By CREB® CEO Alan Tennant (as told to Terence Leung)


I remember being 23 years old. The year was 1981. I was a Medicine Hat banker with my new wife, Rona, and a new job in Calgary, staring down a brand-new, three-bedroom, one-bathroom bungalow. Oh, and a mortgage to pay.

We had two cars (with no garage to put them in) and no way of knowing that four years later, mortgage rates would hit a whopping 18 per cent.

We asked the question many people do now when they contemplate their first home purchase: can we afford it?

For anyone looking to buy an affordable condo in Calgary, now is the time, with a variety of both townhome- and apartment-style units available for $250,000 or less throughout much of the city.

Redeveloped Prairie Winds Park is a vital community hub in northeast Calgary

Wander into Prairie Winds Park in northeast Calgary any summer day and you'll see children enjoying the wading pool, families playing cricket or having a picnic, and people on the tennis courts. In the winter, people are out tobogganing, skating and enjoying the great outdoors in the popular regional park.

Prairie Winds Park opened in 1990, but recently underwent a complete redevelopment, says Michelle Wong, who worked on the project as capital lead for Calgary Parks.