A housing report from Altus Group found Canadian seniors can't be lumped into one category when it comes to housing.

The report categorized Canadians aged 65 and over into three groups: younger seniors (ages 65-74), middleaged seniors (ages 75-84) and older seniors (ages 85 and over).

Findings included the fact that the majority of seniors live in private households opposed to collective dwellings (dwellings such as nursing homes, long-term care or retirement homes) with only one in 12 seniors living in such places in 2011.

As both Calgary's and Alberta's economies continue to thrive, rental vacancies are showing decreased numbers compared to last year.

According to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the apartment vacancy rate decreased in Calgary's Census Metropolitan Area to 1.3 per cent this October compared to 1.9 per cent in October of 2011.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has updated its forecast for home sales in 2012 and 2013, with MLS® transactions in Alberta set to lead the country.

Coming off 2011, which saw Alberta's 8.1 per cent increase second only to Saskatchewan in terms of annual sales growth, CREA is predicting MLS® sales in the province rise by 13.1 per cent in 2012 to lead the country in growth.

With no new supply forecasted for 2013, Calgary's currently continually thriving commercial market might have to look beyond downtown for real estate.

According to a 2013 market outlook by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), Calgary's sq. ft. absorption for the end of the year is a forecasted 2.13 million sq. ft. with an expectation of decreasing to 0.04 million sq. ft. in 2013 because of the lack of new product.

Buying a condominium means you're buying into a form of home ownership that's different from a single-family dwelling.

A condominium generally refers to the privately owned unit you'll call home and the common areas, which can include hallways, the exterior of the building, green space and other areas for which owners share responsibility.

If you were to choose a theme for real estate in the Calgary area in 2012, perhaps it would be the "year of the pleasant surprise".

Heading into 2012, CREB® predicted an 11 per cent increase in sales, citing the persistent record low interest rates that have greeted Canada homebuyers since 2009 as a key contributor to the increase. Instead, the Calgary area experienced a 23 per cent increase in year-over-year sales in October and is headed for equally positive numbers by the end of the year.