New homes construction in Calgary fell by 19.3 per cent in January

According to Statistics Canada, investment in new housing construction declined overall in Alberta by 19.3 per cent in January 2016 over last year.

Spending in the province decreased in all dwelling types except apartment and apartment-condominium buildings, which rose 22.5 per cent to $195 million.

With spending falling from $849.5 million to $685.4 million, Alberta's drop was the largest decline nationwide, with Saskatchewan's 30 per cent decline amounting to a cut of just $30 million.

Warm weather brings indications of spring market to city

Following the second warmest February on record, the warm, sunny snow-free conditions emblematic of a spring housing market are already on display in our city. And while Calgary's housing market hasn't yet fully emerged from the doldrums, there are at least some signs of life.

With double-digit declines being the norm in 2015 for year-over-year sales, including several months of declines in excess of 25 per cent, the first two months of 2016 have seen the decline lessen.

Since October 2015, when year-over-year sales in the city fell by 33.2 per cent according to CREB®, Calgary's housing market has seen those declines lessen to 28.7 per cent in November, 18.1 per cent in December, 12.6 percent in January 2016 with February seeing the first single-digit decline in the city since December of 2014.

Accessibility advocates call for mandatory universal design to be part of Alberta Building Code

Barry Lindemann jokes that he can tell how much his friends like him by the number of steps they have leading up to their front door.
The born-and-raised Calgarian has been in a wheelchair since 1994 when he suffered a spinal cord injury after a diving accident at Buck Lake in central Alberta. He was 22.
"I never did get to see my bedroom again because it was downstairs," he said. "It's just the way of life where stairs are the enemy. You want to go about doing the same things you use to, but it seems like there are hurdles everywhere."
As a young adult who was determined to live a full, independent life, Lindemann was fortunate to get one of the handful of barrier-free suites at Chinook House, a residential property run by the non-profit Accessible Housing.
It's still his home 21 years later.
"No one has moved from my building in almost 10 years," said Lindemann, explaining there is a lack of barrier-free homes in Calgary. "I visit new injuries at the hospital, and people are in there for six months to a year because there are no suitable living situations.
"We don't have to recreate the wheel. If you're going to build housing, build in accessibility."

A guide to distinguishing average, median and benchmark prices

Sellers and potential buyers in today's residential real estate market can be understandably excused if they are confused about what's happening with housing prices.
After all, for both, price changes in the market are supremely important. Plus, CREB® gathers price information that, to the untrained eye, can tell different stories.
For example, in February, CREB® reported the benchmark price in the city for all MLS® properties that were sold was $445,000, or down 3.45 per cent from February 2015. However, the average MLS® sale price increased by 2.72 per cent to $472,529 while the median price was unchanged at $420,000.
From top to bottom, that's a difference of close to $30,000.

"It's looking at values based on criteria such as square footage, total bedrooms and bathrooms, location, property type."

So what should one look at if they are either selling a home in this tough market or hoping to buy one?
A good start would be by looking at what each price category entails, said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. For example, the median price looks at every sale that has occurred in the market, ranking them from lowest to highest. The median price is the midpoint of all the sales.
Lurie said the average sale price is adding up the total dollar sum of the purchases divided by the number of total sales.

Highland Park reimagining could invigorate northwest community 

The former Highland Golf Course in northwest Calgary could be host to a new kind of activity in the form of a major redevelopment.

Developer Maple Projects Inc. recently shared plans for its "reimagining" of the 21-hectare site – which would include up to 2,100 housing units as well as a commercial development along Centre Street N. – at an open house which drew, among others, members of the local community association, who believe the development could provide a boost to the area.

"Absolutely, it can be a huge benefit for the community,"

"Absolutely, it can be a huge benefit for the community," said Paul Engler, chair of the development committee for the Highland Park Community Association. "We are looking very much forward to it. We are working with the developer to come up with something that's awesome for them, for our future neighbours and for our existing neighbours."

Five ways to decorate your home for spring

There's a reason we get a little spring in our step come March. After a long, dreary, cold winter, the days are getting longer and sunnier, giving us a glimpse of warm days to come.

Not only does this make us shed the heavy layers of our wardrobe, but it also inspires us to lighten up our decor at home.

"I think a lot of us get an itch toward the end of a long dark winter to see some colour and life," said Tracy Wharton, owner and principal designer of Dovecote Design Studio in Calgary.

How the right hue can change our moods 

With so many choices in paint colours, the hunt for the perfect hue can be a daunting task. And who could blame you? Most stores feature sample walls that have every colour under the sun – on one-inch-by-one-inch paint chips, to boot.

How do you convince yourself you're selecting the perfect colour? How do you commit to that one-inch teaser of colour for the next five years?

For myself, I always try to start with a hue I can build on. Then I bring more colours together on everything from trims and casings to carpets, linens or draperies.