The answer to what the new northwest community of Carrington will have when complete is an easy one: pretty much everything.

The neighbourhood, launched as part of the massive Keystone Hills area plan, will include its own high-density housing; an employment and commercial centre built around a planned Green Line CTrain station; direct access to Stoney Trail and downtown; new schools, as well as proximity to existing ones; and acres of parks, wetlands and pathways. It also sits in a high-demand area that is suffering from a shortage of housing supply.

Home trends from Calgary's new-build market

Cultural and economic shifts are pushing this year's housing trend line into both large and small homes in Calgary's new-build market.

Large-volume builders Homes by Avi and Mattamy Homes are seeing demand for four-bedroom homes in their northern neighbourhoods, as many customers – particularly from Asian or Indo-Canadian backgrounds – seek multi-generational homes.

And where price is key, the shift continues towards attached units like duplexes and townhomes that come without condo fees, as well as smaller, single-family homes without past years' glitzy upgrades.