According to CREA's September housing report, 24,897 homes changed hands through the first nine months of 2013 for an increase of 11.1 per cent. Calgary's neighbour to the north saw the second biggest increase in the country, as year-to-date sales in Edmonton rose by 8.1 per cent.

Year-over-year sales were also up substantially in Calgary, rising 20.5 per cent from to September 2012 to September of this year.

On Friday, September 27 the CREB® Charitable Foundation organized volunteers from the Charitable Foundation Board, CREB®, Kahane Law and other organizations to begin demolishing the backyard play area.

By the time the volunteer group left, after four hours of hard work, we had managed to get the crew about 2 hours ahead of schedule.

Speaking at CREB®'s recent Broker Forum Lunch, Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi stressed the need for change to the way the city handles secondary suites and suburban subsidies.

With the upcoming election set to take place Oct. 21., Mayor Nenshi renewed his call for citywide acceptance of secondary suites.

The towns around Calgary are often admired for their relaxed pace and laidback lifestyle, but for those in buying or selling a home in Airdrie, Cochrane and Okotoks, the last three months have been anything but.

A result of gains in the single-family homes sector, the three communities all recorded the highest third-quarter sales activity on record.