How Calgary's housing market stacks up against other major centres

When it comes to the housing market and the availability of affordable options, people often lose sight of the big picture. Instead of obsessing over the minute details of the market in any one particular city, it can be helpful to take a step back and examine things in a broader context to provide points of comparison. This dose of perspective helps one to remember that while $400,000 might seem like a lot to ask for a detached home in one city, in another major metropolitan area, people might be hard pressed to find a home for less than twice that amount.

Drop masks diverging local conditions in fourth quarter of 2014

Home price increases in Ontario were key to a slight decrease in housing affordability across Canada, said a report from RBC.

The bank said although owning a home at current market value in Canada was less affordable for the second straight quarter as of the end of 2014, affordability trends have stayed relatively flat since 2010.

Some tips of the trade for making Canada your home

* This is the third of a four-part homebuying series for new Canadians in partnership with the Epoch Times. Each month, the series will explore hot topic issues such as understanding market trends, processes for buying a home, determining factors that influence house prices and more.

More than five dozen Calgarians from 24 different countries joined hundreds of others across the country in becoming Canadian citizens earlier this month as part of National Citizen Week in Canada Oct. 13-21.

To mark the occasion, CREB®Now is offering some tips on getting settled and, ultimately, finding that perfect place to call home.

Housing starts across the country saw a slight increase in August according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

The corporation said the trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 189,837 compared to 189,596. The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates of housing starts.