Tips and tricks for DIY room painting

Before running a paint roller over any wall in your home, Ryan Tantzen, manager at Anilin Decorating Centre, says you should first "figure out your needs for the project."

"Whether you're looking to sell your home, or stay in it, will dictate those needs," he said.

The general rule of thumb? If you're looking to sell a house, it's advisable to use a light colour.

Adversity in condo market to continue in 2018

If you're a condo owner in Calgary, you may be telling yourself that "what goes down must come up," but it's a fine line between thoughtful analysis and wishful thinking.

"The condo-apartment sector is still facing a lot of challenges," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

"While sales improved in 2017, it wasn't enough to keep pace with new listings, so we still had price declines."

How Calgarians banded together to protect nature and create Nose Hill Park

In the early 1970s, the booming city of Calgary was expanding ever outward.

Developers looking for new areas to build communities cast their eyes upward in the northwest to Nose Hill, which dominated the area landscape.

Nose Hill was prime real estate, untouched by residential development, but it was also viewed by some Calgarians as an important remnant of the fast-vanishing prairie grassland ecosystem.

Brooke Barrett found the right home for her lifestyle, beside her "own private little library," in Marda Loop

After renting a small condo in a boutique building in Bankview for six years, Brooke Barrett was ready to take the plunge into homeownership. As a lawyer, she works long hours and wanted to find a maintenance-free home, close to a bevy of walkable amenities, including a library. Staying in the inner-city was also top of mind. She checked out townhomes and condos in Kensington and West Hillhurst, and considered the East Village, but in the end, she decided to make Marda Loop home, purchasing a new condo in the heart of the action on 33rd Avenue.

To find the perfect house, Kathryn Trenerry-Harker and her family only had to look down the street

Kathryn Trenerry-Harker and her husband Stu have lived in the community of Renfrew for close to 19 years. They have forged close relationships with neighbours and watched their two children – Georgia,16, and Charlie,13 – grow into teenagers. But as the kids got older, their 70-year-old, 1,000 square-foot, two-bedroom bungalow was bursting at the seams. This sent the family searching for a bigger space, one that would accommodate the kids, all their stuff and their beloved orange tabby cat, Theo.

New developments on Calgary's western edge hope to raise the bar for active, outdoor living

Two major developments in Calgary's northwest will soon solidify the area's reputation as the gateway to Rocky Mountain recreation and winter adventure.

While the nearby Trans-Canada Highway will guide future residents towards mountain playgrounds in Canmore and Banff, the communities of Rowan Park and Medicine Hill will offer their own built-in recreational amenities.

Calgary housing market to see more of the same in 2018, as sales activity holds steady and listings ease

In 2018, the Calgary housing market will face a new reality of slower growth amidst higher interest rates and more restrictive mortgage lending rules.

While that new reality should be moderated by a modest uptick in the still-recovering local economy – assuming continuation of the job growth and net migration recorded last year – CREB® anticipates flat sales and prices for resale product compared to 2017.

Ordering seed for the horticultural season ahead

"I'll start ordering seeds soon," I think to myself, as I browse the catalogues that are filling my mailbox and inbox.

As a gardener, I don't have to wait for catalogues to arrive to get in on seed mania and neither do you.
If you have a balcony or a patio, you can dream of growing Tiny Tim or Siderno Tomatoes, Delize strawberries, Mascotte green beans or flower dragon muskmelons in pots later this spring.

2017 brought positive news for the new-home market, but there's still room to improve

Will 2018 bring good news or bad news for Calgary's new-home market? As with many aspects of the real estate market, it depends on your focus.

"Looking at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. data, we saw an improvement in starts in both the single- and multi-family sectors in 2017," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.