New Year Begins With Slow Start 

City of Calgary, Tost Realty Group, February 1, 2019

As challenges related to the economy continue into the 2019 year, the market as a whole is still on the slow side.  January sales totalled 804 units, sitting at 16 per cent below last year, and 21 percent below long-term monthly averages. 

Chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie stated last week that:  “The slow start to the year does not come as a surprise, as concerns about job losses and the state of the energy sector weigh on consumers.  We anticipate that the slow market conditions will persist throughout much of the first quarter."

The number of new listings entering the market is still comparable to last year's data, but those levels have increased beyond normal sales activity.  Higher inventory levels are the main culprit for this occurrence. Elevated inventories in relation to sales...

Expanding Calgary’s Livable Space Through CFB Calgary Redevelopment 

Development plans throughout Calgary often have interesting histories, but one of the most interesting and comprehensive development stories can be traced back to 1996 when the federal budget called for closing CFB Calgary and other bases throughout the country. Not only did this decision change how Canadian Forces bases were used, but it also created a significant amount of land that could be put to use for different purposes. It was from this change in the federal budget that many of Calgary’s new residential developments were born. 

Making the Decision to Close CFB Calgary 

While the 1996 federal...

Writer: Jon Weirman

“Mad Men” has always been known as one of the most brilliant TV portrayals ever regarding the perils, pride, and rewards of the advertising business, and taking place in the last 1960's gave it a unique flair. After being challenged to come up with a tagline for Jaguar, they put their heads together and lamented in one sweeping and all-encompassing statement that the brand name offers “At last, something beautiful you can truly own”. These fictional advertising...

There’s no stopping urban renewal the Calgary real estate scene.   Old makes way for new and many established neighbourhoods are experiencing a renaissance.  The demand for new, modern homes for sale in inner-city neighbourhoods grows every day and there are so many reasons why.

From a zoning point of view, the City of Calgary’s sustainability plan dictates that developers create residential density.  Housing people along transit corridors and within walking distance to work and essential services is good for the environment and creates healthy communities.  Part of the plan was to stem the flow of suburban sprawl, as Calgary is one of the largest cities in North America per square kilometre but without the...

While drilling down into some of the new statistics that the Calgary Real Estate Board recently released, we discovered something very interesting.   The district of Calgary West  which is loosely defined as everything west of Crowchild Trail, north of Glenmore Trail/Highway 8 and south of the river or Trans-Canada Highway, is one of the city’s most stable market areas. That’s in all housing types, from single-family to attached, town homes and condos.  Calgary West showed the strongest annual growth in 2017 with only City Centre to look up to.

The Proof is in the Numbers

As the following chart will show, the communities in Calgary West survived the recent downturn as the best for single-family homes and was the runner-up for apartment condos. ...

 As the make-up of today’s families change so does the way families live in our city and the type of real estate purchased in Calgary.  Hence the rise of homes with duo or double master bedrooms.  Lifestyle often dictates architectural style and that’s what we’re beginning to see in Calgary homes. 

Why They’re Referred to as Master Bedrooms 

Looking back through history, the largest and grandest chamber or bedroom in a home, was used by the owner or master of the estate.  The French term was “chambre des maitres”.    The term when applied to new home construction really came into its own in the 1920s, when houses in urban neighbourhoods began to feature one bedroom that was larger than the others in the home, with larger closets...