Estate Homes: Edmonton’s luxury market on the rise

Article content

When it comes to real estate, Edmonton is making a statement.

Article content

This city’s home builders swept two of the three real estate home categories in recent provincial housing awards, including taking the top three finalist spots in each of those pools.

They were Carriage Signature Homes, which took the Estate Home award from $ 800,000 to $ 1 million, and Vicky’s Homes, which won Estate Homes over $ 1 million, at the 2021 BILD Alberta Awards held virtually in late September.

Carriage was competing with two different offerings from Vicky’s Homes, and Vicky’s Homes was facing competition from Habitat Studio and another from its own homes in the million-plus dollar segment.

Edmonton, however, was excluded from the other real estate award, which went to Crystal Creek Homes of Calgary for Estate Home from $ 600,000 to $ 800,000; all of these finalists were based in Calgary.

Article content

“Our team is really excited to win the award and recognition of the house in Keswick on the River,” said Gary Hoeft, President and CEO of Carriage.

The house, a reverse strike named Giovanni, at just over 2,000 square feet, is described as an artist’s dream and includes an elevator.

To take advantage of the river valley views, Hoeft said it made sense to place the strike in the front of the house rather than the traditional rear-facing views associated with them. The kitchen includes dual islands and is a black and white sight, while there is a porch for grills to the rear.

The exterior of the home has a prairie-style elevation, while the interior blends a transitional feel with contemporary styling.

Article content

This is this year’s second award for the Giovanni, which won Best Single Family Model – Any Style ($ 700,000 to $ 850,000) at the Canadian Association of Home Builders Awards of Excellence – Edmonton Region in mid 2021 of June.
Similarly, Vicky’s Verity III, which took home the BILD Alberta award for Estate Home Over $ 1 Million, also won at the 2021 CHBA-ER awards where it was the winner in the Best Single Family – Any Style category for over $ 1.5 million. .

“We tend to have one or more entries in this category as we are known for our custom homes / real estate at that price point,” said Vicky Kujundzic, owner of Vicky’s Homes. “Winning this award reminds us that we are reaching our goals of incredible design and customer satisfaction. We have won this award several times at the local level, although we have also won it at the provincial level before, it is certainly difficult as the competition from the entire province is extremely competitive ”.

Article content

Over 4,700 square feet, the Verity III is contemporary in style, includes two rooftop patios, has an en-suite steam shower with a window for panoramic views of the ravine, and comes with a seven-foot kitchen sink. with two taps. two soap bombs and two garburadores.

Growing interest

While Edmonton’s housing market has seen mixed success over the years, builders say its future looks promising.

“The real estate market continues to grow, more now than ever,” said Kujundzic. “Entrepreneurs / business owners, those in the medical field and technology and internet rich clients, and even those who are simply tired of all the COVID restrictions are coming to build with us. Due to COVID, and all the recreation center closures, more and more people now want more amenities, like indoor pools in their new homes. “

Article content

Meanwhile, Hoeft de Carriage said they are experiencing “upward momentum” and that there is a growing market for real estate homes in the $ 2.5 million to $ 4 million range.

“The change that we are seeing with the real estate market is that it is definitely leaning towards infill,” Hoeft said, noting that it is due to discerning buyers who want specific locations.

“(The real estate market) was almost non-existent in the 1980s and 1990s, but then we saw a change in the late 1990s and early 2000s,” adds Trevor Hoover, senior designer and partner at Habitat Studio, whose Tian La Yi’s entry was a finalist in the BILD Awards for Estate Home Over $ 1 million. “I feel like it was pretty prevalent until 2008, then it went down a bit as did everything related to construction. Today, I don’t think it’s a huge market in Edmonton. I think Calgary builds more ‘real estate’ houses than Edmonton and the area, but we definitely have some great houses with great people right here in Edmonton. ”

What is a real estate house?

The builders Postmedia spoke to were unanimous that it comes down to the details. More time, thought and effort is put into how the end result will look, feel and work, Habitat Studio said. Similarly, Vicky’s Homes said there are many more design elements, updates and details that make it special. Carriage Signature Homes said that the finish of his carpenter work is so good that he is considered an artist.