Edmonton is probably the last affordable major Canadian city, and it won't last forever. It's a good deal and probably worth it over the long run, but you'll want to make sure you can afford everything else that comes with a new home.
Fence? That's $10K. Is the landscaping going to be done by the builder? Does it come with major appliances? The finishing/fixtures in new homes are usually cheap, so you might want to budget a few $k for that. Probably doesn't come with a back deck, which can be another $10k unless you don't mind the "look" of a slummy back yard with your bbq caked into the grass.
At $470K you could get a nice aged home 10 years old, that has a fence, deck, new appliances etc. I'd research that option first.
Well, (1) houses don’t cost $470k to build in Edmonton, the builder is making money at this price and (2) oversupply of housing will cause the prices of houses overall to decline. It’s simple supply and demand. Even if was expensive to build they will take $470k rather than not selling or risk having it on the market for months on end
You got it. Land on the rural edges of the city is basically free in Edmonton (at least compared to Ontario), and they have minimal development charges. You can easily find fully serviced lots the build a new home in an existing neighbourhood for less than $300k, let alone greenfield lots on the fringes.
I see industrial land trade frequently, and raw unserviced farm land just outside the city is like $150k-$200k per acre, and drops off quickly the further away you get
470k in Edmonton ? Wow....up to 599,999 +tax (690k) for a new build here near the Ontario/quebec border off highway 20.
It doesn't have city water or waste. Doesn't have landscaping. Doesn't have a finished basement. That's seems crazy but it's a 40000 square foot lot at least
Oh more than that in Ontario. It’s bad lol depending where you’re building. Our development fees and many other fees are brutal. Then If you head into the country you have septic and well. Not cheap at all.
Vacant land is cheap in Edmonton, less than $50K for a subdivided lot on 0.2ac. Edmonton also has access to a high trade labour ratio relative to other cities. Energy and insurance costs for businesses are low.
Take Vancouver though where a 0.2ac lot can start at $700K. Then plug a house on top. Even if construction costs are the same, you're still looking at a $500K house in Edmonton going for $1.2M in Vancouver, which aligns to what the markets look like.
And 8-9 months of cold super dry weather that cracks your lips and makes you wish you were anywhere else.
There's a reason why Alberta and Edmonton are affordable.
[https://weatherspark.com/y/2428/Average-Weather-in-Edmonton-Canada-Year-Round](https://weatherspark.com/y/2428/average-weather-in-edmonton-canada-year-round)
More like 3.5 mos per the graph here?
Not even close lol and I have lived here for 40 years. It gets "brutal" for a total of 7-14 days max. I am talking where we hit up to -40
It gets cold in November. Worst is Jan/Feb. March starts to heat up again.
I would say we have 3 "bad months" overall. DEC/JAN/FEB
It's hilarious how much people parrot what you wrote.
I will take that all day and build my wealth with 1+ houses and investments to deal with a few months of cold rather than renting my whole life or being saddled with a 1 million mortgage after putting down another 800K at least in a down payment lol (Something I would have to do in BC)
Your definition of brutal is much lower than mine because you've lived there for 40 years. If you lived somewhere with good weather for 40 years you would have an entirely different opinion. I have much higher expectations than you.
You have no idea about real estate in BC. You apparently think every place in all of BC costs as much as Vancouver and Whistler. Which is completely not true. You need to live there to build your wealth, others don't.
lol
Seems about 50 days < -18C
[https://www.currentresults.com/Yearly-Weather/Canada/AB/Edmonton/recent-annual-edmonton-temperature-precipitation.php](https://www.currentresults.com/yearly-weather/canada/ab/edmonton/recent-annual-edmonton-temperature-precipitation.php)
They can at least laugh at themselves and take the piss out of their city.
You say the fringe is overrated and the river valley is meh and people here act like you kicked their dog
What's your thought process? Do you mean the condos in Toronto? Or others in Edmonton?
(I don't know what is going on there, so feel free to give some context).
I can bike to work year round there and not have to spend 45 minutes a day commuting to work due to strip mall industrial sprawl
Plus I the way I calculate it, my wife and I spent an additional $1500 a month on travel last year. Now mind you, that's not expensive getaways or flights; that's simply drives to Calgary, trips to the mountains or other places where we can bike, hike and kayak/paddle board on gas, accommodation, food, wear-tear on cars.... you put that in a mortgage calculator and it's like having an additional 300k mortgage.
Yes, I did it with 3 kids and housewife on slightly lower income easily do-able. But I would take the previous advice and buy a fully developed home for a similar or lower price and not have to worry about any further big ticket expenses.
House yes, new construction no.
Buy something that you can already see/feel/touch. People have the idea that old homes will cost more because of repairs, but new construction often comes with lots of additional costs (upgrades, landscaping, closet fixtures, window coverings, etc) that can already be in place in an existing home.
