Twenty-three Canadian municipalities got measured on what it costs to get a home approved and built. Edmonton finished first overall in the 2024 Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) Municipal Benchmarking Study.
First, on the combination of what a builder hands city hall and how long city hall takes to hand back a permit. The numbers sitting under that finish explain more about Alberta housing costs than most press conferences do.
What Edmonton charges, per door
Municipal charges in Edmonton come to $36,000 on a low-rise unit and $9,300 on a high-rise unit. The city ranked 8th of 23 on low-rise charges and 9th on high-rise.
Moncton ranked 1st on both measures, so the spread across the country is wide, and Edmonton is not at the bottom of it.
Ten and a half months became three and a bit
The approval timeline is the part that should get attention, because it is the part cities insist cannot be fixed.
Edmonton’s approval timeline came in at 3.4 months. In the 2022 study it was 10.5 months. Seven months of waiting came out of the process. The study lists the indirect cost of delay in Edmonton at $3,260 and $1,606 per unit per month, without saying which figure belongs to which building type. At the higher figure, seven months comes to roughly $23,000 per unit (Tribune arithmetic).
Edmonton’s new Zoning Bylaw took effect January 1, 2024, inside the window the study covers. The study does not say the bylaw caused the drop. What is on the record is a city that cut its approval time by about two thirds while other councils were still explaining why a file takes as long as it takes.
First overall without finishing first in anything
Edmonton did not top a single category. Planning features, 6th, on a score of 85%. Approvals timelines, 4th. Government charges on low-rise, 8th. High-rise charges, 9th. No gold medals, and the best overall result in the country.
That is what a functioning municipality looks like on paper. No single reform with a launch event, just four solid results at once.
It also means there is room left. Eighth and ninth on charges is not a ceiling. Seven municipalities in the study bill less per low-rise door than Edmonton does.
Why any of this shows up on a price tag
Kevin Lee, chief executive of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association, says the study “is intended to facilitate conversations among all levels of government.” The conversation that matters at the till is simpler. Fees and delays generally get added to the number on the listing, and the buyer covers them without ever seeing the line item.
The Edmonton scorecard shows a city that passed in every subject. The Calgary scorecard from the same study shows where the other big Alberta city lost ground.
Council can read the same table. Ask your ward councillor what it would take to move Edmonton’s low-rise charges up from 8th place, and when that comes to committee.
Related from Alberta Tribune: Edmonton Hits $3.3 Billion in Real Estate Investment for the First Time
