Over 15 transactions ranging from $10 Million - $63 Million have occurred in Edmonton this year!
Edmonton is a City that often defies expectations.
Source: Edmonton Ice District
For many years, Edmonton has been considered by neighbouring metropolitan cities, a second-tier destination, a "working-class" town. When individuals and businesses from around the world think of Canada, they always first spout out - Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary... And while we have primarily been a blue-collar City, this does not mean that our business owners are shy of investment capital, nor does it mean that our City lacks innovation, diversity and opportunity. Quite the contrary actually. I consider Edmonton to be a City of quiet capital, that is, there is actually quite a substantial amount of equity among our population, however, the desire to flaunt wealth is not part of our City's culture. Working in industrial real estate has proven this time and again; when seeking out some of the most successful local business owners, they are often found alongside their employees, dressed in coveralls in their shops.
This is why Edmonton is great. This is why our people are the best.
As a segue, I'd like to highlight the top sixteen transactions that have occurred in Edmonton since January 2018, totaling nearly $400 Million in value. Whether this investment is deriving locally, or from broader geographical interests, the value is significant because it shows that Edmonton is moving among the top Canadian cities for investment. The transactions are listed in descending value below, stats via The Network, 2018 Mid-Year Market Outlook:
Click Image to Enlarge
Now, we are only in the month of July, and these are only the top 16 transactions. On the whole, there have already been 334 commercial transactions (land and building) in Edmonton in the first 6-months of 2018, for a combined value of over $1.3 billion. Of note, is that these values are up from 262 transactions ($1.2 billion) mid-year 2017, and 268 transactions ($865 million) mid-year 2016! It appears confidence is increasing cautiously in our market, and investment dollars are flowing. As one of the largest transactions in Alberta occurred in the beginning of July when the Ice District Properties sold the Edmonton Tower to Alberta pension plan manager AIMCo (the terms of which have not been disclosed), I think the future continues to look bright for this City.