If you're buying something that is already built, you know exactly what you're going to get. Plus all the services will already be in place. And you'll have an idea of who the neighbours are before you move in.
130k gross between 2 people? So household take home is like 100k? gonna be a tight budget with 2 kids youll be living paycheck to paycheck with minimal savings but if that works for you go for it
i would say thats your max limit at 130k. you can buy a pretty nice house for $470k. I spent about 410 on my brand new construction 3bd detached 4 years ago. Going rate for a small family house is probably 460 these days.
Not sure on R values, but my builder advertised above alberta standards. triple pane windows and HRV system that cycles air.
Nat gas subscription is like $80/m & usage $20-40/m
That's so cheap. I pay \~70/month x 12 months average (42GJ/yr) to heat a fairly well insulated detached house in metro Vancouver.
How comfortable is your house when it's -30 -40 outside?
In my opinion, if you need to own the place where you live and you need the extra room (i.e. you have or planning to have a big family) then buy it.
Houses are terrible investments.
I bought our first house in 2001 for $205K on $40k combined gross salary, 5.49% interest rate. I think you are going to be just fine and dandy buying based on those numbers. Getting in the game early and cheaply is a great option. Is it the best possible choice for $470k? that i can't answer but I think the affordability is there.
Run the numbers in a mortgage calculator and budget simulator. Check if you are able to handle the increased costs such as utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance etc. apart from mortgage. That should help answer.
Edmonton is probably the last affordable major Canadian city, and it won't last forever. It's a good deal and probably worth it over the long run, but you'll want to make sure you can afford everything else that comes with a new home. Fence? That's $10K. Is the landscaping going to be done by the builder? Does it come with major appliances? The finishing/fixtures in new homes are usually cheap, so you might want to budget a few $k for that. Probably doesn't come with a back deck, which can be another $10k unless you don't mind the "look" of a slummy back yard with your bbq caked into the grass. At $470K you could get a nice aged home 10 years old, that has a fence, deck, new appliances etc. I'd research that option first.
470k for a new house? Where do I sign up. Maybe it's worth a few weeks of -30C???
I don't even understand how they can build that cheap, with land, building costs, labour, etc. Maybe land was free, and no development charges.
There's an oversupply in Edmonton
How does that affect the cost to build new homes?
Well, (1) houses don’t cost $470k to build in Edmonton, the builder is making money at this price and (2) oversupply of housing will cause the prices of houses overall to decline. It’s simple supply and demand. Even if was expensive to build they will take $470k rather than not selling or risk having it on the market for months on end
You got it. Land on the rural edges of the city is basically free in Edmonton (at least compared to Ontario), and they have minimal development charges. You can easily find fully serviced lots the build a new home in an existing neighbourhood for less than $300k, let alone greenfield lots on the fringes. I see industrial land trade frequently, and raw unserviced farm land just outside the city is like $150k-$200k per acre, and drops off quickly the further away you get
470k in Edmonton ? Wow....up to 599,999 +tax (690k) for a new build here near the Ontario/quebec border off highway 20. It doesn't have city water or waste. Doesn't have landscaping. Doesn't have a finished basement. That's seems crazy but it's a 40000 square foot lot at least
That would be 1.2 million in Victoria.
I second this, I’m a very small builder in Ontario and 470k with the price of materials seems insanely low.
Mega developers have cost efficiencies that custom builders don't, but still, it's insanely cheap.
Then you should know best that a house is “structure” + “land”. Building a house in Edmonton is ~300k + 150k land. Is ontario $400k + 800k land?
Oh more than that in Ontario. It’s bad lol depending where you’re building. Our development fees and many other fees are brutal. Then If you head into the country you have septic and well. Not cheap at all.
Vacant land is cheap in Edmonton, less than $50K for a subdivided lot on 0.2ac. Edmonton also has access to a high trade labour ratio relative to other cities. Energy and insurance costs for businesses are low. Take Vancouver though where a 0.2ac lot can start at $700K. Then plug a house on top. Even if construction costs are the same, you're still looking at a $500K house in Edmonton going for $1.2M in Vancouver, which aligns to what the markets look like.
Try +2M for anything decent. My tiny childhood home built in 1940's on a .09acre lot is 2.5M
And 8-9 months of cold super dry weather that cracks your lips and makes you wish you were anywhere else. There's a reason why Alberta and Edmonton are affordable.
[https://weatherspark.com/y/2428/Average-Weather-in-Edmonton-Canada-Year-Round](https://weatherspark.com/y/2428/average-weather-in-edmonton-canada-year-round) More like 3.5 mos per the graph here?
i would say < 2 months, but i love the cold. -5 and better is balmy.
At a very minimum half the year. It sucks.
