Buying a house costs a lot less in Edmonton than Calgary. Why is that?
CBC
Three hours on Alberta's QEII highway can make a $200,000 difference in the price of a home.
If you want to own a detached house in Calgary, average prices are currently just shy of $700,000.
Three hundred kilometres north, similar properties in Edmonton will run you a bit less than $500,000, on average.
And if you're a renter, you can expect to shell out $2,150 per month for a two-bedroom apartment in Calgary. In Edmonton, monthly costs have been rising, but they're still roughly $500 less, according to Rentals.ca.
Benchmark residential prices between the two cities have grown further apart, with Edmonton costs staying essentially flat compared to the same time last year, while they've shot up more than 10 per cent in Calgary, even with rising interest rates.
Across all housing types — detached, semi-detached, townhouses and apartment condominiums — the average selling price of homes in Edmonton was about $398,000 in August, compared to $570,000 in Calgary.
So what's driving these differences in housing costs between Alberta's two biggest urban centres? Here are some of the factors behind the affordability gulf.
People have been flocking to Alberta this year. In just the first three months of 2023, the province welcomed nearly 16,000 people from other parts of Canada.
Real estate agents say prospective homebuyers looking to the Prairies after getting priced out of Toronto or Vancouver tend to consider Calgary first.
It's slightly larger than Edmonton and a major travel hub that people might have passed through or visited before.
"Calgary just does a better job of putting themselves on the radar," said Tom Shearer, broker for Royal LePage Noralta Real Estate, which has offices in Edmonton and surrounding communities.
"People are looking for more affordable housing or places where they can start their families … they start investing in, 'What's the next biggest centre I can go to?'"
The Rockies also loom large in buyers' decisions about which city to call home. Kananaskis and Banff are only a short drive from Calgary. Edmonton real estate agents say that easy access to an outdoor lifestyle is just too tempting for many buyers.
Edmonton real estate agent Leanna Martens says some buyers are making different choices about quality of life, considering the current cities' price differences.
A holiday event that began in 2020 during the pandemic with three floats on pickup trucks has now become one of Kelowna’s big winter events, drawing thousands to the city’s downtown core.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
It’s been hard to keep track of how many legal challenges and active court proceedings the United Conservative government has tried to quash or pre-emptively block in the last six weeks, but let’s try to tally:
Margaret Walker, the emcee of a Waterloo vigil commemorating the victims of the Montreal massacre, doesn't feel enough is being done to reflect on the killings and address gender-based violence.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.