The Orchards At Ellerslie Edmonton Neighbourhood Buyer Guide: Homes, Amenities & Prices

Last updated: September 19, 2026

The Orchards at Ellerslie is the newer half of Edmonton’s Ellerslie story. Where neighbouring Summerside is built around a private lake, The Orchards is built around a residents-only recreation hub – a Club House with a hockey rink, spray park, and racquet courts – and it sits one road south of Summerside across 25 Avenue SW. It’s one of the strongest-appreciating neighbourhoods in the city right now. This guide covers the fees you’ll actually pay, what homes cost, which school serves which part of the community, and how it stacks up against Summerside.

All figures come from the City of Edmonton’s 2026 assessment roll, HonestDoor’s September 2026 market data, and the Orchards Residents Association.

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The Residents Association and Club House

What you’re really buying into in The Orchards is the Orchards Residents Association (ORA) — a not-for-profit that owns and operates the community’s private recreation amenities. Membership is automatic when you buy a home here, and it’s secured by a legal encumbrance registered on the title of every property. You don’t opt in or out.

What that buys is genuinely substantial for the money. The Club House anchors the community and residents get year-round access to an NHL-sized hockey rink and a pleasure skating rink in winter, a spray park in summer, tennis and pickleball courts, basketball and ball hockey, a toboggan hill, a community tool shed, bike rentals, and community gardens. The ORA also runs recreation programs, camps, fitness classes, and family events through the year. At roughly $36 a month, it’s one of the lowest-cost amenity packages in the city’s newer suburbs.

Landlords take note: the ORA allows you to transfer Club House privileges to your tenants, but you remain responsible for the fees either way.

Key takeaways:

• 2026 ORA fee: $432.38 + GST ($454.00 including GST) — about $36/month
• A $550/year encumbrance is registered on each title and adjusted with CPI + GST
• Club House access is automatic and cannot be opted out of

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Housing Mix and Build Era

The Orchards is a master-planned community by Brookfield Residential, established in 2007 and built out through the 2010s and early 2020s — so the housing stock is meaningfully newer than Summerside’s.

The practical effect for buyers is fewer maintenance surprises: most homes are modern open-concept builds with attached garages, current building envelopes, and basements that are often undeveloped and ready to finish. That said, “newer” still means 10–15 years old in the earliest phases, so furnaces, hot water tanks, and roofs on those homes deserve the same inspection attention as anywhere else. Ask for the age of major mechanicals regardless of how new the house looks.

Key takeaways:

• Roughly two-thirds low-density (single- and semi-detached) homes, the rest apartments and rowhousing
• Established 2007; most homes built 2010–2020 — newer than adjacent Summerside
• Newer stock still needs full inspection rigour on 10–15 year-old mechanicals

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What Homes Cost in The Orchards

The Orchards sits in the upper-middle band for southeast Edmonton, but it’s been one of the city’s fastest-appreciating neighbourhoods — so the entry point has been moving.

The City’s 2026 assessment puts the median assessed detached home at $594,000 and the median condo/townhome at $350,000. HonestDoor’s live market read is lower and more current at $523,810 average across all property types — with a 14.02% year-over-year increase, the 17th-fastest growth of any Edmonton neighbourhood. That’s running against the broader city trend, where sales have cooled and inventory sits well above last year — our August 2026 market update covers the citywide picture. Recent sales in the community have ranged from just over $300,000 for apartments up to $672,000 for larger detached homes.

One useful nuance: assessed values and market values don’t always agree here. HonestDoor’s house valuations sit roughly $28,000 below the city’s assessed averages, and condo valuations sit more than $30,000 below. Assessment is a tax baseline calculated from an annual snapshot — it isn’t what a buyer will pay today.

Budget for the extras too. On a $594,000 assessed detached home, property tax runs about $6,156/year — roughly $513/month at Edmonton’s 2026 residential rate — and lenders count it in your affordability math. Our property taxes in Edmonton guide breaks that down. The minimum down payment on a $594,000 home is $34,400 (5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% above), or $118,800 at a conventional 20%; our down payment guide covers the tiers and buyer programs, and the First Home Guide walks through the buying process step by step.

