GRANDE PRAIRIE
ALBERTA, CANADA
GRANDE PRAIRIE
REAL ESTATE
by Ken Connors
The Real Estate Market in Grande Prairie has seen some unusual circumstances in the last couple of years. (2005-2006) With so many jobs and not enough people to fill the positions, there was an influx of people moving to Grande Prairie. Homes couldn't be built fast enough as most of the homes on the market sold quickly. At the peak of the crunch, many properties were sold before the Real Estate agents could put up a "For Sale" sign.
More carpenters, more roofers, more plumbers, more electricians etc were needed. Getting people to work was one problem, getting them a place to live was a much bigger problem. Some families ended up in a one room hotel for months because they couldn't find a home to live in. There were a few months when houses were selling higher than the listed price. Increases of $10,000 to $15,000 per month were seen on some new homes. Nearby hamlets and towns also seen price increases as well.
With the shortage of homes for sale, it also affected the amount of available rentals on the market. Prices of apartments and other rentals started to increase. There were many people who now could not afford the cost of rent and for the first time, Grande Prairie started to see a large number of people living in RVs year-round at nearby campgrounds.
In the summer of 2007 there were signs of the market levelling out. There was now more supply of homes on the market and for the first time in years we seen homes advertised with "reduced prices, eager to sell". The market was now seperating the real sellers from the speculators.
Grande Prairie Real Estate
(pictured above are 5 homes being built at Westpointe Subdivision in Grande Prairie.)
Sept 2007- The average price of a home in Grande Prairie climbed to $301,400, an increase of 10 per cent from $274,000 last year. Over 600 residential properties are on the market at this time, a number much higher than the previous year, which means properties now take longer to sell. Buyers have more selection and have more time to consider each property. The average amount of time a house is on the market is 47 days. The bottom line is, that houses are still being sold. From January to August in 2006, there were over 1,300 homes sold compared to about 1,200 in 2007.
Dec 2007- Grande Prairie has now the highest "apartment " vacancy rates in Alberta with 4.9%. That compares to .01% a year earlier. One of the reasons why there was such an increase, is that there had been a large number of apartments under construction and recently were completed flooding the market. (Canadian Mortgage Housing corporation did a Rental Market Survey of apartments only). Checking the classifieds of the Grande Prairie Daily Herald Tribune, there seems to be more rentals available and the prices have started to fall. Those units that are still well over-priced are now sitting on the market with no tenants. Not a good situation for some investors who came in the market late when it was high and who now need a certain "high price" to pay the mortgage.
(2007- One of the newer subdivisions on the southeast part of Grande Prairie called Countryside North.)
Dec 2007- Grande Prairie is not the only city in the Peace Country that has had a sudden surge in apartment rental vacancies. For St. John's most recent number for vacancy rate is 3.9 per cent. That is a big increase over the 0.8 percent of last year. Over all the Province of British Columbia had a decline of vacancies.
Jan 2008- There are obvious indications that the housing market is slowing down by the number of homes being built. Statistics indicated that there was a drop of 61.1 per cent in housing starts in Grande Prairie for December of 2007. (CMHC statistics of combined single and mutiple family homes)
Feb 2008- House sales are down in Alberta with Calgary being down about 30 per cent over a year ago, while Edmonton had a drop of 21 per cent. Saskatchewan is actually up in house sales, with Saskatoon up by 37 per cent and Regina up to 69 per cent.
May 2007- The Alberta Government has introduced new laws pertaining to rent increase. For many years rent increases could be done 2 times a year and had to have the 90 days notice of rent increase to the tennant. The new law states only 1 increase can be made per year. This however does not regulate the amount of the increase. If a landlord is converting an apartment building into condominiumns, each tennant must be given one years notice.
July 2006- A new subdivision has been approved on the northern part of Grande Prairie. Northridge subdivision will be located northeast of Royal Oaks subdivision and will house about 2,200 people. (Royal Oaks is north of the Highway Bypass, north of City Furniture.)
2008 EVENTS OF THE PEACE COUNTRY
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