Annually a ritual is played out in the Edmonton real estate market. This often over looked influence on the Edmonton real estate market is the Military – posting season is upon us. Annually the military posts its orders to their personnel and ships them all over Canada and the world.
Edmonton is the headquarters for Land Forces Western Area and is responsible for Canadian Military operations from Northern Ontario to the Pacific ocean. The list of personnel stationed out of Edmonton and their responsibilities is staggering, and consequently there is consistently a fair amount of movement in and out of Edmonton and its surrounding areas.
Over the years I’ve assisted countless military families relocate to and from Edmonton, St. Albert, Bon Accord and Gibbons. Some have moved for their first time and some have moved upwards of twenty times – that higher number was more common in the military, RCMP and with corporate relocations years ago and is much less reflective of current relocation policies these days.
When someone is posted in the military their move is governed by the DND’s (Department of National Defence) IRP (internal relocation policy). The IRP spells out exactly what is covered in their move which depends on their rank and other criteria. For example, if the relocating family is buying it may mean the cost (up to a certain limit) of moving and legal expenses will be covered. It usually includes a house hunting trip or maybe two, hotel accommodations in their destination while they’re house hunting among other things.
The DND, like the RCMP and many corporations, value their families and try to make these moves as stress free as possible. Like everything, nothing's perfect.
Many relocating military families realize is they have the option to work with any Realtor they choose to work with. If you are relocating consider asking other families for a recommendation, or interviewing more than one Realtor before making your selection, rather than just going with whichever REALTOR your IRP administrator suggests.
Sometimes the little things make the move alot easier. There are a number of things that we do to assist our relocating families. First of all we can meet with them online before they even come to Edmonton, to explain the differences between Alberta real estate and wherever they are coming from. We can also discuss their home search and get a lot of the preliminary work done before they arrive so there is more time for house hunting when they get here.
More specifically we focus on the needs of the entire family. Are their specific needs for the children's schooling? What about the spouse and where they are going to work? In some cases we have provided specific services to make the children's move easier. Contact with teams, pictures of their school and rooms, as well as pictures of local community amenities they might take advantage of.
I don't know for certain the number of moves annually but I do know it is significant in a number of markets all over Canada.
Contact us if you're relocating and interested in finding out more about our specific relocation services.
