study<\/a> comparing the cost of renting with the expense of a down payment on a condominium apartment shows ownership appears more favourable in Alberta\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n\u201cIn Edmonton, you\u2019re about $12,000 cheaper putting 20 per cent down than renting for three years,\u201d says Brittany Kostov, industry relations officer for Zoocasa (owned by eXp Realty). Zoocasa\u2019s study examined 14 major markets in Canada with well-known post-secondary institutions. It compared the average rent over three years (assuming students rent for the first year of a four-year degree) with the total cost of a 20 per cent down payment based on the average price of a condominium apartment in each market.<\/p>\n
Edmonton fared best in the study. Based on an average monthly rent of $1,603, the total rent over three years would be $57,708. In contrast, a buyer of the average-priced condo ($225,842) would pay a 20 per cent down payment of $45,168.<\/p>\n
The numbers would even be better with a smaller down payment for a less costly apartment unit, says Aligul Arslan, realtor with eXp Realty in Edmonton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are quite a few condos to be found in the city for about $80,000 to $100,000,\u201d he notes, adding these are often in good shape and suitable for a student.<\/p>\n
Apartments, especially around major transit hubs and post-secondary institutions like the University of Alberta and MacEwan University, are typically near the average price, often high-quality with two bedrooms, he adds.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat offers the opportunity to rent one of the bedrooms to help with the cost of the mortgage.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the report illustrates the city\u2019s affordability, it is mostly useful for out-of-town students and their parents rather than families who already live in Edmonton, Kostov says.<\/p>\n
Still, Edmonton parents with children attending post-secondary in another Canadian city may want to use the report to help guide their decisions on student housing, she notes.<\/p>\n
To that end, ownership was more advantageous to renting, based on Zoocasa\u2019s criteria, in five other cities.<\/p>\n
Saskatoon ranked second behind Edmonton for those considering the University of Saskatchewan. Monthly rent is cheapest in the study at $1,534, or $55,224 over three years. By comparison, the 20 per cent down payment would be $50,288 for an average condo price of $251,442.<\/p>\n
Winnipeg placed third with monthly rent of $1,662, or $59,832 over three years. That\u2019s versus the down payment of $58,340 for a condominium worth $291,699.<\/p>\n
London, Ont. \u2014 home to the University of Western Ontario \u2014 ranked fourth, and Kingston was in sixth spot for those seeking to attend Queen\u2019s University.<\/p>\n
Ottawa was seventh in the study, and the only other major market where ownership may make more financial sense than renting.<\/p>\n
Laval University in Quebec City was in fifth in Zoocasa\u2019s rankings based on its low average rent of $1,481 a month. The total three-year renting cost was about $15,000 less than a 20 per cent down payment.<\/p>\n
The down payment, however, is not the only cost to consider, given parents would face monthly mortgage payments, condominium fees and other related expenses.<\/p>\n
Yet Kostov adds that ownership can offer long-term use for a child after graduation or as an investment property generating rental income.<\/p>\n
Arslan notes buying in other markets can be difficult to navigate. In turn, a realtor with local knowledge can prove invaluable, he adds, noting he is currently assisting an out-of-town buyer hunting for housing for their adult child attending post-secondary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am meeting with a family based in Ontario whose kid is going to be attending NAIT, and they see great value in buying here.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Count post-secondary students among the beneficiaries of Edmonton\u2019s affordable real estate market. A new study comparing the cost…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":103832,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[37292,37290,52,37291,8128],"class_list":["post-103831","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-brittany-kostov","tag-condo","tag-edmonton","tag-exp-realty","tag-post-secondary-institutions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103831","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103831"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103831\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103831"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103831"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103831"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}