REALTORS® serving Calgary and area

 

CREB Now Logo

Calgary's trusted source of real estate news, advice and statistics since 1983.

 

Stories Tagged - past presidents

Clair J Cote Jr. currently lives in Canmore, where he retired after working in the Calgary real estate industry for decades. Photo by Michelle Hofer/for CREB®Now
News

Sept. 14, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 years of Calgary Real Estate: 1974 CREB® president Clair J. Cote Jr.

Clair J. Cote Jr. follows in father's historic footsteps by leading CREB® through 1974

When Clair J. Cote Jr. became CREB®'s president in 1974, Calgary was partway through a decade marked by unprecedented growth, both in business and real estate development.

The year prior, the Arab oil embargo set off the first global energy crisis, leading to efforts in Alberta to lessen the dependence on foreign oil. Calgary, where oil companies were headquartered, prospered.

For Cote, the 1970s stand out as a time in which his brokerage, which started in 1964, grew.

Former CREB® president Alan Tennant recalls Calgary's real estate industry in 1998 was marked by continued adoption of new technologies and increased mobility among real estate professionals. Photo by Michelle Hofer/For CREB®Now
News

Sept. 14, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 Years of Calgary Real Estate: 1998 CREB® president Alan Tennant

Former CREB® president Alan Tennant recalls 1998 as one with few challenges

Alan Tennant summarizes Calgary's resale residential housing market in 1998 in one word: stable.

"I recall doing monthly statistic releases throughout the year, and trying to find new ways to state 'stable,'" said Tennant, who was CREB®'s president that year. "I remember [the market] now more fondly than I did at the time. Back then, it seemed almost boring."

Corinne Lyall said changing market conditions benefited the buyer when she was CREB® president in 2015. Photo by Michelle Hofer/For CREB®Now
News

Sept. 14, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 Years of Calgary Real Estate: 2015 CREB® President Corinne Lyall

Former CREB® president Corinne Lyall focused on different drivers behind housing market in 2015

Corinne Lyall is all too familiar with many of the challenges currently facing homebuyers and sellers in Calgary. She served as CREB®'s president just last year when the economic downturn was arguably at its strongest, is currently past president on the board of directors for the real estate member organization and is broker at her own firm Royal Lepage Benchmark.

Yet her message today is the same as it was when she had the gavel in hand: real estate is personal.

At a time when employment uncertainty had waned for years, 1995 CREB® president Wayne McAlister recalled there being hope on the horizon that year in the form of jobs. Photo by Michelle Hofer/For CREB®Now
News

Aug. 23, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 years of Calgary Real Estate: 1995 CREB® President Wayne McAlister

Despite a challenging year, 1995 CREB® president Wayne McAlister chose to focus on the silver linings

A self-described "eternal optimist," Wayne McAlister still couldn't be blamed for looking back at 1995 with some degree of pessimism.

After all, as CREB®'s president that year, he oversaw Calgary's housing industry at a time when employment uncertainty had waned for years, resulting in weak consumer confidence and a painfully slow market.

"There was a downturn in the early '90s, with oil down – dramatically low – and the whole economy was feeling the pinch," he said. "(By 1995), we were still experiencing an economic downturn. There was some good, some bad that year."

2003 CREB® president Rosalee Krygier says many REALTORS® were initially reluctant to embrace the Internet. Photo by Michelle Hofer/For CREB®Now
News

Aug. 22, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 years of real estate: 2003 CREB® president Rosalee Krygier

President's tenure marked by arrival of MLXchange, rise in Internet usage 

When Rosalee Krygier took on the president's role at CREB® in 2003, the industry had just finished a record-breaking year.

Though the 2003 market didn't quite reach the frenetic pace of the year before, it was still a strong year.

"It was really balanced," Krygier said. "It was good, steady, not a controversial market."

Marilyn Jones began her career in Calgary real estate in 1975. She served as CREB® president in 2005, a year which saw Calgary experience similar flooding to that seen in 2013. Photo by Michelle Hofer/For CREB®Now
News

Aug. 08, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 Years of Real Estate: 2005 CREB® president Marilyn Jones

Former CREB® president Marilyn Jones revelled in changing Calgary market

For much of her career, former CREB® president Marilyn Jones focused on helping clients from across Canada relocate to Calgary and find a house.

She liked the pressure – often times people had just a few days to look at houses in a new city, make a major decision and submit an offer – and was comfortable managing the many demands that needed to be juggled.

Those same skills came in handy when Jones became CREB® president in 2005.

Bill Kirk said despite signs of change on the horizon, Calgary’s real estate industry enjoyed a robust year in 2014, with sales increasing by double digits. Photo by Michelle Hofer/For CREB®Now
News

Aug. 08, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 Years of Real Estate: 2014 CREB® president Bill Kirk

Signs of economic hardship started to reveal themselves by the end of 2014, recalled then-CREB® president Bill Kirk 

While the true severity of the economic slump currently dominating headlines had yet to been felt in 2014, Bill Kirk said the writing was already on the wall by the end of his tenure as CREB® president.

Oil production in the Middle East had just started to ramp up, prices for a barrel had started to fall and jobs in Calgary were suddenly in question, he recalled.

"By the end of 2014, there was talk of an oil glut," said Kirk. "We knew there would be fallout ... (but) no one knew what would happen.

"We were all surprised at how slowly through 2015 the bad news hit."

Former CREB® president John Fraser, who calls Okotoks home, recalled the Calgary region's real estate market as one marked by a renewed sense of optimism following a decade of obstacles. Photo by Michelle Hofer/For CREB®Now
News

Aug. 08, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 years of real estate: 1990 CREB® president John Fraser

Former CREB® president John Fraser recalled new sense of hope in 1990 after decade of challenges

A fresh start: that's how many viewed 1990, recalled then-CREB® president John Fraser.

"We had just come out of an extremely difficult period," he said, referencing a decade defined by the National Energy Program, soaring interest rates and growing unemployment in the province.

"In about the mid '80s, things started to improve. And by about 1990, if you can believe it, almost 10 years later, we were almost back to where we were in 1981 in terms of house prices."

Becky Walters, who retired from real estate in 1995 and moved to Vancouver Island, said it has been “quite an adjustment” leaving the business. Photo courtesy Becky Walters.
News

July 21, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 Years of Real Estate: 2013 CREB® Past President Becky Walters

Former CREB® president Becky Walters remembers how communities rallied in following natural disaster in 2013

Becky Walters remembers 2013 like most Calgarians do – one equally fraught with harrowing tales of devastation and inspiring stories of community spirit following a historic flood that left many communities underwater.

In June 2013, Alberta experienced heavy rainfall that sparked 32 states of local emergency in communities throughout southern Alberta and resulted in billions of dollars in insurable damages.

"It was something that affected the whole city, of course," said Walters, who, six months earlier, had become president of CREB®.

Greg Houston said Calgary was still basking in its post-Olympic glow in 1989, 
which provided a bump for the local housing industry. Photo by Michelle Hofer/For CREB®Now
News

June 30, 2016 | Cailynn Klingbeil

55 Years of Real Estate: 1989 CREB® Past President Greg Houston

Former CREB® president Greg Houston remembers 1989 as the year it all started to turn around

The boom came back.

After a lengthy slump in the early 1980s, Calgary's real estate market began a resurgence in 1989 – and not a moment too soon, recalls Greg Houston, who was president of CREB® that year.

"1989 was a great year," he said. "Things were looking up. There was stability in the business, after years of foreclosures and people declaring bankruptcies. As far as I was concerned, things were finally turning around."

Prev | 1 2 3 | Next


Connect With Us