The fork at $800,000
This price splits cleanly into two very different purchases, and buyers who do not choose deliberately tend to drift for months.
- A large, newer home in an outer community — often close to 2,500 square feet above grade, four or five bedrooms, triple garage in some, finished basement, newer everything. Commute is the cost.
- A good detached home in an established inner-ring community — smaller, older, mature trees, walkable, close to the core. You are paying for the land and the location.
Both are sound. They are not comparable on square footage, and comparing them that way is what makes this band frustrating.
What to scrutinise at this level
Renovation quality starts mattering more than renovation quantity. At $800,000 a lot of homes have been updated, and the question becomes whether the work was permitted, done properly, and to a standard the next buyer will accept. Ask for permits on any structural, electrical or plumbing work. An unpermitted basement development is a discount, not a feature.
See also: the five questions that test whether an agent knows the area →
Calgary homes currently listed around $800,000
$4,200,0002329 Bowness Road NW
$3,600,00066 Mary Dover Drive SW
$2,475,0003015 2 Street SW
$2,345,000803 25 Avenue NW
$2,200,000620 Rideau Road SW
$1,899,0002220 8 Street NE
$1,550,000216 Lake Erie Place SE
$1,450,000323 Parkview Crescent SE
$1,339,800816 21 Avenue NW
$1,150,00048 Valley Crest Gardens NW
$1,150,000301, 105 Lebel Crescent NW
$1,050,00011 Prominence Point SWShowing 12 of 6101 matching active MLS® listings in Calgary.
More homes for sale in Calgary
- 100 Crestbrook View SW · $1,039,900 · 3 bed · Detached
- 408 49 Avenue SW · $1,024,900 · 2 bed · Detached
- 51 Cougar Ridge Close SW · $989,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 40 Silver Ridge Court NW · $975,000 · 4 bed · Detached
- 203 St Moritz Drive SW · $949,900 · 3 bed · Detached
- 51 Chapalina Terrace SE · $899,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 103 St Moritz Terrace SW · $839,900 · 3 bed · Detached
- 2211A 33 Street SW · $839,000 · 3 bed · Semi Detached (Half Duplex)
- 16 Lebel Crescent NW · $824,900 · 2 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 143 Saddlestone Park NE · $799,900 · 5 bed · Detached
- 192 Cornerbrook Road NE · $799,900 · 5 bed · Detached
- 5739 Dalmead Crescent NW · $750,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 20 Carringham Heights NW · $749,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 1103 4 Street NE · $724,900 · 3 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 19 Chapman Way SE · $719,000 · 3 bed · Detached
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- 47 Chaparral Common SE · $700,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 48 Deermont Way SE · $674,900 · 3 bed · Detached
- 101 Langton Drive SW · $660,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 507 Hidden Vale Place NW · $650,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 108 Elgin Manor SE · $650,000 · 2 bed · Detached
- 216 Lucas Place NW · $649,000 · 2 bed · Detached
- 116 Rockyledge Crescent NW · $648,000 · 2 bed · Detached
- 250 Aquila Way NW · $645,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 38 Somerside Crescent SW · $624,900 · 3 bed · Detached
- 4316 53 Street NE · $600,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 436 Huntley Way NE · $599,999 · 2 bed · Detached
- 248 Douglas Ridge Green SE · $599,900 · 4 bed · Detached
- 115 Skyview Springs Gardens NE · $589,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 4724 Nipawin Crescent NW · $574,900 · 3 bed · Detached
- 60 Walcrest Gate SE · $535,000 · 3 bed · Semi Detached (Half Duplex)
- 189 Carringvue Way NW · $529,900 · 3 bed · Semi Detached (Half Duplex)
- 6839 Huntridge Hill NE · $529,900 · 3 bed · Detached
- 307, 39 Quarry Gate SE · $529,000 · 2 bed · Apartment
- 107 Coach Side Terrace SW · $525,000 · 2 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 3, 1930 26A Street SW · $525,000 · 2 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 75 Cedarwood Lane SW · $480,000 · 3 bed · Semi Detached (Half Duplex)
- 127 Erin Meadow Crescent SE · $479,900 · 3 bed · Detached
- 237 Mt Aberdeen Circle SE · $475,000 · 3 bed · Detached
- 246 Cranbrook Square SE · $449,900 · 2 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 76 Sierra Morena Green SW · $419,900 · 2 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 83 Savanna Park NE · $415,000 · 3 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 101, 60 Sage Hill Walk NW · $415,000 · 2 bed · Apartment
- 606 34 Avenue NE · $409,900 · 3 bed · Semi Detached (Half Duplex)
- 130 MacEwan Park Way NW · $400,000 · 3 bed · Semi Detached (Half Duplex)
- 1206, 1500 7 Street SW · $399,900 · 2 bed · Apartment
- 6624 Huntsbay Road NW · $394,000 · 3 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 1410, 11 Mahogany Row SE · $359,900 · 2 bed · Apartment
- 427 Redstone View NE · $349,990 · 4 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 316, 30 Cranfield Link SE · $345,000 · 2 bed · Apartment
- 6403, 20295 Seton Way SE · $330,000 · 2 bed · Apartment
- 6207 Beaver Dam Way NE · $325,000 · 1 bed · Semi Detached (Half Duplex)
- 311 Killarney Glen Court SW · $325,000 · 3 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 143 Rundleson Way NE · $319,900 · 3 bed · Semi Detached (Half Duplex)
- 41, 116 Silver Crest Drive NW · $315,000 · 2 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 18 Auburn Bay Common SE · $310,000 · 2 bed · Row/Townhouse
- 3209, 99 Copperstone Park SE · $299,900 · 2 bed · Apartment
- 1004, 1121 6 Avenue SW · $255,000 · 1 bed · Apartment
- 402C, 5601 Dalton Drive NW · $190,000 · 2 bed · Apartment
- 2110, 221 6 Avenue SE · $179,900 · 1 bed · Apartment
What income do you need for an $800,000 home?
We will not publish a figure — but at this price there is a real decision behind the question, which is whether you are buying with an insured or an uninsured mortgage. It changes the arithmetic more than a few thousand dollars of income does.
The minimum down payment at $800,000 is $55,000: 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the next $300,000. Insured mortgages remain available up to a $1,500,000 purchase price, so this band still has the choice. Twenty per cent — $160,000 — removes the default insurance premium and moves you into uninsured lending.
Neither is automatically better. Insured mortgages often carry slightly lower interest rates, and the premium is normally added to the mortgage rather than paid in cash; in Alberta there is no provincial sales tax on that premium, unlike Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan. Against that, 20% down means a smaller loan and no premium at all. Insured lending also brings fixed rules — debt service ratios of 39% and 44%, and a minimum credit score of 600 for at least one borrower — where uninsured lenders set their own limits.
Either way you are qualified at the greater of your contract rate plus two percentage points, or 5.25%. Should you put 5%, 10% or 20% down works through the trade-off, and our affordability page covers what reduces the number.