If you're looking for a house, one of the criteria you're considering may be the age of the structure. Often we have clients that will consider homes no older than 5, 10 or 20 years old. It's easy for a REALTOR® to set up a search that will automatically only send homes in your desired age range. You can also search for homes in your desired age range yourself on our MLS® search site.
When you search the MLS® system for homes based on age, just how accurate are the results you get?
The age of buildings posted on the Edmonton MLS® system is what is called the "effective age." This age is determined by the city property assessments. If a home has had significant renovations done to it the city may bump up the effective age.
For example, a home built in 1911 that has been significantly modified might be given an "effective age" of 1956. In the tax records the home will be considered as built in 1956 and therefore it will show in the MLS® system as being built in 1956. This is often confusing to the general public when the age shows 1956 and in the description of the home it is "a heritage home built in 1911."
A more common occurrence is when buildings are converted into condos. For example, "The Ten" and "Cambridge Lofts" are both formerly office buildings that were converted to condos and their ages show as 1998 and 2004 respectively, when they are actually much older than that. Phillips Lofts, which was built in 1913 shows 1999 as its age on REALTOR.ca. (By the way if you like Phillips Lofts check out this video I did of a listing we recently sold in there).
So the short story is, if the age of the building you are considering purchasing is important to you, you will have to look further than just the age displayed in the MLS® system.
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Just exactly how is the “effective” age determined? Is it the actual year that the more significant remodelling (renovations) were done? This could lead to a variety of misconceptions.
That is a good question Malcolm. According to the City of Edmonton “Residential Brief” from the tax department… “The effective year built… is generally more important in establishing value than the chronological age since it measures the subject property in comparison to a typical property with respect to utility and condition for the year it was built.”
It sounds like it is fairly subjective, but basically they compare the current condition of the property to others to determine its effective age. I would imagine this takes into consideration the age of plumbing, electrical etc… They would probably also consider how much longer the building is likely to last but I don’t know for certain. I’ll see what I can find out though.
That loft is gorgeous!
Thanks for the information. When we look at the building and found it perfect(means well maintained)then we ask for the age of the building.And i never knew that the age like 5 or 10 years is not the actual age of the building but the age of the renovation. Can you tell me which age is more important the construction one or the renovation for buying a home?
Wow: “Just How Old is That Building?” A good question and then great information. Love it, and please keep it up..