Longevity key to housing market during oil price recovery: CREB

It's still too early to tell how Calgary's resale housing market will respond to recent gains in the price of oil, said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie.

"We have to see how long – if [oil prices] continue to move up, how much it moves up, when it stops ... That's what we're looking for. So it is still too early," she said.

After significant declines starting in October, oil prices started to see some improvements recently before another slight drop this week. West Texas Intermediate, a U.S. grade of oil used a benchmark for North American oil prices was just over $53 US a barrel this week after dropping to near $40 earlier this year and is off 43.32 per cent compared to the same time last year.

City looking into laneway housing as a residential option for Calgarians

While Calgary council's stance on secondary suites remains at a stalemate, laneway housing is being touted as a potential solution to ongoing housing shortages in the city.

Laneway houses are self-contained living spaces consisting of a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen located within or on the same property as a detached home.

Suites could be detached secondary suites located in the backyard or adjacent to the alley of a home.
Calgarian Lesley McLaughlin lived in an above-garage suite in the southwest community of Rosscarrock for two years.

The works of some imaginative young minds are the inspiration of the Calgary Home + Garden Show's new Home Tweet Home project.

In a silent auction running the duration of the show - Feb. 26 to March 1 - attendees can bid on birdhouses designed by "local influencers" taking inspiration from works by young beneficiaries of Ronald McDonald House Charities Southern Alberta, with all proceeds directly benefiting the charity.

Calgary councillors, local food activists working towards urban hen pilot project

A prominent local food activist is urging the city to rethink their opposition to backyard coops, arguing the advantages of urban livestock far outweigh their potential drawbacks.

"[Hens are] amazing for (the consumption of) organic household wastes. They're amazing for pest control in the backyard, they eat bugs and all kinds of different things," said Paul Hughes, a farm manager with urban farm Grow Calgary and the founder of the Canadian Liberated Urban Chicken Klub (CLUCK).

"They then will produce from that consumption of food and feed. They will produce a beautiful, nutritious egg that has about 33 per cent more nutrients than what we call an industrial egg from a battery-cage operation."

Don't leave money on the table

February is RRSP month. It is also a good time for a mortgage checkup in order to avoid leaving  hard-earned money on the table.

Banks and mortgage lenders send out mortgage statements annually at this time of year. Some people put them in the trash, while others file them away neatly. Smart borrowers, however, submit them to their mortgage professional for review.

For example, a homeowner who has a $250,000 mortgage could save $10,000 to $15,000 or more over the next five years by taking advantage of lower interest rates and switching to a variable-rate or a lower price fixed mortgage.

Rise in listings adds options to condo market

Calgary's housing market was a welcome sight to many new homebuyers in January, particularly those dipping their toes into the attached and apartment sectors.

Citywide listings in the categories ballooned by 38 and 52 per cent, respectively, in January compared to the same period last year. Sales, meanwhile, declined by as much as 43 per cent – creating, when combined with an increase in listings, an influx of inventory and thus more options for would-be buyers.

City's multi-family mandate for recycling drawing nearer

The City is urging landlords to start thinking about recycling sooner than later as the deadline nears for new mandatory recycling rules in multi-family units.

"What we're trying to do right now is encourage all the building owners or their designated management group to find a recycling option for their residents that works best for them and their building type," said Parnell Legg, waste diversion specialist with the City.

The City-assessed value of both single residential and condominium properties in Calgary recorded double-digit growth in 2015.

According to the City of Calgary, which mailed out more than half a million property and business notice to residents in early January, the 2015 median single residential assessment grew by 10 per cent to $475,000 from $430,000 in 2014. The median residential condominium assessment, meanwhile, is up 11 per cent to $290,000 from $260,000.

Here are five things you need to know about this year's assessments: