RE/MAX Edmonton Real Estate News

The REAL Trends Canadian 250 survey illustrates that RE/MAX agents outsold other agents, on average, by 16.1 transaction ends to 10.4 in 2013. That includes Royal LePage, Sutton, EXIT Realty, Century 21, Coldwell Banker and a host of others.

This just-released chart sums up how RE/MAX continues to occupy center stage in Canadian real estate:

The communities of Sweet Grass, Ermineskin, and Bearspaw comprise a large part of Edmonton’s south. These areas are almost exclusively residential and include large expanses of green space. They all share convenient access to the major shopping areas of Southgate Centre, South Edmonton Common, as well as proximity to the new LRT extension.

Sweet Grass borders 34 Avenue to the north, and it’s southern border partially includes Saddleback road and runs along a utility corridor, while it’s east and west boundaries run from 111 Street to 119 Street.  The area was annexed to the City of Edmonton in 1964, and residential development occurred throughout the 1970’s and into the early 1980’s. The area is a blend of single-family-dwellings, row houses, and low rise apartments and the residences are a combination of owner occupied and rental properties.

Sweet Grass Park. Image Credit: Yegishome.ca

Like many other communities in Edmonton’s south-west, Sweet Grass is named to honour the rich aboriginal history of the area. Chief Sweet Grass was a Cree political leader and early environmentalist who was actively outspoken about protecting bison herds common to the region.

The neighborhood’s focus is the central elementary school, bordered by parkland and recreational areas.

CLICK HERE to view properties for sale in Sweet Grass

Ermineskin falls to the south-east of Sweet Grass, it’s northern border a utility corridor just south of Saddleback road while it’s south borders 23 Avenue. It runs from 111 Street in the west to Calgary trail in the East.

Major residential construction of Ermineskin occurred in the 1970’s into the 1980’s, however some residences can be dated back to just earlier than 1960 and also later than 1990. The area is comprised mainly of rental apartments, following by apartment style condominiums. The remainder of the area is comprised of single-family dwellings, row houses, and duplexes.

Ermineskin Craft Fair. Image Credit: Ermineskin Community League

A prominent neighborhood feature is the former Heritage Mall development site, located on the western boundary of the neighborhood which began a major overhaul in the 2000’s. The location now know as “Century Park” encompasses commercial, office, and residential sites. The location also includes a central recreation area and the newest LRT station, Century Park.

This development and addition of green space has revitalized the area’s very active community league. The Ermineskin Community League hosts year-round events, fundraiser, and ongoing programs such as Zumba classes, pancake breakfasts,  rummage sales, quilting, hockey, scrap booking, and more.

CLICK HERE to view properties for sale in Ermineskin

Bearspaw lies a few communities south of Ermineskin, bordered by Blackmud Creek in the west to Calgary Trail, and from Anthony Henday Drive in the south it runs north until 18 Avenue. Bounded by these major thoroughfares, the community has convenient access to major commercial shopping in the south, as well as access the Edmonton International Airport and the University of Alberta.

Combined with it’s northern neighbor of Keheewin, the two areas comprise the Yellowbird East Community League. This community league organizes children’s athletics, as well as adult recreation, community events, and fundraisers for the two neighborhoods.

Bearspaw Lake. Image credit: Yegishome.ca

The area is conducive to outdoor recreation activity due to it’s proximity to Big Bear Park, a large hill with Blackmud Creek Ravine access to hiking, as well as a major greenbelt running along Bearspaw lake which the neighborhood centers around. Additionally, the William Lutsky Family YMCA is also located in the area, for indoor fitness and leisure access.

Bearspaw became a part of the city officially in 1974, however most development didn’t occur until the 1980’s when many of it’s single-family dwellings were constructed, though semi-detached and row houses can also be found. The area is predominantly owner-occupied, with only about a 9% rental rate.

CLICK HERE to view homes for sale in Bearspaw.

The communities of Royal Gardens, Greenfield, and Duggan comprise part of Edmonton’s Southwest, partially bordering the Whitemud Freeway.

Royal Gardens spans 119 Street to 111 Street, and south from Whitemud to 40th Avenue. Bordered by main thoroughfares, this almost exclusively residential community has some of the easiest access to shopping and and public transit in the city. Smaller shops are available in the neighbouring community of Greenfield, while the larger Southgate Centre (as well as the Southgate transit centre and LRT station) are just a stones throw away.