Key takeaways:

• Median assessed detached: $594,000 (+2.3% YoY); condo/townhome: $350,000 (+10.8%)
• Average property price $523,810, up 14.02% year-over-year — among Edmonton’s fastest-growing
• Property tax ≈ $513/month on the median detached home; average rent ≈ $2,509

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Schools

The Orchards has something most newer Edmonton neighbourhoods don’t: a K–9 public school inside the community.

Jan Reimer School (Edmonton Public, K–9) is located at 360 Orchards Boulevard SW and serves The Orchards North, along with Summerside South and Summerside West. It opened in 2017 and currently serves about 1,171 students. It has closed boundaries, so only resident students inside the attendance area — and returning siblings — can enrol.

That boundary detail matters. The Orchards is a large neighbourhood, and not every part of it feeds the same school. Adjacent Ellerslie Campus is also closed-boundary and full in planned classes from Kindergarten to Grade 9 for 2026–27, which means overflow families can be directed further afield. If school access is a deciding factor for you, confirm your exact address with Edmonton Public Schools or the Edmonton Catholic School Division before you make an offer — not after.

Key takeaways:

• Jan Reimer School (K–9) is inside The Orchards, serving Orchards North + Summerside South/West
• Both Jan Reimer and nearby Ellerslie Campus have closed boundaries
• Verify your specific address with EPSB/ECSD before buying

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Amenities, Commute, and Transit

The Orchards is designed around its greenways and its residents’ hub rather than walkable retail. Everyday shopping and dining is a short drive — the Ellerslie and Summerside commercial areas are minutes away, and South Edmonton Common is roughly 10 minutes. Downtown Edmonton is about 20–25 minutes by car in normal traffic. The neighbourhood scores well on city planning metrics: the City’s neighbourhood statistics put 100% of homes within 500 metres of parkland, within 400 metres of transit service, and within 600 metres of commercial service.

Access to the wider city is good. The Orchards sits close to Ellerslie Road, 66 Street, 41 Avenue, Calgary Trail (Highway 2), and Anthony Henday Drive — the City’s own planning documents highlight that regional accessibility as one of the area’s core strengths.

Transit is the trade-off, exactly as it is in neighbouring Summerside. There is no LRT station inside The Orchards, and none planned within the neighbourhood; service is bus-based. If a daily LRT commute is essential to your routine, this part of southeast Edmonton will be a compromise.

Key takeaways:

• Designed around greenways and the Club House rather than walkable retail
• Strong road access: Ellerslie Rd, 66 St, Calgary Trail, and Anthony Henday
• Bus-based transit with no LRT in the neighbourhood

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The Orchards vs Summerside

These two communities sit directly across 25 Avenue SW from each other and attract the same buyer, so it’s worth comparing them side by side.

The short version: choose The Orchards for newer homes, a lower entry price, and a recreation-hub lifestyle; choose Summerside for the lake and a larger, more established community. The Orchards has been appreciating faster over the past year, and its homes are newer. Summerside offers the private lake — a genuinely unique amenity — and a deeper resale market. Both carry a residents association fee for the amenity, and both are car-dependent. For a full breakdown of the other side of 25 Avenue, see our Summerside neighbourhood buyer guide. And if you’re weighing either as a rental, our Edmonton investing guide covers the rental math.

Key takeaways:

• Similar RA fee (~$432 vs ~$443); different amenity — Club House vs private lake
• The Orchards: newer homes, lower average price, faster YoY growth
• Summerside: lake lifestyle, larger community, higher average price

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Frequently Asked Questions

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The Bottom Line

The Orchards at Ellerslie is one of southeast Edmonton’s best-value newer communities. A median assessed detached home near $594,000 and an average property price around $524,000 put it below Summerside and much of the city’s southwest, while the on-site Club House, K–9 school, and greenway network deliver real day-to-day value for the $432 annual association fee. The catch is familiar for this part of the city: you’ll drive for most errands, there’s no LRT, and school boundaries are tight — so verify your address before you commit.

Planning a move in southeast Edmonton? Book a free consultation and I’ll run the numbers on The Orchards against Summerside, Walker, and Chappelle for your budget.