Tightening market conditions are supporting price growth in Airdrie, Okotoks and Cochrane, although overall inventory levels of property remain healthy in areas surrounding Calgary.

Property sales in the surrounding areas totalled 865 units after the first quarter of the year, running at a similar pace to the same period in 2012. As in the entire region, the number of new listings has been falling at double-digit rates.

As Calgary is starting to see a tightening trend in the real estate market, some buyers are turning their attentions to surrounding areas for a place to call home.

While activity varied by area, overall property sales in the communities of Cochrane, Airdrie and Okotoks totaled 865 units in the first quarter of the year, similar to numbers seen from the same time in 2012.

With a population that has more than doubled since 2001, the Town of Okotoks with its rolling foothills and mountain views is a great place to call home.

"Growing up in Okotoks was great. It was amazing to see the way the town has changed in the last two decades, not only in population but (also) in terms of amenities," said Katie Turner, who called Okotoks home for 17 years.

With all the amenities of a large city and the small town charm of days gone by; Okotoks has become one of Canada's fastest growing communities.

With a core comprised of Old Towne Okotoks with its kitschy shops and tasty cafés, surrounded by new communities in construction and every amenity imaginable Okotoks is — according to town demographics — the tenth fastest growing community in Canada between 2006 and 2011 with acurrent population of about 24,962.

While they may trail their metropolitan neighbor in stature, Calgary's surrounding communities are no slouch when it comes to sales. Buoyed by affordability, Airdrie, Cochrane and Okotoks all recorded double-digit sales growth in the third quarter and represent nearly half of the sales activity surrounding Calgary.

"We chose Airdrie over Calgary because our money went a lot further when buying a house as far as size and yard," said Jody Paterson, who recently purchased a single-family home in Airdrie with her fiance after living in an apartment in Calgary.