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May 04, 2017 | Andrea Cox
Together in Walden
With the purchase of a three bedroom townhome in Walden, a young Calgary couple embarks upon their new life together
On a warm spring day in March, Kristen Lee and Joshua Gregory, both 22, grabbed some coffee to go and set out on a day of touring show homes. They just want to see what was available and enjoy the day, but when they came upon a three bedroom townhome design at Walden Place by Cardel Lifestyles in the southeast community of Walden, they were sold.
At the time, they were both living at home with their parents and had excellent jobs. Kristen is a chemist and Joshua works for a security company, so they had a decent nest egg saved up. They mulled it over for a bit, and a week later, at the beginning of April, they signed the papers and put down their deposit.
May 25, 2017 | Kathleen Renne
Building home equity
A long-time renter transitions into home ownership and begins building tax-free capital gains
Nathan Magee knows a thing or two about renting. Since moving to Calgary in 1999, he has rented apartments, duplexes, houses and rooms in neighbourhoods as disparate as Bridlewood, Marda Loop, Forest Lawn and downtown.
Magee rented for 14 years in Calgary before deciding it was time to buy in 2013.
"What really pushed my wife and I over the edge was a combination of things. We were renting a house in Marda Loop at the time and the place got broken into four times. Plus, the rent was going up to $2,000 a month. That's when we thought, 'Let's get out of here and look at buying,'" recalled Magee.
May 18, 2017 | Joel Schlesinger
From dank to swank
Basements are going upscale.
If you're looking to make your home stand out in Calgary's real estate market, it's no longer simply a matter of having a finished basement with some storage, an extra bedroom, full bathroom and a media room.
These days, Calgary's better homes are stealing a page from the 1970s – complete with wet bar and wine cellar to create an air of hospitality.
May 18, 2017 | Gerald Vander Pyl
Got grill?
Warm summer days mean spending time with family and friends, and what better way to do that than with a barbecue.
May 16, 2017 | CREB
Meet the stars of real estate
The 2017 Recognizing Our Accomplished REALTORS® (ROAR) Award finalists have been announced! Check out this year’s real estate game changers.
May 04, 2017 | CREBNow
Lots for lease
The suburban commercial real estate market has mostly avoided the high vacancy rates seen downtown, but levels are creeping upwards in suburban malls
The economic downturn of the past two years has had a widespread impact on Calgary's retail sector with businesses in the core particularly hard hit.
Two years of a recession in 2015 and 2016 have taken their toll as thousands of people in the city's central business district were victims of layoffs in the oil patch, which takes up the vast majority of space in the downtown office market.
With thousands of potential customers gone, retail stores and restaurants have felt the pinch.
May 11, 2017 | Barb Livingstone
The affordability equation
Brad Ridler sounds like many first-time homebuyers, anxious to move into his just purchased condo and start putting "a lot of good things in motion."
But when the 32-year-old Ridler and his fiancée Courtney Boyce started their home search more than a year ago, the marketing professional was acutely aware of all the obstacles, including certain financial requirements associated with new mortgage rules.
May 04, 2017 | CREBNow
The new look housing market
City-wide prices hold steady in April as labour market conditions pick up
It's not a completely new look at this point, but it's definitely newish.
With recent improvements in the labour market and a balanced detached sector, city-wide benchmark prices reached $439,600 in April, similar to the previous month, but 0.90 per cent below last year's levels.
April 27, 2017 | Andrea Cox
Braeside journeyman
Craig Iseke used his cabinetmaking skills to renovate his '70s bungalow and is loving the results
High school teacher and journeyman cabinetmaker Craig Iseke has two loves: hanging out in the mountains (doing outdoorsy things like biking, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing and fishing ), and designing and crafting wood furniture. So when he decided to sell his Marda Loop home and look for something a little more off the beaten path, but closer to the school that he was teaching at, he had a long list of must-haves. First on that list was space to store all his sporting gear. After searching MLS® System Listings for close to five months, he found an 1,100 square foot bungalow on a 50-foot lot in the southwest community of Braeside. The home, built in 1972, was in need of a renovation, an endeavor right up Iseke's alley.
April 27, 2017 | Miles Durie
No rain? No problem
Gardening technology can automate the watering of your garden and can even tell you when your plants need nutrients
When it comes to gardening, there are three kinds of people. First, there are those who have zero interest in getting their hands dirty. They wouldn't know a hosta from a hydrangea, and are happy with a house full of artificial plants.
Then there are the hard-core green thumbs. They start flowers and vegetables indoors in March. Their favourite channel is HGTV, and they listen avidly to radio call-in shows whenever gardening is the topic. Their idea of a perfect winter afternoon is hanging out in a garden centre greenhouse.
