Albertans purchasing a new place to call home will have warranty coverage for their purchase under new legislation proposed by the Alberta government.

Bill 5, the New Home Buyer Protection Act, was introduced in the legislature on Oct. 25. The Act requires builders to provide home warranty coverage for all new homes built in the province starting in fall 2013.

A recent pilot project from City Hall has once again cast a spotlight on the hotly contested issue of secondary suites in Calgary. One of Mayor Naheed Nenshi's major talking points during his 2010 campaign, the citywide legalization of secondary suites, remains an unrealized goal as the Mayor comes to the end of his term.

Although city council agreed in April to allow the suites in all new neighbourhoods, it's unlikely such a move will make much of a dent in Calgary's hot rental market.

With economic growth and job creation supporting housing demand in the province, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is predicting more good news for Alberta's housing market.

According to CMHC's third quarter 2012 Housing Market Outlook, sales, prices and starts are in the province are all predicted to increase over the next year.

With the release of the Canadian Infrastructure Report Card, drinking water was the class troublemaker receiving the poorest ranking.

The report card assesses the condition of infrastructure in four categories: drinking water, wastewater, storm water and municipal roads.

Since 1987, the Campbell family in the Calgary community of Rocky Ridge has been transforming their home into a veritable cornucopia of Halloween scares while raising money for a good cause.

"It started just as a way to keep kids entertained on the street and then within the first couple years I was known at the school as a witch," said Myrna Campbell laughing. "Every year it grows bigger and bigger and more and more. More elaborate, more details."

In a Housing Confidence report released by BMO, 46 per cent of Canadian homeowners intend to buy a property in the next five years.

The intentions signal a high level of confidence in the Canadian housing market. An increase in process how-ever, could change the minds of potential buyers.

Condos continue to be a big draw for Calgary buyers. According to the latest numbers from CREB®, Resale totals for condo apartments grew to 276 deals last month, up 17 per cent from 236 last year, with sales in both apartment and townhouse condos increasing last month compared to the same time in 2011.

Demand for condos in the Calgary market comes in stark contrast to Toronto, where condo sales plunged 20.5 per cent in the third quarter of the year, despite a 6.5 per cent rise in new listings.

Calgary is not really known for its old architecture, but in some homes, it appears residents of old just won't leave.

While in the scheme of things Calgary is a fairly young city, it has no shortage of haunted sightings. At Heritage Park alone, nearly all of the buildings have been relocated to the park, and in a lot of them, their former residents have stayed on.

Proposed downtown developments in Calgary will be more than welcome as the city has an office vacancy rate of only 5.4 per cent.

According to Barclay Street Real Estate's Office Market Review, year-to-date office absorption in Calgary as of August was 2.38 million sq. ft. due to the addition of 1.84 million sq. ft. from the recently completed Bow Building.