, and no time wasted prospecting - it's all taken care of for you. We are a small company, with big marketing and not enough people to handle all the business that's coming in. We are even moving to a beautiful new location very shortly. Successful candidates will have good computer skills and the highest levels of ethics and customer service.
We're not the first to do it and we certainly won't be the last, but we've put together a little montage of truly terrible photos found on MLS. Enjoy!
If you really can't get enough bad MLS photos check out this site - he posts a new one everyday!
Ok, this isn't exactly news, but I wasn't aware of exactly where the northern half of the Anthony Henday was going to go. It looks as though the highway has been moved slightly south, apparently by about 100m.
The north leg will have 8 interchanges, 5 flyovers and 27 bridge structures, including another over the North Saskatchewan. The best news is there will be no stop lights for the 21km north leg. I sure wish they'd get rid of the stoplights at Stony Plain road asap, that area is a disaster to drive through. Anyway, completion for the north leg is still slated for 2011.
I got these details from a Government of Alberta news release.
Totally unrelated topic...I'm tired of calling it "The Anthony Henday." Most Canadian cities have nicknames for their big roads.... QEW instead of Queen Elizabeth Way for example. I propose "The Anthony Henday" gets a new nickname: "The Tony." Spread the word, call your radio station traffic guy....The Tony is just way cooler.
The Conference Board of Canada ranked 27 Canadian cities on their attractiveness.
"Attracting highly skilled workers - and the business investment they encourage - is crucial to Canada's economic competitiveness in the decades ahead. Cities without the ability to act as magnets and attract new people will struggle to stay prosperous."
Edmonton received an "A" grade in attractiveness, and was placed 4th overall in Canada, behind Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver.
Now, there has been a lot of discussion on this blog about whether Edmonton ranks with the likes of Toronto and Vancouver, and the conference board seems to think we're closer than any other Canadian city (except Calgary of course). Many people have suggested that Edmonton and Ottawa are on par on a number of different scales, and in fact Victoria and Ottawa were ranked just behind Edmonton.
They ranked the cities based on economy, health, society, housing, environment, innovation and education. Edmonton scored best on economy, and health, and OK on education. Of course, the fact that thousands of people have moved here recently didn't hurt our score either.
Now, if only they'd included a "modesty" category, then maybe we would've beaten Calgary! Oh well, at least we're not Thunder Bay or St. John...the rounded out the list in the two last place spots.
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