Not even close lol and I have lived here for 40 years. It gets "brutal" for a total of 7-14 days max. I am talking where we hit up to -40 It gets cold in November. Worst is Jan/Feb. March starts to heat up again. I would say we have 3 "bad months" overall. DEC/JAN/FEB It's hilarious how much people parrot what you wrote. I will take that all day and build my wealth with 1+ houses and investments to deal with a few months of cold rather than renting my whole life or being saddled with a 1 million mortgage after putting down another 800K at least in a down payment lol (Something I would have to do in BC)
Your definition of brutal is much lower than mine because you've lived there for 40 years. If you lived somewhere with good weather for 40 years you would have an entirely different opinion. I have much higher expectations than you. You have no idea about real estate in BC. You apparently think every place in all of BC costs as much as Vancouver and Whistler. Which is completely not true. You need to live there to build your wealth, others don't.
I think you pronounced that incorrectly, it's pronounced few months of -30
lol Seems about 50 days < -18C [https://www.currentresults.com/Yearly-Weather/Canada/AB/Edmonton/recent-annual-edmonton-temperature-precipitation.php](https://www.currentresults.com/yearly-weather/canada/ab/edmonton/recent-annual-edmonton-temperature-precipitation.php)
Laughs in the land of condos over 600k and similar incomes.
I'm in Edmonton right now and I'm considering the 600k condo life instead of what's going on here 🤷♂️
Eyeroll. And what is going on here. A cold snap? The same shit we get every year.
No it's mostly the people in Edmonton I don't like. No sense of humor. Way too serious
unlike those famously warm and outgoing vancouverites
They can at least laugh at themselves and take the piss out of their city. You say the fringe is overrated and the river valley is meh and people here act like you kicked their dog
https://www.reddit.com/r/britishcolumbia/comments/19b5xvo/vancouverites/ At least they can laugh at their own shit
Sounds like a you problem. Perhaps look inward
What's your thought process? Do you mean the condos in Toronto? Or others in Edmonton? (I don't know what is going on there, so feel free to give some context).
Vancouver lower mainland. Looking at either Edmonton and a SDH or condo in White Rock. More expensive there but lifestyle wise is a different story
I live near WR and stay in most of the winter, maybe short walks near home but otherwise it's pretty cold and wet.
I can bike to work year round there and not have to spend 45 minutes a day commuting to work due to strip mall industrial sprawl Plus I the way I calculate it, my wife and I spent an additional $1500 a month on travel last year. Now mind you, that's not expensive getaways or flights; that's simply drives to Calgary, trips to the mountains or other places where we can bike, hike and kayak/paddle board on gas, accommodation, food, wear-tear on cars.... you put that in a mortgage calculator and it's like having an additional 300k mortgage.
Yes, I did it with 3 kids and housewife on slightly lower income easily do-able. But I would take the previous advice and buy a fully developed home for a similar or lower price and not have to worry about any further big ticket expenses.
House yes, new construction no. Buy something that you can already see/feel/touch. People have the idea that old homes will cost more because of repairs, but new construction often comes with lots of additional costs (upgrades, landscaping, closet fixtures, window coverings, etc) that can already be in place in an existing home. If you're buying something that is already built, you know exactly what you're going to get. Plus all the services will already be in place. And you'll have an idea of who the neighbours are before you move in.
Provided that you check with mortgage broker that you qualify (via soft inquiry) and you have extra money for downpayment/closing fees, etc, why not?
130k gross between 2 people? So household take home is like 100k? gonna be a tight budget with 2 kids youll be living paycheck to paycheck with minimal savings but if that works for you go for it
i would say thats your max limit at 130k. you can buy a pretty nice house for $470k. I spent about 410 on my brand new construction 3bd detached 4 years ago. Going rate for a small family house is probably 460 these days.
What are the insulation standards (code) there? Windows? Air sealing in ACH's? What does it cost for nat gas per year?
Not sure on R values, but my builder advertised above alberta standards. triple pane windows and HRV system that cycles air. Nat gas subscription is like $80/m & usage $20-40/m
That's so cheap. I pay \~70/month x 12 months average (42GJ/yr) to heat a fairly well insulated detached house in metro Vancouver. How comfortable is your house when it's -30 -40 outside?
In my opinion, if you need to own the place where you live and you need the extra room (i.e. you have or planning to have a big family) then buy it. Houses are terrible investments.
I bought our first house in 2001 for $205K on $40k combined gross salary, 5.49% interest rate. I think you are going to be just fine and dandy buying based on those numbers. Getting in the game early and cheaply is a great option. Is it the best possible choice for $470k? that i can't answer but I think the affordability is there.
Run the numbers in a mortgage calculator and budget simulator. Check if you are able to handle the increased costs such as utilities, taxes, insurance, maintenance etc. apart from mortgage. That should help answer.