Monday, September 8, 2014

Interesting Changes for Edmonton's Housing Market Proposed

Source: CBC News, Michelle Bellefontaine, August 2014

Changing city, changing housing needs

Changing demographics and growth pressures are behind the city’s desire to create more infill. The goal is to have at least 25 per cent of new growth occur downtown and in mature neighbourhoods, as well as around transit hubs.

People in mature neighbourhoods are getting older. Younger families need to move in to keep schools going, but a lack of affordable housing forces them out to far-flung suburbs, council was told.

Younger people may not want single family homes and seniors may not be able to maintain a house any longer, but  theymay want to stay in the same neighbourhood in a smaller dwelling.

Some may want to have their aging parents living nearby in a garden suite; homeowners may want to convert a garage into a rental unit to help pay the mortgage.

Carmen Douville lives in a central neighbourhood and calls herself a member of Generation Y.
Douville wants to live in an area close to transit, with services and stores within walking distance. But she told council that the cost of buying a home in that kind of neighbourhood isn't affordable while she is still paying student loans.

“I have no desire to purchase a 2,000 square foot home in the suburbs,” she said.

What she does want, is an 800 to 1,200 square foot townhouse or multi-unit home that is progressively designed and made with quality materials, she added.

She said that some infill designs she sees are either “cheaped-out, vinyl-clad disasters” or highly designed units that start at $700,000.

Changes to the ways that construction is managed in mature neighbourhoods could create housing for 250,000 people in Edmonton.