Calgary Real Estate Blog

The growing community of Glenbrook, part of Calgary for nearly 60 years, offers both a glorious mountain view and a mere 8 kilometre commute downtown. Residents enjoy the facilities offered by nearby Optimist Park, a rustic community hall with an outdoor hockey rink, and close access to a variety of stores and services.

Within the boundaries of Glenbrook, there is a full array of public and private school options for kids up to the junior high level; older children must travel a short distance to neighbouring communities.

Median incomes in Glenbrook is a bit below the city’s average, which makes sense given that the majority of its residents are young (a full third are between 25-44) and unmarried. Most of Glenbrook’s real estate offerings is made up of single family dwellings, with an active rental market.

To see our Glenbrook listings, view our Featured Listings.  To see homes available in Glenbrook, do a Quick Search.

To get a complete market report on Glenbrook, or any other neighbourhood you are interested in, use our quick and easy market report request. 

North Glenmore Park is one of Calgary’s older neighbourhoods, having been established in the city’s southwest in 1959. It is home to about 2400 people, in just over a square kilometre of area. The majority of residents are in the 45-54 age range, making a median income of about $65,000.

North Glenmore Park is both well-connected and well-serviced. With quick access to both Crowchild Trail and Glenmore Trail, commuting to nearly any part of the city is relatively easy. Residents have close access to both Chinook and Westhills shopping centres, Heritage Park, the Rockyview hospital, and Mount Royal University. Also a plus is the busy community centre run by the North Glenmore Park Community Association, housing a dance studio, gymnasium, offices, and a boardroom; some residents of the nearby community of Lakeview are also permitted to join North Glenmore’s community association and use the facilities.

The neighbourhood is served by a full array of schools, and counts about 22 percent of its population as being under the age of 19.

To see our North Glenmore Park listings, view our Featured Listings.  To see homes available in North Glenmore Park, do a Quick Search.

To get a complete market report on North Glenmore Park, or any other neighbourhood you are interested in, use our quick and easy market report request.

Cranston is a lovely little community in southeast Calgary, nearing the southern edge of the city limits. With more than 40 percent of its population between the ages of 25 and 44, it’s clearly an appealing area to buy a first home and start a family, with more than 95 percent of the housing in the community single family homes (this compared to about 55 percent city-wide). Average sale price for a Cranston home is about $550,000.

Cranston’s nearly 12,000 residents are served by a two year-old public elementary school, and a Catholic K-9 school of the same age; older children are bussed to nearby communities.

Amenities in Cranston are quite impressive, starting with the newly built Century Hall. This private facility, accessible only to residents and their guests, features a 7-acre gated park, tennis courts, a full-size gym, meeting rooms, and a waterpark. Across the street is Cranston Market, home to a Sobeys, Subway, Good Earth Cafe, as well as a dentist, vet, and optometrist. Cranstonites (as they may or may not like to be called) also enjoy close-by access to Fish Creek Park and the Bow River.

Almost half of the children in Cranston are under 6, meaning there are plenty of playmates for the kids and a good likelihood of increased school capacity in the medium term. It’s a fast-growing community, and shows no sign of slowing down.

To see our Cranston listings, view our Featured Listings.  To see homes available in Cranston, do a Quick Search.

To get a complete market report on Cranston, or any other neighbourhood you are interested in, use our quick and easy market report request.

The roughly four square kilometre community of West Springs was once part of the MD of Rockyview, before the land was annexed by the City in the mid-90s. In 2001, West Springs proper was established, and since then it has grown to a population of more than 8000 residents, including the smaller sub-communities of Wentworth, Springside, and West Springs Farm. Skirting the westernmost limits of Calgary’s southern limits, West Springs is an upper-middle class community with average incomes around $90,000 per year; the median price of West Springs homes sold last month was about $550,000.

Wentworth is a small community of about 1000 people located within the larger area of West Springs, in southwest Calgary. Household incomes in West Springs are significantly higher than much of the city, averaging about $110,000 annually. Not surprisingly, then, homes tend to be large and pricey; 97% of homes are owned, as opposed to rented. Springside is a roughly 500 home community on 100 acres of land in West Springs off the west end of Bow Trail.

The Calgary Board of Education recently opened a new elementary school in West Springs, serving students up to grade 6, and there are also local junior high and high schools along with a Catholic elementary school and a private, hockey-focused school in the community.

Residents of West Springs tend to appreciate the relatively short commute times to downtown, with Bow Trail going right into their neighbourhood and the convenience of the new west LRT line that opened last fall. Some parts of West Springs are also walking distance to Canada Olympic Park, home to parks and pathways shared with Springbank, and not all that far from the mountain playground we have nearby.

To see our West Springs listings, view our Featured Listings.  To see homes available in West Springs, do a Quick Search.

To get a complete market report on West Springs, or any other neighbourhood you are interested in, use our quick and easy market report request.

In the second of my ongoing Focus On series, lets look at Tuscany, Calgary’s largest community with more than 19,000 residents in a little under seven square kilometres. Tuscany is known for its vast ravine system that offers ample walking and cycling opportunities, as well as its impressive mountain views. In good weather and bad, the sidewalks are nearly always busy with stroller-pushing moms and dads, dog walkers, and lycra-clad runners. The Tuscany Club, housed in the centre of the community, acts as a hub for all kinds of activities including yoga and dance classes, a highly-regarded preschool, and popular events to mark every major occasion of the calendar year including a massive Stampede breakfast in July.

Having only been around since 1994, Tuscany is one of the city’s newer communities, however it is firmly established and well planned. A C-train extension is planned for a 2014 opening, which should help commuters cut down on travel times, but many residents are as likely to go to Cochrane for services as downtown Calgary as Tuscany sits on the city’s westernmost boundary.

Tuscany median household income is a little over $92,000, with homes averaging $456,000 and condos $302,000 in 2012.

To see our Tuscany listings, view our Featured Listings.  To see homes available in Tuscany, do a Quick Search.

To get a complete market report on Tuscany, or any other neighbourhood you are interested in, use our quick and easy market report request.

From time to time, I’m going to focus on communities in and around Calgary as – like all Realtors worth their salt – I’m fascinated by the intricacies and individuality that define them. Today, let’s look at Varsity, which was named Avenue Magazine’s Best Neighbourhood in their 2011 & 2012 features. Encompassing both the University of Calgary and Market Mall, Varsity was established in 1963, and grew throughout the 60s and early 70s to nearly seven square kilometres. Varsity’s population grew a little over 1% from 2011 to 2012, to about 12,200 people, with a median household income of nearly $59,000.

About a third of the residences in Varsity are rentals, which makes sense given its close proximity to the University; the average home was assessed at $527,000 in 2012, while condos averaged $238,000. Varsity supports three public elementary schools, a public junior high, and a Catholic elementary and high school.

Gord Smith, the general manager of the Varsity Community Association, has sat on the Better Business Bureau’s board of directors for many years. The Association hosts a wide variety of activities, including Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, and a Good Samaritans program where volunteers help local seniors with daily tasks and chores.

To see homes available in Varsity, do a Quick Search.

To get a complete market report on Varsity, or any other neighbourhood you are interested in, use our quick and easy market report request.