Everything was overflowing everywhere, Jodie Tilley says, as she stands in the open-concept main floor of her 2,500-square-foot duplex in Richmond-Knob Hill.

"My life was unmanageable in this house," she said. "My dining table was a dumping ground, and lots of the house was unusable because of the clutter. It didn't feel like a home I could welcome people into."

Much like Calgary, the bedroom community of Chestermere didn't escape the real estate market pitfalls of 2018. However, some experts say that the worst is over, predicting that as the spring of 2019 takes root, sunnier days lie ahead.

Calgary's Chinatown is small but unique, blessed with the iconic Centre Street Bridge, a vibrant cultural centre, a prime location along the Bow River and a history stretching back more than 100 years.

It will also have the first cultural plan for any neighbourhood in Canada – perhaps in North America – that will help inform Chinatown's new local area plan, a plan last updated more than three decades ago.

Calgary's parks offer something for just about everyone, including people who love to stay fit.

The City currently has 22 parks with permanent outdoor fitness equipment, and a pilot project last summer saw temporary equipment set up in three additional communities on a rotating basis.

As the benefits of year-round recreation and leisure become ever more pronounced – including physical health, emotional and mental well-being, community connection and overall quality of life – Calgary developers are working to ensure active living is accessible across the city.

Spring is the time for cleaning up after the drab days of winter, but a good clean-up is also key to selling a home quickly and at the right price.

Winter is more about skis and snowballs than buyers and sellers. But as the warm weather emerges, so does a renewed interest in real estate. Now that hope springs eternal, a little knowledge of the market will prevent you getting snowed under.

While navigating their spring housing prospects, consumers must consider the economy, the local market and their personal situation. Overall economic conditions have seen little change in recent years, with high unemployment and limited job growth. The effect in Calgary is that demand generally remains low, but there are some promising signs.

Five-month-old baby James gurgles and smiles sweetly as he poses for a photo in his living room on the 26th floor of the Guardian residential tower. The downtown skyline full of skyscrapers serves as the backdrop, the streets bursting with life far below.

No, this isn't New York, Paris or even Toronto, where it is common for families to live in inner-city apartments. James lives in Calgary, a city where families rarely seek out the downtown lifestyle.

The first trip through the front door of his first home is a memory Martin Gelinas will never forget.