EDMONTON — The City of Edmonton has been ranked the best city in Canada for housing affordability according to the 2022 Municipal Benchmarking study by the Canadian Home Builders’ Association.
The City of Calgary ranked third and the City of Vancouver ranked 12 out of 21 municipalities studied.
The study looks at three elements that determine housing affordability based on municipal protocols: getting housing approved, expediency of approval and government charges carried by renters or buyers.
Edmonton ranked number one for planning features.
“The City of Edmonton ranks highest in utilizing tools and features that are thought to have an impact on the ability of municipalities and applicants to deliver housing supply in a timely and efficient fashion,” reads the report.
Calgary ranked sixth in this category and Vancouver eighth.
For expediency of approval, Calgary ranked fifth, Edmonton sixth and Vancouver 10th.
Average approval time in Calgary is five months and seven in Edmonton. Vancouver more than doubles that time at 15 months with Toronto in dead last at a whopping 32 months.
Regarding government charges, Edmonton was once again sixth, Calgary was 10th and Vancouver came in at 17th.
Charlottetown, P.E.I, ranked first in expediency and government charges and second overall.
Eastern and western municipalities generally topped the list with GTA municipalities proving less favourable in all categories, though the City of Toronto was ranked second for planning features.
“I am not surprised by Edmonton’s ranking,” said Mayor Amarjeet Sohi in a news release.
“The City of Edmonton has worked very hard in the past few years to streamline and improve our permit and license processes,” added city manager Andre Corbould.
“These improvements save applicants $5.3 million and 67,600 days collectively each year.”
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