Bearspaw, Springbank appealing to a more diverse sect of buyers

Long admired for its opulence, the communities of Bearspaw and Springbank just outside of Calgary's northwest border are now attracting a wider range of buyers who are looking for a bit of everything, say industry professionals.

"Years ago, the area was big into horse culture – everyone wanted to buy a pony for their teenaged daughter. Now, it is more about organized sports, family vacations," said Jeff Neustaedter, a real estate professional whose office last year saw 35 transactions above the $1.1-million mark in Bearspaw alone, ranging from 40-hectare sites to secluded parcels.

While the area between Calgary and Cochrane has always been known for its stately homes, McKinley Masters Custom Homes owner Mark Kwasnicki noted homeowners want more these days – they want space to stretch their legs, but also to get away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

95 companies announced as 2015 SAM Awards finalists

Nearly 100 companies and professionals in the Calgary and area's residential construction industry were recognized Thursday as the newly amalgamated CHBA – UDI Calgary Region Association announced finalists for the 2015 Sales and Marketing (SAM) Awards.

The 29th annual awards, which celebrates and acknowledges innovation and excellence in the industry, will hand out 60 piece of hardware, including the top Grand SAMs – three builder categories (Builder of the Year, Builder of Merit for a small-volume builder and Multi-Family Builder of the Year).

A sneak peek into this year's Home & Garden Show

If you could grow healthy lettuce with the same protein value as steak, would you? After all, according to Steve Solomon, author of The Intelligent Gardener, it's possible to grow lettuce with 20 per cent protein simply by mineralizing your soil.

Solomon mocks garden writers, myself included. He says, in a long and thorough way, most of us do not replace the minerals in the soil at the same ratio we take them out when we harvest plants.

So I decided to test my soil recently, and I got some bad news.

My problem is I am afraid to pollute the soil with excess fertilizers, so I add only natural ingredients like compost and worm castings. Solomon, who used to be an organic farmer, says compost is not enough. The soil system is broken and compost alone will not put our humpty dumpty soil together again.

Calgary, Edmonton tied for second

Calgary continued to be one of Canada's fastest-growing cities in 2015.

Growing in size even in the face of a struggling energy sector, Calgary tied with Edmonton as the second- fastest-growing cities in all of Canada.

According to Statistics Canada, Calgary and Edmonton posted identical population gains of 2.4 per cent between July 1, 2014 and June 30, 2015, placing the two centres behind only Kelowna, B.C. as the fastest-growing cities in Canada.

The average growth nationwide was 1.2 per cent, with five centres (Thunder Bay Ont., Peterborough Ont., Saguenay Que., Sudbury Ont., Saint John NB) posting populations declines over the surveyed period.

Company says Calgary too cost-prohibitive

Calgary city council voted Monday 14-1 in favour of new ride-sharing regulations that will require more rigorous licensing, background checks and inspections.

Yet U.S.-based Uber said the model is cost prohibitive and that the draft bylaw will run the company out of Calgary.

"It's a really unfortunate day for riders and drivers in Calgary," Ramit Kar, Uber's general manager for Alberta, told reporters. "For riders, there's no longer going to be an option that they've been asking for to get transported around the city."

In a statement on Twitter Monday night, the company added that, "it's unfortunate to see #yyccc vote for regulations that prevent the return of ridesharing to Calgary. "We'll continue to advocate for solutions that create jobs for drivers & affordable transportation options for the public. "

Provincial levels in fourth quarter steady; up on annual basis

Non-residential construction levels in the province surprised many in the fourth quarter of 2015, remaining relatively flat when compared with the same period the previous year at $2.74 billion, according to Statistics Canada.

"Signs of the economic slowdown are all around us in Alberta, but the one surprising indicator where we have yet to see much downturn is construction activity," said ATB Financial chief economist Todd Hirsch.

"Indeed, if a Martian landed in downtown Edmonton or Calgary today, it might well assume that the province is booming."

CREB®Now sits down with incoming president Cliff Stevenson 

Softness in the provincial economy is expected to challenge Calgary's resale residential housing market in 2016. How will the market react?

CREB®Now recently had a chance to sit down with CREB®'s incoming president Cliff Stevenson to ask him five questions about the local housing industry in the year ahead.

CREB®Now: ?How will buyers and sellers react in what's expected to be a down economy?

Stevenson: Sellers are going to be more choosy with their timing in this calendar year. Someone who is working with a real estate professional is going to spend a lot more time on strategy with respect to pricing and timing. And buyers, especially first-time buyers and investors, will do their best to time the bottom, but I think that will be really difficult. So, I think this year it will be the guessing game by first-time buyers and investors of when will be the best time to get into the market. But I would suspect there are going to be some challenges with that.

Renters with kids face uphill battle

After her marriage broke down in 2013, Kelly Farley needed to find a home to rent for her and her two teen daughters. She wanted to stay close to the northwest Calgary neighbourhood where the girls had grown up and to keep them in the same schools.

Eventually she found the main floor of a house; another tenant lived in the basement. It wasn't the best situation, but things got worse before they were better.

The basement tenant moved out and the landlord decided to sell the house. Then, just weeks after Farley moved out, the landlord relisted the main-floor unit — for more money than Farley had been paying, and more than she could afford.

"It was a grim search and I became desperate," said Farley of her house-hunting search. "When you have kids and you're going through a family breakdown, as a renter, all you want to know is that you have a safe, stable place to land."