Real Estate in Calgary, Canada

Summary: Real estate in Calgary, Canada is hot news right now with the recently reported sales figures for June 2005 the highest ever on record for the month of June. This article looks at what's fuelling both the desire and the price of property in this part of Canada.

Real estate in Calgary, Canada is hot news right now with the recently reported sales figures for June 2005 the highest ever on record for the month of June.  This article looks at what’s fuelling both the desire and the price of property in this part of Canada.

Calgary is in Alberta, Canada; it is located very close to the famous Rocky Mountains and it is a diverse, interesting and economically very strong city - in fact the city has been the driving force behind Canada’s successful economy for the past five years and is projected to become the city with the fastest growing economy in Canada for 2005 as well.

Because of Calgary’s prime location it is a very popular tourist destination, there are a lot of second homes owned in and around Calgary and the desire for weekend and holiday property in this part of Canada has always been strong.  Because of the global house price boom which many say originated in the United States and Canada, many citizens of these countries have benefited from an increase in the equity they own on their homes and people have been literally cashing in on their home’s value, releasing equity and buying up second homes in areas as attractive as Calgary.  This has of course led to an increase in property values in prime second home areas.

Furthermore, there is a strong requirement for short and medium term rental accommodation in the city, mainly from the tourism sector.  This has always made real estate in Calgary very interesting for those who profit from buy to let.  This has been highlighted to international property investors who are continuing to look to the global real estate market for opportunities.  The global bonds markets are stagnant, the stock markets continue to fail to offer up the returns they should and so international real estate investors are looking out for hot markets.  Their interest in Calgary has helped to boost the residential property market in the city.  In terms of commercial property, activity is also strong in Calgary and this too is of interest to domestic and international investors.  An increase in demand by the health care and oil and gas consulting company sectors specifically has boosted the suburban commercial property market in 2005 for example.

Unemployment in the city of Calgary is very low, the number of jobless for 2005 is down to 4.6% therefore the people of Calgary enjoy good and stable income.  Their income has been boosted by a strengthening Canadian dollar which in turn has helped to stabilise mortgage rates which in turn has made real estate more affordable and people more willing to trade up and keep the real estate market moving.  The factors so far mentioned have served to increase many home owners’ real estate wealth.  These home owners have found their properties increasing in value and this has significantly boosted overall consumer confidence in the city.  Calgary’s residents are feeling richer and spending more as a result - this in turn boosts the economy and is why housing start projects and the activity in the building permit area are around the 5 year average and holding strong.

Other reasons why Calgary is such a popular city both for real estate and in terms of those who actually want to move to the city include the fact that Calgary actually has the most sunny hours of all locations in Canada with 2300 sunny hours a year to be precise.  Furthermore, more global companies have their Canadian headquarters in Calgary than any other city in Canada and the cost of living in Calgary is significantly lower than other major Canadian cities.

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