Realtors association unsure budget measures will help Edmonton housing market
CBC
Housing was a focus of the federal government's budget this week but Edmonton realtors don't think it will have much effect on Edmonton's hot housing market.
New initiatives announced in the budget include a tax-free savings account for first-time home buyers, a multi-generational home upgrade program and a two-year ban on foreign buyers.
"We don't see this as a big change in our marketplace," said Paul Gravelle, president of the Realtors Association of Edmonton (RAE).
"It's going to have very little effect. There's not a huge amount of foreign investment dollars coming into our market."
The federal government is aiming to double the number of new housing units coming onto the market each year through a new housing accelerator fund. The government is also pledging to streamline approval process for municipalities to build new subdivisions and wants to double the pace of new home construction.
Joseph Guziak, an associate broker with the E Group Real Estate, says many new build projects are currently seeing major delays, often due to permitting which can take four to six weeks.
Delays are also impacting the price of materials, which are already volatile due to supply chain issues and an increasingly hot housing market. He doesn't think the government's goals are realistic.
"The only way for them to double their housing construction they have to figure out the problem of getting permits approved faster."
Cameron Rhamanian with Maxwell Realty worries that a boom in new build projects would drive up material costs and thinks creative solutions are needed.
"You could provide relief to a ton of Canadians who want to get into housing by buying entire condo buildings and turning [them] into affordable housing, you don't need to build anything."
"Those represent the single best way for housing affordability yet so many people are bypassing them because of these high condos fees," he said.
He does expect the rise in house prices to continue, though not as rapidly.
"January to February was noticeable. We saw almost a 10 per cent jump in the price of houses. That has stagnated in March, we're seeing a new plateau."
In March the average price of a house in Edmonton was over $503,000 according to RAE's data — a nearly 10 per cent increase from last year. Condominiums and duplexes also saw a rise in sales.
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