Former CREB® president Bob Jablonski recalls 2012 as the year it started to turn around

Bob Jablonski doesn't have to look back too far to remember the last time Calgary's economy was booming.

During his year as CREB® president in 2012, the city was running at a full sprint due to good fortunes in the oil patch. Completion of the new West LRT, The Bow and Peace Bridge were just three of the many major initiatives that came to fruition in Calgary that year, noted Jablonski, who remembered, "the city was getting big and busy."

For many, particularly those in the real estate sector, the good news was overdue. Calgary's housing market had slumped since the 2008 financial crisis, not recovering at the same pace as other Canadian cities.

Former CREB® president Kent Lyle remembers impacts of National Energy Program like it was yesterday

It's perhaps the most contentious three words in Alberta's history: National Energy Program.

The early 1980s in the province are synonymous with the controversial federal initiative, which redistributed Alberta's oil wealth and, in turn, lead to a regional recession that few have since forgotten.

Former CREB® president Bonnie Wegerich remembered challenges, successes in 2009

Bonnie Wegerich can sum up her time as CREB®'s president in 2009 with one word: recovery.

After residential resale housing prices in Calgary reached record highs in 2007, an economic downturn the following year caused prices to drop and sales to halt – a spillover effect that went well into Wegerich's year at the helm.

"In January, we had more sales than in December, and we were very excited about that. That's where we went from. Every month was getting better than it was," remembered Wegerich, a longtime real estate professional who worked and lived in Airdrie.

Former CREB® president Joyce Travis remembered moving beyond 9/11, adapting to circumstances

Four months after devastating terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, left thousands dead in the U.S., the pain was still palatable – even as far as Calgary.

"Everybody was just shell shocked," said Travis, who, amid that atmosphere of uncertainty, took over as president of CREB®.

In Calgary, the attack led to hesitancy that was manifested, at least early on, by a sluggish housing market. Travis said consumers were reluctant to make major decisions, such as buying or selling a house.

CREB® past president Jim Ross labels digital revolution in 1996 as a game-changer

It was the cusp of the modern-day tech revolution, and Jim Ross had the best seat in the house.

"The Internet was quite new, and we were just coming to grips with the best way to head down that road," said the CREB® past president, who guided the local real estate industry in 1996 through increasing demand for digital alternatives. "At that time, we had no idea what the impact of the Internet would be, how universal it would become.

Chris Bolt recalls big changes during time as CREB® president in 1999

The year was 1999. Y2K fears gripped society, the price of oil started to rebound and construction on a controversial new building for CREB® finally got underway.

In other words, it was just another day for Chris Bolt, who, today, looks back at his presidency for the REALTOR® organization as one of his greatest career accomplishments.

But how the native of London ended up leading the province's largest real estate organization during a year of transition is even more interesting.

New listing levels starting to match sales

A new report indicates the segment of Calgary's resale residential housing market with the greatest influence on the overall market is showing signs of pricing stability.

The detached benchmark price totaled $503,400 in September, which is 3.3 per cent below last year, but the second consecutive month at this price level, reported CREB® today.

While overall economic conditions remain soft, for now the detached sector is demonstrating some steadiness in terms of pricing, the member-based organization said.

CREB® Charitable Foundation increases Investing in Hope donations to $180k

For almost 30 years, Calgary real estate professionals have been making their communities a better place through the CREB® Charitable Foundation's Investing in Hope program.

This year, they're going to be doing even more.

In response to overwhelming need in Alberta, the CREB® Charitable Foundation has upped its annual donations through the popular program to $180,000 from $150,000. That means three additional charities, and a total of 18 organizations, will each receive $10,000 in 2016 to put toward their annual budgets.

Second career was a natural transition for 2001 CREB® president Marlene Swinton

After years of managing her late husband's architecture practice, Marlene Swinton was looking for a change.

"I wanted to do something different and my cousin said, 'why not real estate? You know buildings.' I thought it might be really interesting, so I took a course and I loved it," said Swinton, who went on to fulfill a 27-year-long career in the industry that included a term as CREB®'s president in 2001.

Housing market offers some surprises, different perceptions, say local experts

A quick look at today's real estate market might not exactly fill first-time homebuyers with optimistic anticipation. Yet dig deeper and there's plenty of reason to get excited, say housing experts.

Even though home sales are down by double-digit percentages in terms of units sold and money spent compared to a year ago, the average selling price is up slightly — about two per cent, to $474,605 in August, according to CREB®.