With discussions continuing to swirl around Calgary being an attractive location for foreign homebuyers, CREB®Now contributor Alex Frazer-Harrison sat down with three local experts to get their opinions on what the future holds for the city’s housing market.
Here’s what they had to say:
Luxury buyers want it all including the (second) kitchen sink
Today’s homebuyers want more for less – a pattern that is also starting to manifest in the luxury market, say local industry experts.
“There’s no question that, like everybody, we’ve felt the pinch,” said Danny Raposo, general manager of Astoria Custom Homes, which is building in Watermark at Bearspaw, just outside the city limits.
Still, Raposo describes 2016 as “a decent year,” noting an increased interest in Astoria’s Watermark product during the eight weeks prior to mid-September.
Housing experts urge buyers to consider all the options before building, buying
For Jennifer Weisgerber and Ian Muller, both 25, buying – and building – their first home has been the most important decision of their lives.
Muller, who installs fire sprinklers, and Weisgerber, who works for a company that sells parts for road construction, rented a townhome in Okotoks for five years. Last January, they signed with Morrison Homes to build a 1,700-square-foot three-bedroom home in the southeast Calgary community of Auburn Bay.
Builders believe buyers will eventually see benefits of sans auto
Condo buyers in Calgary’s Beltline will soon see vehicle ownership as a peripheral requirement, but it will still take some time for the current mindset to change, says a developer who brought the notion of “parking optional” to Calgary.
The Beltline – which stretches from 14th Street S.W. to the Elbow River and the rail tracks south to 17th Avenue, plus the Stampede Grounds – is one of Calgary’s hottest and most densified communities. And many new condo buildings, first planned several years ago, are just now starting to spring up despite the downturn.
Although the N3 development in East Village received plenty of press recently for not including parking, it was Toronto-based Lamb Development Corp.’s 6th and Tenth project in the Beltline that first brought the concept to Calgary, said president and CEO Brad Lamb.
Out-of-town living resonates for those looking for laid-back lifestyle
Dusty Dancer likes his privacy – a natural evolution having owned an acreage property south of Calgary for nearly two decades.
So he gets the appeal of how some homeowners might be looking to leave the city for a little r ’n r.
“Some have their own nine-hole mini-golf course. You can make it whatever you want to be. You can’t do that in the city,” said Dancer, president of the DeWinton Community Association.