The Government of Canada is giving financial support to the Canadian Home Builders' Association (CHBA) for their Get It In Writing! campaign.

The campaign raises awareness about the safety and financial risks the public face if they  participate in the underground economy by purchasing construction or home renovation services under the table. It provides consumers and home renovation contractors with tools and information to discourage and reduce participation in the underground economy.

Drop masks diverging local conditions in fourth quarter of 2014

Home price increases in Ontario were key to a slight decrease in housing affordability across Canada, said a report from RBC.

The bank said although owning a home at current market value in Canada was less affordable for the second straight quarter as of the end of 2014, affordability trends have stayed relatively flat since 2010.

Canada Olympic Park communities still hold memories of 1988 Winter Olympics

While the 1988 Winter Olympics are almost three decades in the books, the memories for some Calgarians are as fresh as ever.

Calgarian Duncan Anderson was 15 in 1988. As a "budding ski racer," he took a job as a film runner for Canadian Press during the games.

"Basically my job was to position myself with the photographers until the top racers had finished their runs," he said.

But don't go to your bank for a variable rate

Variable-rate mortgages are once again returning to popularity thanks to low interest rates  and the expectation the Bank of Canada will lower the overnight rate again in the near future.

For the last several years, consumers have favoured fixed-rate mortgages primarily due to the expectation rates would rise before they fell. Those expectations however, have not been fulfilled. In fact, the opposite has ensued and rates have gone lower not higher.

Many who recently took out five year fixed mortgages are now realizing they would have fared better with a variable-rate mortgage.

Setting the Stage: Tips and tricks for making your house inviting for potential buyers or transforming it into the house of your dreams.

Tips for prepping our home to be sale-ready*

When selling a home, first impressions can be the difference between someone making an offer or moving on to the next option.

Home staging is one way of preparing your home for looking its best at sale time. A study by the Real Estate Staging Association found 79 per cent of homes staged prior to listing sold faster than homes being staged post-listing.

Recreation properties still a hot commodity

Ask any Calgarian what they love most about the city they call home, and invariably you'll hear about the mountains, lakes and other attractions sitting well outside of city limits.

For those with the means, living life to the fullest often involves purchasing a second home situated closer to such locales and allowing owners the ability to ski, swim, golf or simply bask in the sunshine moments from their front door.

CREB president Corinne Lyall has joined a litany of other Calgary names in the new campaign In It Together.

"With all the negative talk in the media and the community about the price of oil and the economy, we believe that it's time to turn the tables on the situation and focus on solutions," reads the website.

In It Together is the "brainchild" of Jeff Bradshaw, owner of video agency V Strategies, with the co-operation of his staff as well as Calgary Economic Development.

Joining Lyall in making comments on the site are names such as Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Phil Robertson of Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters and Steve Allan, chairman of Calgary Economic Development.

See Lyall's video below:

February sales activity remains low

Read the monthly stats package in full here.

Year-over-year new listings growth eased from 37 per cent last month to nine per cent in February. However, as sales activity remained below long term averages for the month, Calgary inventory levels rose to 5,474 units in February.

"While housing supply levels continue to be higher than we have seen in this market for some time, they remain below February 2008 record highs of nearly 7,000 units," said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. "If the pace of growth in new listings continues to ease, this could place some downward pressure on the supply growth in the resale market."