This is a great starter home! Good 3 bedroom town home away from streets and traffic. Easy access to the downtown core, schools, shopping and the airport. Possession is flexible. Act quickly!!
To view more photos and full listing details visit our webpage.
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.
What a great deal for a great home! Just one block from Joan of Arc Catholic elementary and also within the walk-zone for West Springs public elementary. Downtown is an easy commute via a short drive or you can use the newly-opened West LRT station. This home boasts a unique and functional open floor plan with a fully developed basement which includes a full bath, an extra bedroom and a large family/rec room. Even with 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, and 2500 developed square feet, this is still the best deal in Springside. Upgraded hardwood is found on the main floor, AND up the stairs and throughout all upper bedrooms. Other recent upgrades include all the trim, a fully fenced yard, and programmable irrigation. The home has central air-conditioning too, so you’ll be able to get a good night’s sleep every night. Ahhh!
For more photos, virtual tour & full listing details visit our webpage.
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I mentioned this in a previous post, but it bears repeating: the Alberta government is seeking public input on ways the Condominium Property Act can be improved through a survey available until May 2. As was discussed in the Calgary Herald on Tuesday, plenty of people have had less than stellar experiences with condo boards, builders, contractors, and the like (although many, many more have never had a problem with their condo or condo board), and there may be ways the Condominium Property Act can be updated to better reflect current realities. It’s been 13 years since the Act was last revised; in that time, tens of thousands of units have been built and their average price has tripled. Our market’s not the same as it was in Y2K – help the government figure out what’s changed, and make things better for buyers, sellers, and builders alike.
This comes as no surprise for me! The latest CTV news article, Decrease in listings increases demand for Calgary homes, outlines some of the reasons why this year is proving to be a hot one for real estate sales. There are nearly 20 percent less home listed compared to the same time last year, which is driving prices upwards and days on market downwards.
As our city sprawls out there is also increasing demand for inner-city property. The Calgary Herald recent posted an article stating that inner-city neighbourhoods saw an increase of 250-260% between 2000-2012.
If you want to take advantage of this market contact me today!
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What a great place to live! Country living mere minutes from Okotoks. Over 5 acres of fully fenced land. Many, many trees line the property, the driveway, and are interspersed throughout. There’s also a large vegetable garden. Walk-out bungalow has views of the land from anywhere in the house. Very functional and open floor plan. The cook’s kitchen has new stainless steel appliances throughout including built-in ovens, a walk-in pantry, and a large west deck with a gas line for your BBQ or heater. There’s a massive multipurpose laundry/mud-room leading from the garage. What a garage too; over 1000 square feet of over-sized, four-car, heated man-cave. Full walk-out basement has high ceilings and is partially finished and drywalled with a 4-piece bathroom, a den and rec-room (or 4th and/or 5th bedrooms), and a huge family room. Also included: all TVs attached to the walls, wine fridge, and enough laminate flooring to finish the lower level.
For full listing details, more photos, floorplan and virtual tour visit our web page !
So this was unusual: Finance Minister Jim Flaherty apparently convinced Manulife Bank to reconsider a rate cut the institution had put in place, citing concerns about consumer debt levels. Manulife had just posted a five-year fixed rate mortgage at 2.89 percent when Mr. Flaherty’s office called the bank with a message that such a move would be “unacceptable.” Two weeks ago, BMO received a similar warning after posting a 2.99 percent five-year fixed rate; that bank, however, decided against rolling back.
While very good, these rates are certainly not unheard of in the broader market.
This type of basically unprecedented intervention is concerning and problematic, even if you can see where the government is coming from. Unlike in Calgary’s market, real estate sales are down significantly in the rest of the country, but prices aren’t yet dropping a commensurate amount. That means those who are looking to buy a home are still paying big prices, and some are taking on large mortgages to cover the costs. Should the market continue to stagnate, prices will inevitably go down and a segment of those new buyers may end up underwater. Flaherty has already made stricter rules around qualifying for mortgages with less than 20 percent down (meaning, those that require insurance through CMHC) four times in recent years, and has now, it seems, taken to pressuring private lenders directly.
At the end of the day, though, banks should – and still do – have the right to set their rates as they see fit, competing for, in some places, a shrinking pool of buyers. The meltdown in the US was a cautionary tale, but our financial system is a far cry from being as corrupted as that one was, and while house prices have room to go down, panic that we’re on the cusp of a bursting bubble is, in my opinion, somewhat misplaced. Limit CMHC-backed mortgages to 25-year amortizations? Sure, sounds reasonable, and limits the government’s exposure. But let the lenders do their thing.
