A high percentage of people in Edmonton own their homes. With Canada’s highest per capita disposable income, lowest taxes, and reasonable home prices, people in this city are able to buy a home at a younger age, on average, than in other Canadian cities like Toronto and Calgary.

Most homebuyers with children prefer to buy a detached house in the suburbs. Younger couples – and single people — often buy a townhouse or condo as a first home.

Simply click for helpful information on renting or buying.

Where will you stay when you first arrive?

Most people take some time to choose an apartment or house to rent. When they first arrive, they stay in temporary accommodation.

New arrivals to Canada usually stay in a hotel room with a bed and bathroom but no kitchen. Suite hotels offer larger spaces and more conveniences, including a kitchen.

A Bed and Breakfast is usually a kind of guesthouse, where breakfast is included in your room rate.

Motels (short for motor hotels) often cost less than hotels, but most motels are far from the city centre.

Finding a hotel

• Bed and Breakfasts: A bed and breakfast is a small, private accommodation that often provides a morning meal with your stay, typically in a 1 to 3 bedroom home. The Bed and Breakfast Association of Greater Edmonton provides a list of the best in the area.
• Discount Hotels in Edmonton: is a quick search tool for finding inexpensive hotel and motel accommodation in Edmonton.
• Edmonton Hotels Guide: offers a room search and interactive maps of hotel rooms.  
• Travel Alberta Accommodations: lists Alberta Hotel & Lodging Association (AHL), more than 1,500 annually inspected properties and campgrounds.
• HotelsCombined.com is a unique search engine that consumers can use to find hotel availability and rates, and to compare prices and offers. Using this service, travelers no longer have to search websites 1 by 1 to find the best deals and lowest rates.

Help finding accommodations

• Edmonton Mennonite Centre for Newcomers: Information on service programs (language, community, and employment) and how to access them, with links to their research and resources.