To this day, whenever Hyder Hassan comes across a Subaru WRX STI sedan, he's reminded of the very first home he ever purchased.

With electric vehicles (EVs) touted as the wave of the future, many homeowners considering a switch from gas are left wondering whether their home can handle the charging needs of a battery-powered car, truck or SUV.

When it comes to staging a home, the best advice is usually to make it look like you'd want to live there. But what do you do when you're staging a space that will be home to vehicles rather than people?

City delves into intelligent traffic technologies in preparation of autonomous future

There's method to the madness that is Calgary's rush-hour traffic.

And if autonomous vehicles play into mainstream society the way many are predicting, our city could be at the forefront of changing that daily commute, suggest local officials.

While drivers stuck in gridlock may feel differently, Calgary currently operates one of the most advanced traffic systems in Canada – a claim backed up earlier year in a TomTom Traffic Index survey that identified Calgary as the least congested city in Canada.

The car-less lifestyle is trending, but Calgary's housing market still driven by the automobile, say experts

Cars aren't going anywhere soon, and neither is Calgary homebuyers' desire for neighbourhoods – or condominiums for that matter – that support their automobile-driven lifestyles, say housing experts.

While much is being made about efforts to create a more pedestrian-friendly city that focuses on "vertical growth," Calgarians still very much enjoy the freedom that comes with driving an automobile. And they
want their residence — whether it's a condo, townhome or single-detached house — to support their yen for putting the pedal to the metal, said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) regional economist Lai Sing Louie.

"Most people still want parking," he said. "They want the freedom to come and go with a car at their disposal, and they're willing to pay a lot of money to afford that."

*CREB®Now real estate news luxury feature*

Hot and haute rides complete today's million-dollar mansions

The extravagance of Calgary's luxury listings, inevitably, comes down to the details – the crystals in the chandelier, the velvet in the carpet and the pixels on the big screen. After all, achieving affluence in the home means striving for perfection.

Yet ironically, this feat is most commonly being discovered in the garage, where petroleum princes are going hand in hand with today's palatial palaces.