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Stories Tagged - Okotoks
July 19, 2017 | Andrea Cox
A harmonious home
Close to a year ago, entrepreneurs Brian Haydamack and Erin Schneider made the decision to move in together and blend their families (he has two children and she has three). The challenge was finding a home large enough to accommodate all of their kids, plus private home offices for both of their businesses. Haydamack, a former professional golfer, runs two golf-related businesses and Schneider is a hair stylist who works out of a home-based salon. The couple found a stylish, six-bedroom home design in the new master-planned lake community of Harmony in Springbank. And the fact that a signature Phil Mickelson golf course will flank the community was icing on the cake.
July 12, 2017 | Geoff Geddes
Farmland finance
Given the fickle Canadian climate, farming for a living is often viewed as a risky proposition. Buying farmland, however, is attracting some interest from Calgary investors seeking a hedge against inflation that will also produce goods and generate income.
The two most common ways to make money from farmland are capital appreciation – when the land increases in value - and income. That income can be from cash rent, calculated by dollars per cultivated acre, or a crop share, where the investor receives a share of the total crop sales each year, usually about 20-30 per cent.
"Farmland has been a tremendous investment over the last 10 years," said J.P. Gervais, chief agricultural economist for Farm Credit Canada. "Not only have land values been rising, but returns from farming have been very strong, with farm cash receipts increasing on a national level by an average of $2 billion a year for the past decade."
July 07, 2017 | CREBNow
June spells gradual recovery
The Calgary housing market saw a modest improvement in sales, along with an increase in new listings, in June.
However, demand gains have not kept pace with the amount of new listings coming onto the market. This caused inventory levels to increase to 6,659 units, which is 11 per cent higher than last year's levels.
Despite the shift in inventory this month, second-quarter activity continues to demonstrate improved supply-demand balance and price stability. City-wide benchmark prices totaled $441,500 in June. This is a 0.5-per-cent increase over last month and nearly one per cent higher than last year.
July 14, 2017 | Tyler Difley
Wild West
While the Calgary Stampede is the "Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth," Alberta's western heritage runs deep across the province – where a number of small-town and community rodeos, both professional and amateur, are being held throughout the summer.
March 23, 2017 | Kathleen Renne
Foothills for thrills
With plenty to see and do, the Municipal District of Foothills may be your next day-trip destination
South of Calgary lies the Municipal District of Foothills. Okotoks, High River, Black Diamond, Turner Valley and Longview are all within the district's boundaries, an area that encompasses some 3,600 square kilometres of ranchlands and rolling foothills.
According to 2011 census figures, not only is the district home to 21,258 people, it also
offers Calgarians and area residents a variety of interesting attractions. The website www.coollittletowns.com – an initiative of several southern Alberta communities – provides information on district attractions, from hundreds of unique shops, restaurants, galleries, activities and experiences.
Jan. 10, 2017 | Gerald Vander Pyl
Domino effect
Slow stabilization in Calgary's housing market in 2017 is expected to create similar momentum for satellite communities such as Okotoks, Cochrane, Airdrie and Chestermere, say local officials on the heels of CREB® releasing its 2017 Economic Outlook & Regional Housing Market Forecast.
According to the report, Chestermere in Rocky View region experienced a widening gap between sales and new listings during 2016, putting downward pressure on benchmark prices – notably detached homes, which dropped 2.5 per cent from 2015 to $490,808.
Dec. 21, 2016 | Carl Patzel
On the road
Calgary's satellite communities and their respective housing markets saw economic conditions play out in different ways this past year.
CREB®Now spoke with the mayors of Airdrie, Cochrane, Okotoks and Chestermere to get their perspectives on 2016. Here's what they had to say:
Nov. 28, 2016 | CREBNow
Winter is coming
Winter is coming, and with it the one chore that many homeowners dread: shoveling their snowy sidewalks and driveways.
And while snow removal is often the last thing homeowners want to do on a chilly winter day, officials say it is important in protecting the public's safety.
"Sidewalks need to be kept clean for public safety, [and] a snow removal bylaw shares that responsibility without adding to municipal costs," said Charlene Ruttle, Cochrane's manager of municipal enforcement.
Nov. 15, 2016 | Marty Hope
Cultivating new roots
Once homesteading land for the D'Arcy and Wedderburn families, two historically significant properties in north Okotoks are to be redeveloped for a new generation of families.
United Communities has purchased approximately 178 hectares of farmland on both sides of Northridge Drive as sites for a pair of mixed use communities — simply to be called D'Arcy and Wedderburn.
