By CREB® CEO Alan Tennant (as told to Terence Leung)


I remember being 23 years old. The year was 1981. I was a Medicine Hat banker with my new wife, Rona, and a new job in Calgary, staring down a brand-new, three-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow. Oh, and a mortgage to pay.

We had two cars (with no garage to put them in) and no way of knowing that four years later, mortgage rates would hit a whopping 18 per cent.

We asked the question many people do now when they contemplate their first home purchase: can we afford it?

The substantial growth seen in Calgary's detached resale market this year has been driven by the mid-range segment, but big-ticket listings are also bouncing back.

Between Jan. 1 and the end of April, 350 detached homes priced at $1 million or higher have changed hands in Calgary, according to CREB^®. This represents a 289 per cent upswing from the 90 transactions that occurred over the same period a year ago.

As the Calgary Flames' and Edmonton Oilers' game-day raffle results from last year's NHL playoff bubble demonstrate, Albertans love a good 50/50 draw.

Those 50/50 fans are in luck, because tickets are now available for the CREB^® REALTOR^® Community Foundation's 50/50 Cash Raffle, with all proceeds going to local non-profit organizations that provide housing and shelter solutions.

If success in buying or selling a home is all about location, location, location, success as a REALTOR^® comes down to commitment, commitment, commitment. It's a career that demands a lot, but it also offers a great deal in return.

Enticing discount mortgage rates have helped put Calgary's detached home market in rare form.

The soft summer breeze rustles through the tall stands of mature Aspen trees and prairie grasses in the lush valley on the northwest edge of the city. Here nature sits untouched, a picture perfect backdrop for the homes that grace the ridge above. Nearby, the voices of happy children ring out, as they ride their bikes in the cul-de-sacs connecting the homes. And anchoring it all is a beautiful 18-hole golf course. This is Valley Ridge, home to almost 6,000 residents. Most live in single-family homes (93 per cent) and the area is almost entirely owner-occupied, leading to a connected community with a vibrant and engaged feel.

When it came time to purchase his first home, finding a neighbourhood with a pulse was at the top of the list for 31-year-old entrepreneur Tyrell Dasilva. Dasilva, who owns several businesses, leads a busy life and wanted to find a home in a walkable community with access to great music venues and quaint mom-and-pop stores. He found it at i.D. Inglewood, a 19-unit, four-storey condominium project located on Ninth Avenue S.E.

With gains in every price range, residential sales activity in February totalled 1,836 units. This reflects the best February since 2014.

Historically low interest rates are helping boost the residential real estate market in Calgary and across the country, with the trend expected to continue throughout 2021.