The area has been part of the city since 1912 when it was first dubbed “Royal Gardens”, however the historical significance of the name has seemingly been lost since. It wasn’t until the 1960’s that a push was made for residential development, when many of the area’s single family dwellings were built. The area also has a mix of apartments, apartment style condominiums, row houses, and duplexes; just under half the residences are rental properties.

Royal Gardens Winter Festival. Image Credit: Community League

The neighborhood has a tendency towards higher tenant mobility, yet this is contrasted with strong community involvement in this incredibly social neighbourhood. The hub of the community is the Royal Gardens Park, where the community league hosts a range of year round activities including an annual car rally, a winter carnival (with sleigh rides!), holiday parties, as well as children’s summer camps and recreation programs.

Click Here to view properties for sale in Royal Gardens

Sharing Royal Garden’s southernmost border of 40th avenue, is the community of Greenfield, which spans as far south as 34 Avenue, and runs from 119 Street to 111 Street. Though officially titled Greenfield, in honour of Alberta’s fourth premier Herbert Greenfield, the locals sometimes refer to the area colloquially as Petrolia; the small shopping area in the community also bears this name.

Greenfield Spray Park. Image Credit: Community League

The family friendly area also has a very active community league, whose fundraising and lobby efforts led to the installation of a new spray park in 2009. Strong shinny, and soccer program keeps neighbourhood youth active and involved, while parents host and participate in yearly community events and fundraising efforts, such as bingo nights, fireworks, yoga, and tai chi classes.

A unique program of note is the community league’s Greenfield Scholarship. Two scholarships are awarded each year to post-secondary applicants living in Greenfield, in commemoration of former upstanding residents. This program was designed embody the community values of Greenfield locals.

Nearly all the residences are single family dwellings, with a handful of apartment complexes and duplexes comprising the remainder; the rental rate in the area is less than 10%.

 Click Here to view available properties in Greenfield.

Duggan falls on the East side of Greenfield, sharing a mutual border of 111 Street and carrying on until Calgary Trail. It’s northern border runs along 40th Avenue and goes south to 34 Avenue.

The community league has a full calendar of events on a nearly daily basis. Unique actives on the go include Bridge club, and weekly square-dancing. Duggan also has a large yearly Mother’s Day Soccer Tournament which focuses heavily on sportsmanship and participation. Here’s an exciting recap of last years events, and a great reiteration of Duggan’s community league values:

The neighbourhood is comprised of about sixty percent single family dwellings, with the remainder mostly apartment complexes and row houses; about half of these properties are owner occupied. Duggan has fairly low mobility rates, half of residents have resided in the area five years or more, and most cited no plans to move.

Click Here to view properties for sale in Duggan 

 

All three of these stunning communities overlook the North Saskatchewan River Valley, providing easy access to walking and biking trails. Additionally, limited vehicular access lends to an ambiance of peaceful seclusion.

Though still considered a mature Edmonton neighborhood, the community of Patricia Heights is comparatively young, having not officially joined the city until 1964. Bordered on the north by Whitemud Drive, and on the east by 156 Street, the rest of Patricia Height’s boundaries are formed naturally by the curvature of the Patricia Ravine.

Patricia Heights Walking Trail Access

Named in honour of Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, the prominent area flourished in the late 1960’s, with it’s residential building projects entirely completed just a decade later. A mix of owner occupied and rental properties, approximately half the area is comprised of single-detached homes while the other half is made up of low and medium rise apartment buildings.

Families are attracted to the quiet, tight-knit community, with only two interchanges on 156 Street and on 159 Street to access Patricia Heights.

Adjoining the Eastern border of Patrica Heights, lies Rio Terrace, spanning from 156 Street to 149 Street, and Whitemud Drive down to the river valley. It shares many walking trails and green space features with Patricia Heights, as well as the same two access roads.

Construction on Rio Terrace started just a decade earlier in the 1950’s, and the entirety of neighborhood dwellings are single-family homes, approximately 20 percent of them rental properties. In 2010 the community underwent a major municipal revitalization. Renewals included roadway reclamation, streetlight upgrades, and sidewalk, curb, and gutter reconstruction.

The most notable feature of Rio Terrace is it’s active community league and strong volunteer program. The Rio Terrace Moravian Church is heavily involved, hosting a performance series of musical artists. A strong soccer program attracts young families, while the “Rio Gardens! Community Garden” program facilitates a sustainable food initiative; an incredibly important community value.

Rio Gardens sustainable food initiative.

Rounding out these river valley communities is the affluent area of Oleskiw. Bordered on the west side by 170 street, Oleskiw is pocketed in the river valley on all other sides.

