Calgary Real Estate Blog

For many years now, Calgary Realtors and their customers have relied on the MLS System for the most accurate and timely information on homes for sale in our city. Now the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB) has chosen to align its MLS naming conventions with the City of Calgary’s official terms for communities.

In some cases, the changes are as simple as corrected spelling: Bel Aire becomes Bel-Aire, Saddleridge becomes Saddle Ridge. In others, neighbourhoods are consolidated: Varsity Acres, Varsity Village, and Varsity Estates become, simply, Varsity.

Zone names are also being changed from four quadrant letters, A, B, C & D, to eight more meaningful names titles: North, Northwest, Northeast, Centre, West, East, South and Southwest.

What will this mean to you as you use the MLS System? It means the community names referred to by the City of Calgary will now correlate directly with those in the System, making for an easier, more straightforward experience. A database is only as reliable as its data, and so CREB should be applauded for taking this step to start 2016 off right.

Speaking of starting the year off right, the Calgary Home + Garden Show is only a little over six weeks away, and you can get 2-for-1 tickets if you purchase before January 14 using the promo code NEWYEAR. Click here to get yours today!

Want to talk about putting your home on the market, the updated MLS naming conventions, or the new Star Wars movie? Contact me!

The name Palliser is used in a few contexts in Alberta, thanks to the significance of explorer John Palliser’s efforts to map western Canada. One such namesake is Calgary’s nearly 50 year-old community of Palliser, in the city’s southwest.

There’s a focus on outdoor recreation opportunities in Palliser, located as it is along the edge of the Glenmore Reservoir and near the Weaselhead Flats: hiking, boating, and more are within easy reach of Palliser residents. Further, the Heritage Park historical village is in the same vicinity, with its renowned Sunday brunch (once frequented by Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff), rides for the kids, and ambience linked to our shared history. With Heritage Drive, Glenmore Drive. Crowchild Trail, and Macleod Drive all nearby, this community is an easy drive from nearly all Calgary has to offer.

Served by four elementary schools, five middle schools, and three high schools (including public, separate, and private options), Palliser has an abundance of options for the 400 or so school-age children in the neighbourhood. Its population has remained steady in recent years – growing only 0.3% from 2007-2011, compared with the city’s 7% growth overall – and so its a good place for people looking to put down roots and build relationships with neighbours.

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

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

For this installment, let’s look at another wonderful community on the city’s edge, Woodbine. Bordering on the Tsuu T’ina First Nation in Calgary’s Southwest, Woodbine is a 33 year-old community 10,000 people strong, that’s become popular with higher income earners (median income is in the mid-$80,000s) and those appreciating quick access to mountain getaways.

The Woodcreek Community Association recently completed an addition to its popular community centre, making it even more versatile for the varied groups using the facility; Girl Guides, Boy Scouts, a Lions club, seniors groups, and the Bulldogs football club are just some taking advantage of the centre’s playing fields, tennis courts, skating rinks, halls, boardrooms, and other amenities.

Within Woodbine’s 3.5 square kilometres is also a karate studio, a dance studio, and a fitness centre, along with both public and separate elementary schools. Fish Creek Park and Glenmore Park are both in close proximity.

One attractive feature of Woodbine is it’s low crime rate compared to the rest of Calgary: in 2006 and 2007, the community recorded the lowest person and property crime rates in the city, according to the Calgary Police Service.

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

To get a complete market report on Woodbine, 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.