Household income strong when compared to housing prices, other cities

Calgary homebuyers will continue to fare well as the city's affordability index will likely outpace other major urban centres in the country for the rest of this year, say experts.

RBC Economics senior economist Robert Hogue attributes Calgary's affordability moving forward to continued high household incomes in the city – especially when compared to cities such as Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal

"It's not because house prices are so cheap. It's because it's the market in Canada where the income is the highest," he said. "We measure affordability as a percentage of household income."

First traditional hotel in town in 20 years 

The Town of Canmore has approved plans for a 124-room hotel and conference centre at Spring Creek.

Following a year of record-breaking tourism, the Malcolm Hotel will help address accommodation for the increasing number of visitors to the town.

Located in the heart of Canmore, it will be the first traditional hotel built in the town in 20 years.

Annual ROAR awards handed out to Calgary real estate profession

Five members of Calgary's real estate community walked away with top honours earlier this month as CREB® hosted its third annual ROAR (Recognizing our Accomplished REALTORS®) Awards at Telus Spark.

Hosted this year by Canadian comedian Gerry Dee, the coveted event was designed to celebrate the talent and accomplishments of Calgary and area real estate professionals in the areas of professionalism, excellence, dedication, mentorship and community involvement.

Julie-Ann Nasiri of CIR Realty walked away with People's REALTOR® honours. Of the five awards handed out during the evening, the People's REALTOR® is the only one where nominations originated from the public.

Sales dip in Airdrie and Okotoks while Cochrane activity on the rise

Calgary's regional resale residential housing market didn't fare much better than its larger urban counterpart in April, posting sales declines almost across the board, according to CREB®.

Year-to-date sales in Airdrie eased by nearly eight per cent over last year's levels to 405 transactions, but remained higher than long-term averages, the board recently reported in its monthly regional roundup.

Benchmark prices in Calgary's neighbour to the north decreased by three per cent from last year to $363,400, and overall remained more than two per cent below the highs recorded in 2015.

Making house paint choices that work with your landscape

Gardeners can be so silly. They paint or redo the exterior of their homes, spending all the money they've saved for Hawaii, and suddenly the plants they have nurtured for years are a disaster with their new colour.

Now the landscape needs to be redone because Blue-chip junipers vanish in front dark blue stucco and majestic Amur cherries, with their copper bark, look dull in front of a newly painted red house.

Bright pink double-flowering plums are dreadful in front of a Tuscan shade of orange, while lime-yellow Golden Elders clash with beige of any kind.

Urban developments are playing nice with rural areas, say experts

Responsible urban development currently taking place outside of Calgary proves that growth doesn't have to come at a cost, say local agriculture and planning officials.

As subdivisions push evermore into rural areas — with neighbourhoods bordering on fields of wheat and other crops — their impact on agricultural land has recently become a hot-button topic, said Tim Dietzler, an agricultural expert with Rocky View County.

"This is not a new issue in this area or any area in Alberta with development new agricultural land," he said. "But many municipalities now pay much more attention to the potential problems that can arise."

April housing sales tell different stories for districts 

While the sun might be shining in Calgary this spring, this city's resale residential housing market was overshadowed by another month of declining sales and prices in April, according to CREB®.

However, despite inclement conditions, some areas of the city and segments of the market emerged as bright spots, with several posting double-digit sales increases, the board reported in its recent monthly housing summary.
Calgary's West district recorded 128 detached sales in April, a nearly 31 per cent increase when compared to last year. It was followed by the North West, which posted a 20 per cent increase in detached sales with 187 units, the North at more than 11 per cent to 166 detached sales and City Centre at nearly four per cent to 111 detached units.

"Our market is incredibly diverse, and these numbers verify that. Different areas and price points have and will continue to react divergently to economic conditions," said CREB® president Cliff Stevenson.

By the numbers

Calgary's housing market has remained relatively unchanged this spring. With reoccurring year-over-year sales declines and benchmark price reductions receiving most of the attention, CREB®Now takes a closer look at some of the overlooked numbers to come out of the city's real estate market.

46
According to CREB®'s latest housing numbers, the average time a listing spent on the market before finding a new owner stood at 46 days in April. That's up from 43 days in March and 40 days in April 2015. With 3,127 homes in Calgary's inventory, the city currently has 2.76 months of supply, with a sales-to-new-listings ratio of 62 per cent.

Real estate industry has undergone monumental shift, says CREB®'s longest-tenured past president

When Roy Wilson describes the early days in the 1950s in which he got his start in real estate, it quickly becomes clear just how much Calgary and the real estate industry has changed in one lifetime.

"I've seen lots of ups and downs," said Wilson, who headed up CREB®'s board of directors in 1961, officially making him the organization's longest-tenured past president.

In fact, he describes today's market as "taking a kick in the teeth" but, adds confidently, "it's going to turn around."

Open to the public this weekend

The folks behind the Harmony development in Springbank lifted the veil Thursday to its new 3,700-square-foot Discovery Centre, providing new details on the much-anticipated lake community just west of Calgary, including a first look at the Phil-Mickelson designed 18-hole golf course.

The centre is intended to introduce curious homebuyers and Springbank neighbours with new details of Harmony, which will eventually be home to approximately 10,000 people. Included are interactive exhibits that provide visitors with a massive projection model of the community, detailed displays and videos on the community vision and a tribe to the Copithorne family, which originally ranched the area.

"Given current market conditions, buyers are more cautious about making a purchasing decision and want to be more informed," says Maribeth Janikowski, communications manager for Qualico Communities, with is developing the community with Bordeaux Developments.