Driven by dropping inventories, a new report shows prices across housing types in Calgary have seen strong growth over the last year.

According to the Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast, detached bungalows increased by 5.9 per cent year-overyear to $457,889, while condos saw an increase of 6.0 per cent to $261,933. The greatest price growth occurred in the standard two-storey home sector, where prices increased 6.7 per cent to $453,789.

With an expected increase of Canada's overnight lending rate in 2014, first-time homebuyers will want to take notice of the escalating cost of borrowing when it comes to the purchase of a home.

For the most part, the Canadian overnight rate has remained at one per cent since September 2010 to counter world markets affected by recession. Some buyers may be expecting those low interest rates to last for a while. In a report released by BMO, one-third of firsttime buyers polled expect interest rates to stay the same over the next five years.

Calgary has lifted its state of emergency as of 10:16 a.m. this morning.

While the state of emergency — first declared June 20 — has been lifted, the Municipal Emergency Plan (MEP) remains in effect as recovery and relief efforts continue. Under the MEP, the Calgary Emergency Management Agency and other partners will continue to co-ordinate recovery and relief efforts resulting from flooding.

Following the floods that wreaked havoc on so many Calgary homes, the damage is obvious. Streets lined with soggy drywall and waterlogged flooring are visible proof of how widespread the damage was.

But for some the damage was less apparent. On the edges of the floodwaters, the impact may have consisted nothing more than a damp carpet. However, despite appearances, residents should take care to ensure there are no potential dangers lurking out of sight.

Nestled along Calgary's Crowchild Trail, the established communities of Brentwood and Dalhousie offer quiet family living a stones throw from the downtown core.

"It's a quieter community, the location's nice, it's not too far out of downtown and its not tucked away in the suburbs," said Adrian Murphy who called Brentwood home for four years. "There's good transit routes, good restaurants, you've got the McMahon stadium there which is nice ... there's lots of recreational things to do down there."

Too soon to see any impact that flood would have on resale activity

City of Calgary monthly residential sales totaled 2,317, a six per cent increase over June 2012 figures, and nearly five per cent higher than levels recorded in the first half of 2012. However, the
impact of recent flooding is expected to trickle into the housing statistics over coming months.