Though development on the area began in the 1970’s, it wasn’t officially declared complete until 2000, making the properties an eclectic mix of many decades of architectural tastes. With 90 percent of properties single-family dwellings, a few row houses round out the area, which is an entirely owner occupied neighborhood.

Highlights of this private, yet trendy area include the Edmonton Country Club and Golf Course, Sorrentinos, Starbucks, and the Marketplace at Callingwood, which includes the city’s largest Sunday farmer’s market.

Homes in Oleskiw. Image Credit: yegishome.ca

A notable geographic feature is the Oleskiw Treestand, a deciduous habitat for urban wildlife. Home to many birds and mammals, the treestand is included on many nature walks, and has been a protected area since 1978.

View available properties in: Patricia Heights, Rio Terrace, and Oleskiw.

Bigger and better was the theme for Re/Max Western Canada in 2013. The results have been tallied and Re/Max Agents had an incredible year, from growth and productivity, to welcoming newcomers to the industry, to opening up offices all across Western Canada.

Diversity, ecology, proximity, family: these are the values cited by the extensive Grovenor community website . An unexpectedly old neighborhood, considering its relative distance from the city’s core, the original dwellings bordering the ravine were built around 1907. The community borders 149 Street to 142 Street on the east and west, and 107 Avenue south to the Mackinnon Ravine.

In the area’s extensive history it has changed names (formerly Westgrove) and spurred on by the railways passing through was almost completely industrial up until the 1940’s. Then a transformation began, completed in 1980, to an entirely residential community save a few bordering shops on it’s main thoroughfares.

Grovenor School

A tight knit community known for it’s elaborate Halloween houses, success in the sport of shinny, and it’s focus on family values, the community emphasizes the desirability of the area for raising children, noting it’s elementary school, historic church, and community league programs.

Bordering Grovenor to the east is the historic community of Glenora, which naturally falls just south of the community of North Glenora. Glenora extends from 142 Street to Groat Road and the River Vallery, and north until 107 Avenue. North Glenora resides on 107 Avenue to 111 Avenue and 142 Street to Groat Road.

It may not be surprising to learn that the area of Glenora was part of an 1860’s river lot owned by Malcolm Groat, namesake to much of the area’s landmarks and of course Groat Road, which at the time demarcated the outer city limits.

Glenora Bed & Breakfast. Image Credit: Darren Kirby

This sprawling riverside area is notable for the Royal Alberta Musuem and it’s surrounding parkland, as well as Alberta Government House and the local hidden gem, Glenora Bed and Breakfast. Glenora is also home to 4 schools; 2 public, 1 Catholic, and 1 private. The area is considered relatively affluent, according to recent census statistics, with 4 out of every 5 homes being owner occupied.

North Glenora is geographically one of the smaller residential areas in the city, occupying less than 87 hectares, and also made up part of the original parcel of land owned by Malcolm Groat. The residential boom of North Glenora occurred in the years following World War II when just over 86% of it’s residences were constructed. Before this time, much of the area was undeveloped land, trees, and dirt trails, save for a few residences.

Noted for it’s beautifully maintained, tree-lined streets, the area is especially picturesque in the autumn months. It’s residences surround the sprawling North Glenora Park, where recreation is facilitated year-round, with amenities that include a skating rink, spray park, soccer field, basketball court, and renovated community league hall.

Just outlaying Edmonton’s original core, is the area of Westmount. It’s 1910 boundary establishment makes this neighborhood one of the city’s oldest and most established. A strong history of growth and development contributes to the cultural richness of the area and it’s vibrant community spirit.

Westmount Homes. Photo Credit: Avenue Magazine

Westmount has some of the most desirable real estate in the city, with an abundance of appealing character homes. Over 25% of it’s residences were constructed prior to the end of World War II. The strong sense of historical pride in this area can be seen in these immaculately maintained, period houses.

Bordered by thoroughfares of 111 avenue, Stony Plain Road, Groat Road and 121 Street, this neighborhood has all the charm of downtown living without, well, actually living downtown. It’s cornerstone is the bustling 124 Street, dotted with cafes, boutiques, art galleries, and the newly popular 124 Street farmer’s market (open Thursdays in the spring and summer).

Reflecting the liveliness of Westmount is the younger community of Meadowlark Park. Though it wasn’t established as a community until much later, it has certainly made up for lost time in it’s short but interesting history. Now this neighborhood, with an increasingly youthful demographic, is notable for it’s young families and abundance of children being raised in the area.

The Edmonton neighborhood originally belonged of the town of Jasper Place, and at the time lay far outside the city limits. However, as Edmonton continued it’s rapid expansion, many smaller towns became absorbed into the metropolis. In 1964 Jasper Place became one o f these annexed locations, including of course, it’s small area of Meadowlark.

Located in the west end of the city, the community spans from 156 Street and 87 Avenue to 163 Street and 95 Avenue, just a stones throw from West Edmonton Mall, the Valley Zoo, and the vast network of the river valley trail system, ideal for it’s young families and those with on-the-go lifestyles.

Jasper Place Library

Meadowlark is known for strong involvement in it’s community league, including year round fundraising, fitness programs, and children’s recreation programs. The flagships of Meadowlark Shopping Centre and the beautifully renovated Jasper Place Library branch showcase the recent economic growth of the area.

While Edmonton’s new downtown arena development has garnered much attention, the accompanying boom of real estate development in the city’s core is the latest topic of conversation.

The previous abundance of surface parking lots allowed for the land space needed by developers to add more condominium towers to the downtown area, with around 27 proposed towers expected to go up in the next 3 years. At the forefront of these residential developments is the Fox Two, a project by Langham developments (of Icon Towers notoriety). 171 units will comprise this 33 storey colossus on the corner of 102 Avenue and 104 Street; a site you may remember as the old greyhound bus garage. This project began after the Fox One sold out most of it’s 142 units. Upon completion, both Fox towers are expected to place in the top 20 list of Edmonton’s tallest buildings, alongside the Icon I and II.

Mockup of the Fox Two tower.

The following chart outlines some of the major condo development projects in central Edmonton:

Understandably, residents and employees who work in the core have expressed concern over an increase in traffic congestion due to construction and closed thoroughfares, as well as decreased parking availability. According to Edmonton Journal Reports the city is on top of these issues, with a comprehensive website in development to keep citizens aware of route changes and parking availability, maintaining Downtown’s travel efficiency.

Has the Edmonton housing market made a full economic recovery?

Insider sources seem to think so.

Reports from the Edmonton Journal, the Edmonton Real Estate Board, and the Bank of Montreal, have determined this spring could mean some of the highest sales rates we’ve seen in recent history.

Alberta is emerging as the country’s leader in real estate sales, with the major markets of Edmonton and Calgary topping the charts. According to BMO Reports, Alberta is leading the provinces in retail sales, employment rate, and real GDP. These strong economic indicators, combined with a soaring population have created an ideal climate in which the housing market can not only survive, but thrive.

With 2014 numbers already on the rise, it’s difficult to dispute these speculations. According to the Edmonton Real Estate Board listings sales have increased more than 24% since this January with a slight increase in residential property prices, while residential listings increased by more than 10% in the same period.

However, a moderate increase in home prices is not expected to deter buyers explains EREB president Greg Steele,

“confidence in the strength of our local economy and a shortage of attractive properties at the lower end of the price range are both moving consumers to consider higher priced properties if their budgets allow”

Steele concludes “sales activity will continue to increase as they do every spring.” This should leave Edmontonians, especially those looking to sell their home, with an optimistic outlook for the coming months.

The numbers are in for 2013

…and true to form, Re/Max Real Estate has exceeded fundraising expectations.  Canadian and U.S. offices raised over $8 million dollars last year for the CMN through various campaigns.

Re/Max’s lasting partnership with the Children’s Miracle Network includes many campaigns in place to secure necessary funding for this important organization, including the Miracle Home Program.

Every minute 62 children are treated by a CMN network hospital

What does this program involve, you ask? You may have experienced driving past the familiar red, white, and blue of a Re/Max “FOR SALE” sign and noticed the often-accompanying CMN hanger. What you may not have realized is that this sign represents a commitment by that individual agent to donate a set percentage of each and every sales commission directly to the CMN.  Commitment to the Miracle Home Program is in addition to the hours of fundraising events attended throughout the year, by brokers, agents, and staff members alike.

This is a show of agents going above and beyond, and making a difference in their own communities.  Next time you see a Re/Max sign be sure to look for a CMN hanger, you may start noticing them a lot more often, and start to see the signs of Re/max agents making meaningful differences all over your neighborhood.

Through the strength of this partnership, Re/Max has been able to provide over $130 million to 170 children’s hospitals since it’s humble beginnings in 1983. When known achievers set their sights, they truly make miracles happen.

The largest CMN contributor is Re/Max of Western Canada