CMHC States Apartment Vacancy Increasing

Jun 11, 2009 - In the Edmonton CMA, the (apartment) vacancy rate increased from 3.4 percent to 4.7 percent in April 2009. ..... The flow of tenants to homeownership has left some units vacant as the backfilling has been impacted by a lower level of migration. Furthermore, vacancies have risen due to increased competition from the secondary rental market. read more

CW 1st 1/4 Edmonton Industrial Report

May 11, 2009 - "Edmonton’s industrial market was stable during the final quarter of 2008 and remained stable through the first quarter of 2009. City of Edmonton industrial development increased dramatically in 2008 with the value of industrial building permits being $197,488,800 at year end. To date in 2009, industrial and warehouse building permits carry a value of $43,729,000, marking a 50% decrease for the same period in 2008. The overall vacancy rate remains low at 2.5%, representing balanced absorption of available lease space and vacant buildings for sale. The strong overall market will continue to keep the vacancy rate low for the balance of the year with absorption of vacant space likely to occur after new buildings are substantially completed." read more

MLS Residential Sales Activity

May 4, 2009 - "Sales activity on the Edmonton Multiple Listing Service® increased in April as compared to last month and April 2008. There were 3,019 residential properties listed in April with sales of 1,843 (up 33.6% from last month and 1.1% from April 2008).

The average* price of single family homes in the Edmonton area was up 1% from March but, at $353,386, was still 8.5% below the last April price of $386,033. Condo prices were up 2.4% from last month to $236,020 while duplex/rowhouse prices were up 5.2% at $291,068. " read more

Colliers - Suburban Office and more

Apr 30, 2009 - The Edmonton Suburban offi ce market consists of 141 buildings totalling just over eight million square feet. The inventory and the vacancy have increased substantially since the fourth quarter of 2008 due to new construction and former engineering/construction office space added back into the market. Buildings that have been added to the inventory this quarter include: the Jayman Building, Summerside Business Centre, Summerside Centre, Gateway Village, Long & McQuade, Market at Magrath, Ellwood, Prospect Park, Greenboro, and Aecon Square. All the mentioned new construction was added to the Southside submarket. Additionally, 284,264 square feet located in the Southside submarket is currently under construction. As a result of the added new construction and large pockets of space becoming available in existing buildings, the current suburban availability rate is 8.94%~: more than doubling from 3.35% at year’s end. In addition to the new construction, the entire St. Albert Trail Centre, 94,000 square feet formerly occupied by GE Money, read more

Building Code Changes for Fire Protection

Mar 12, 2009 - "Improvements to the province’s building and fire codes are aimed at buying time for people to get out of their homes and for firefighters to respond. The new provincial codes are being implemented two years ahead of the expected national code changes and they will help minimize the severity, frequency and damage caused by fire and increase security and fire safety on construction sites. "

To read about specific changes please click on the link below. read more

CW Edmonton 2009 Multi-Family Report

Feb 10, 2009 - EDMONTON APARTMENT REPORT 2009 ...... Cushman & Wakefield Edmonton continues to see a degree of uncertainty in the multifamily market. The condominium conversion craze of 2007, which led to record prices being paid, coupled with today’s increasingly stringent lending market, has caused problems for some apartment owners and converters. There are some cases of consolidation and foreclosure. However, long time owners or those who paid nonconversion prices are able to take advantage of today’s healthy vacancy rates ..... As prices continue to stabilize, investors remain cautious about entering the multifamily market. OUTLOOK Great volatility in today’s equity markets may spur investors towards real estate as they look for more tangible, bricks and mortar asset classes. Despite this, prices are predicted to continue downward. Increasing vacancy and competition from rented condominiums should curb rental increases. Sales volume is likely to remain below average as high leverage financing remains difficult to attain. Over the next year, increasing operating costs and the price of money may be the greatest limiting factors of value appreciation. Capitalization rates will surely continue to rise in 2009. Demand will grow as long as vendors price competitively thereby affording potential investors a reasonable rate of return. read more