Throughout Alberta, and particularly in Edmonton, the multifamily market is hot.
With 26 years of extensive development and construction experience, completing more than 4,000 multifamily and commercial projects in Alberta, and with six Edmonton projects currently on the go, Edmonton is a vital part of the innovative and respected Cairo Development success story.
“Traditionally, for real estate development, location is always a key factor,” says the dynamic and upbeat Ash Mahmoud, president of Cairo Development. “For us, Edmonton is also a tremendous positive when it comes to market circumstances, situations and exciting market potential.”
With much expertise, he attributes the spike in demand for Edmonton housing, particularly for rentals, to various factors.
“It’s partially the global economy of Canada, specifically Alberta. With oil prices compared to the 2015-2020 recession, more jobs were created in the oil and gas industry, which are proving to be a bonus in Edmonton and north Alberta.”
Mahmoud adds that, with the mortgage rates, the potential for getting approved for home purchases has made it difficult for many buyers to qualify.
He also emphasizes Edmonton’s provincial and international migration and the Edmonton job market are triggering the spike in the recent demand for multifamily, residential development.
“Particularly in oil and gas but other sectors as well, combined with Edmonton’s affordability compared to other Canadian areas,” he clarifies. “It’s not only the positive job market, Edmonton is also a strong attractor for students who come to get a fantastic education at the University of Alberta, NAIT and the other colleges in the region.”
The Cairo Development president highlights a key factor about the Edmonton multi-family rental market.
“The supply of purpose-built rentals is definitely not compatible with the growing demand. In fact, some stats suggest the demand has actually doubled, year to year.”
Mahmoud explains that the momentum is impacting the growth of development across the city’s SW and NW sectors.
“It continues to move a lot of communities to the area, leading to a huge number of multifamily developments, mainly for purpose-built rentals. The land is cheaper and there is also available infrastructure. Many commercial facilities are being built to support the expansion and growth of SW and NW Edmonton communities.”
He is enthusiastic about Cairo Development being part of Edmonton’s exciting potential.
“The city is very successful in creating jobs and industries that will attract jobs and a workforce. For example, the new hospital being planned in Edmonton’s SW and the proposed hydrogen plant will create a significant number of jobs,” Mahmoud points out.
“It’s a win-win situation for Edmonton. As job opportunities increase, so does the workforce and the population. With Edmonton’s expanding population, there is a rising demand for housing, especially purpose-built, multi-family rentals.”
A unique aspect of the Cairo Development success story – whether it is multifamily residential projects, development management, pre-construction management, construction management, construction consultancy or general contracting – is the core focus of building relationships with the company’s clients.
“Our specialty is always delivering first class, value engineered construction services,” he says with passion and pride.
Mahmoud notes that Cairo’s future is exciting and ambitious.
“In the past two years or so, Cairo has been in the process of completing several Edmonton projects, including 724 stacked townhomes or apartments with a total of almost $130 million, and created more than 1,000 jobs.”
“This year, we’re expecting more projects near the downtown Edmonton area and in the SW and NW,” he adds. “We are on track to double the number of Cairo Development Edmonton projects, especially in terms of number of units, the total value of work and creating more jobs.”