Hi Todd & Danielle. I'm almost embarrassed to say this is my first comment on your blog. I read them religiously! I couldn't agree more about the potential for growth and financial gain in the Alberta Avenue area. I've watched real estate trends since I was 12 years old (sounds a bit strange but true - I'm a real estate junkie!) anyways, when I moved to Edmonton from Vancouver in 2000 I started exploring the city neighborhoods. As soon as I came east across 97th street and saw the state of some homes and the type of people walking the streets I knew it was a gold mine! 26 at the time and a renter I tried desperately to get a friend of mine to invest with me in the area. As a native Edmontonian he said it would be a cold day... you get the idea.

I've watched Vancouver closely and what was once the 'hood' is now prime real estate. People just don't seem to understand that a city's core can only grow so far before it has to move into the outlying areas. I still wish I'd bought a home in the area for less than $75,000 back in the day.

On the bright side, I invested in a home on 101 street in behind NAIT. I paid $125,000 for it in 2005, did some well needed cosmetic improvements like flooring and paint and now my property is worth close to $400,000. Why? Because the down town core has been and always will be the best place to make a long term investment for future city growth. I've also been keeping up on the revitalization plan for the area and am excited to see the changes! My friend will eat his words!