The car-less lifestyle is trending, but Calgary's housing market still driven by the automobile, say experts

Cars aren't going anywhere soon, and neither is Calgary homebuyers' desire for neighbourhoods – or condominiums for that matter – that support their automobile-driven lifestyles, say housing experts.

While much is being made about efforts to create a more pedestrian-friendly city that focuses on "vertical growth," Calgarians still very much enjoy the freedom that comes with driving an automobile. And they
want their residence — whether it's a condo, townhome or single-detached house — to support their yen for putting the pedal to the metal, said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) regional economist Lai Sing Louie.

"Most people still want parking," he said. "They want the freedom to come and go with a car at their disposal, and they're willing to pay a lot of money to afford that."

Broadview, Avi Urban big winners at SAM Awards

Broadview Homes and Avi Urban walked away as the big winners Saturday night as the newly amalgamated Canadian Home Builders' Associaton - Urban Development Institute Calgary Region Association held its 29th Sales and Marketing (SAM) Awards at the Telus Convention Centre.

Broadview Homes, which is part of the Qualico Group of Companies, took home Builder of the Year honours, while Avi Urban, a division of Homes by Avi, captured Mult-Family Builder of Year.

Broadview also won in three categories for single-family homes, while Avi Urban won in two individual categories.

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).

Behind-the-scene details of how communities in Calgary come to life

For casual observers, it might appear that new neighbourhoods just sprout from the ground overnight.

In fact, those first show homes only come after years of planning and negotiation.

"When people see the graders out there, people think that's the start of a community, but it starts long before," said Brookfield Residential senior manager of strategic initiatives Grace Lui.

In the case of Brookfield's up-and-coming Livingston development in north Calgary, for example, grading might have started this year, but land acquisition took place 15 years ago. The new community, which will be comprised of 10,000 homes on 514 hectares of land just north of Stoney Trail, will welcome its first show homes in 2017.

New initiative highlights growing housing concern

The City of Calgary has embarked on a three-year strategy to develop a more "age-friendly" city in light of some estimates that have the local senior population nearly doubling within the next decade.

Dubbed the Seniors Age-Friendly Strategy, the plan calls for the creation of community networks focused on issues such as housing, transportation and mobility.

Proposed actions include increasing the provincial standard for provincially funded affordable housing from 10 to 15 per cent, advocating for sustainable provincial funding for the development of new affordable housing and introducing a Land Use Bylaw Amendment to allow for more secondary suites.

A look at Calgary's development and off-site levies

Hopping in the shower or flushing the toilet is going to take its toll on Calgarians' wallets in coming years.

Calgary's current model for development levies is set to recover 50 per cent of the cost of water drained from your tap or toilet. Storm water is 100 per cent covered by developers.

Yet that's not sustainable for utilities coming to the city down the line – in the form of a $14-million shortfall for new water and sewage infrastructure this year.

Calgary demographics influence housing

Calgarians, characterized in a recent report as among the youngest in Canada, are altering the city's housing landscape through a unique set of needs and wants, including a more diverse rental market, work/live spaces, home offices and multi-generational housing.

In its recently released The Changing Face of Calgary report, Urban Development Institute – Calgary and the Canadian Home Builders' Association – Calgary note the median age in Alberta (major urban centres) is a nation-low 36.5 years, and as the "population bulge trends toward youth, housing needs shift."

As CEO of the Urban Development Institute in Calgary, Guy Huntingford knows a lot about what makes a city, and thereby that city's development, tick. Huntingford took some time to chat with CREBNow about everything from urban sprawl to low density development to migration numbers in the city.

Mayor Naheed Nenshi may have his work cut out for him in his bid to end Calgary's "sprawl subsidy" by increasing suburban developer levies.

Calling for an end to what he calls a developer "subsidy" that amounts to $4,800 for every new suburban home built in the city, Nenshi has laid out his arguments against the current agreement between the city and suburban developers.